Mithra BST (Beastmaster) help?

[Valyana]

At low levels pets can't hold hate off you at all. A lot of people deal with this by not meleeing with the pet at all; I preferred to eat defense food and take a few hits. I'd think /blu Cocoon would be very good for this.

[Spekkio]

actually, at low lvls i found it was easier to get in an xp party (pre leave. after leave, just strike out on your own.) with a kitty pet and my own damage even with mediocre gears i was able to outdamage (and surprise/irk) several other DDs in the party, not to mention nifty roars paraing the mob for a great chunk of time. this isn't a common (and often unpopular) suggestion, but i found it very effective. take it or leave it as you like.

[Corruption]

I don't think I really had more issues than anyone else. I did have an Apollo's Staff as soon as my BST hit 51 (it was the first HQ staff I bought). I used CHR rings/neck/head/waist, Savage feet, Gaudy, and Apollo's once I hit 51. No melody earrings +1 for charm or anything. I definitely had gear swaps for fight/charm mode.

Cool so I mean I can't just go out there with no CHR I have to atleast dedicate some of my gear to CHR. Ok but atleast I don't have to spend to much gils, except for that Apollo Staff lol. Thanks for the advice!

It's a shame people still take their race into consideration when leveling a job, any race can play any jobe just fine; being a great Mithra BLM and BST myself I can attest to that.

I dont know about sub choices now a days, the only sub that was used when I lvld was WHM. Stack CHR as much as possible and bring lost of RR.

You will die, you will mischarm and then die often, you will delevel over and over, you will go all day XPn and break negative or even, you will get forced out of camps, and get screwed over and mistreated by others, you will get utterly frustrated and not touch BST for days on end, etcetc. But this happens to everyone no matter what race, or how much CHR they have.

If you have the patience to SOLO BST to 75, that earns you a gold ticket. The hardest part about leveling BST is you yourself, and as long as youre persistence to get to 75, youll be fine. The plus side to getting BST to 75 solo is a sense of reward and a better understanding of the FFXI hate system, as well as numerous other aspects. Plus all the loot you get is yours to keep.

Come back when youre 60+ and then we can talk about more indepth situational gear. Untill then, take full CHR (+Apollos), ACC (dont worry about STR), and MP gear with you.

Well to be honest the only reason I bring up race is because I see the difference that a few points here or there make in this game. For Example a Hume Dancing Edge puts mine to shame but that same Hume can't hope to get my Shark Bites or Eviserations... Forgiveness please! lol.

Well that being said I will take your advice and I don't know how slow/fast I will hit 60 but by then I might have to make a new thread lol.

At low levels pets can't hold hate off you at all. A lot of people deal with this by not meleeing with the pet at all; I preferred to eat defense food and take a few hits. I'd think /blu Cocoon would be very good for this.

I remember in my brief run to 14 back in the day if I tried hitting a mob that my charmed pet was fighting it would almost instantly come after me lol. I used to think that I had hidden enmity merits or something (my new character has that problem too lol) cause I can actually pull hate from a Paladin as a Ninja after all the l33t pally buffs... Weird, but even after reading that enmity list its still a little random for me

actually, at low lvls i found it was easier to get in an xp party (pre leave. after leave, just strike out on your own.) with a kitty pet and my own damage even with mediocre gears i was able to outdamage (and surprise/irk) several other DDs in the party, not to mention nifty roars paraing the mob for a great chunk of time. this isn't a common (and often unpopular) suggestion, but i found it very effective. take it or leave it as you like.

Leave seems to be the ability that everyone really needs to start soloing for real as a Beastmaster... I remember reading something about BSTs being pissed off that after an update that Leave was broken or something cause the mobs depop... Is that still an issue or is it fixed?

P.S Can anyone tell me how to add that spoiler thing that allows you to hide text until they click on it on the BG forums? Would appreciate it greatly! Thanks

[Keria]

Part of the fun of BST is being able to size up a room full of mobs and manage to play tetris with them

ahaha so true.

Spoiler: show

To use spoilers, type [ spoiler] at the start and [ /spoiler] at the end of the text you want to hide, without the spaces.

[Arcanesoul]

Spekkio has a nice point too if you do get a little frustrated with solo. When you get Call beast, bst is a powerful damage dealer in party.

Also regarding solo in the low levels, don't forget about the Fields of Valour. Use your points to get RR and refresh if you chose a mage sub.
My own summary of the subs is this.
/whm great for healing and status removal. RR at 66, blink at 38, stoneskin at 56, and the all important, snk + inv. Tele spells are nice at at 72+ too.
/blu multiple chr spells (Pollen, Helldive, Sheepsong, Featherstorm), auto regen at 32. At low levels (<40), spells like Sprout smack, Headbutt, and Bludgeon, hit. Metallic body is only 30hp stoneskin from what I recall. This sub is mainly about sticking charm. Spamming Pollen to heal yourself will get a little old at times.
/nin utsusemi, dual wield. Very nice on petswaps.
/dnc best use of this comes when you melee. If you melee late, or just let the pet fight, then use another sub.

The only other sub I've used for bst is /sch and I only use that in events like missions and
Nyzul at 75, so I can't comment on ones like /rdm.

Generic charm gear from bottom up.
Hope rings x2 (14), Noble's Ribbon (14), Bird Whistle (15), Loyalty rings x2 (36), Corsette +1 (40), and Apollo's Staff (51).
For bst definitely get Gaudy (50), and your bst AF too.

[Bakthi]

I was happy to have AF for Bost{tab}, as a slime vs. a VT bat can be a very long fight at times. The +charm on AF, if you didn't know, extends the duration your charm lasts before your pet turns on you.

Some time after the patch that allowed BSTs full exp even with a pet still charmed, I did a bunch of duo BST level sync with one of my friends. Man, it's so easy now...no more Leave > WS > oh shit it still has 3% left > whiff whiff whiff > die. I guess I never really duo'd on my own way up, either, and it's a nice safety net for sure.

1-35 can be frustrating, but I did solo it (and I imagine it's a lot faster now). I saw a THF/BST (so, no Leave) mowing down EPs in Sauromugue Champaign with a charmed Coeurl, and I imagine he was pairing that with FoV. Not bad at all, and you could use similar tactics in other areas. I really enjoyed Gusgen Mines; that will teach you worlds about aggro, and is one of the few low-level places where /NIN is the best sub.

My favorite places were ones like Purgonorgo Isle and Bost{tab}, where you could exp for hours and hours without seeing anyone at all. One of the best parts about BST is that you don't have to persuade 5 other people to go out there, and you don't have to wait around their AFKs and whatnot.

[Innuendo]

Leave is much less important now that there's no exp reduction. When they introduced the MPK patch it was a huge shock (at least to me, I stopped playing bst for a long time) but it made a lot of camps easier in the long run because you can just depop mobs until you get the right level to charm.
If you can't afford an Apollo's right away a Light Staff will still work wonders on your charm rate.

[Cesaria]

Yeah - I levelled post-Leave patch but it's still annoying as heck sometimes when you go to recharm a pet and it's depopped since it's 1mm out of its spawn area.

You can use it to your advantage releasing pets outside area so they repop faster on 100% hp, and it's still possible to dump mobs on gillseller exp parties if you're a touch more creative with your positioning - not that I'd ever do a thing like that.

[Corruption]

Spekkio has a nice point too if you do get a little frustrated with solo. When you get Call beast, bst is a powerful damage dealer in party.

Also regarding solo in the low levels, don't forget about the Fields of Valour. Use your points to get RR and refresh if you chose a mage sub.
My own summary of the subs is this.
/whm great for healing and status removal. RR at 66, blink at 38, stoneskin at 56, and the all important, snk + inv. Tele spells are nice at at 72+ too.
/blu multiple chr spells (Pollen, Helldive, Sheepsong, Featherstorm), auto regen at 32. At low levels (<40), spells like Sprout smack, Headbutt, and Bludgeon, hit. Metallic body is only 30hp stoneskin from what I recall. This sub is mainly about sticking charm. Spamming Pollen to heal yourself will get a little old at times.
/nin utsusemi, dual wield. Very nice on petswaps.
/dnc best use of this comes when you melee. If you melee late, or just let the pet fight, then use another sub.

The only other sub I've used for bst is /sch and I only use that in events like missions and
Nyzul at 75, so I can't comment on ones like /rdm.

Generic charm gear from bottom up.
Hope rings x2 (14), Noble's Ribbon (14), Bird Whistle (15), Loyalty rings x2 (36), Corsette +1 (40), and Apollo's Staff (51).
For bst definitely get Gaudy (50), and your bst AF too.

Sounds simple enough and at least from what it sounds like don't have to worry about snobby a-holes checking me going "OMG LOLZ look at teh gearz nub"... I mean not that I wear nubbish gear but some people just like to hate for the sake of hating! LOL

I appreciate the gear recommendations and for adding on so well to what everyone has been so nice enough to help me with... I'd say I'm ready to play BST already!

I was happy to have AF for Bost{tab}, as a slime vs. a VT bat can be a very long fight at times. The +charm on AF, if you didn't know, extends the duration your charm lasts before your pet turns on you.

Some time after the patch that allowed BSTs full exp even with a pet still charmed, I did a bunch of duo BST level sync with one of my friends. Man, it's so easy now...no more Leave > WS > oh shit it still has 3% left > whiff whiff whiff > die. I guess I never really duo'd on my own way up, either, and it's a nice safety net for sure.

1-35 can be frustrating, but I did solo it (and I imagine it's a lot faster now). I saw a THF/BST (so, no Leave) mowing down EPs in Sauromugue Champaign with a charmed Coeurl, and I imagine he was pairing that with FoV. Not bad at all, and you could use similar tactics in other areas. I really enjoyed Gusgen Mines; that will teach you worlds about aggro, and is one of the few low-level places where /NIN is the best sub.

My favorite places were ones like Purgonorgo Isle and Bost{tab}, where you could exp for hours and hours without seeing anyone at all. One of the best parts about BST is that you don't have to persuade 5 other people to go out there, and you don't have to wait around their AFKs and whatnot.

The solo part and duo ability of BST is what has me the most excited... I can just be like "Hey I feel like playing without getting all social" and bam play Beast Master! What is FoV? Also I'm really appreciative for such positive responses compared to my other post about epic jobs! lol.

Thanks again!

Leave is much less important now that there's no exp reduction. When they introduced the MPK patch it was a huge shock (at least to me, I stopped playing bst for a long time) but it made a lot of camps easier in the long run because you can just depop mobs until you get the right level to charm.
If you can't afford an Apollo's right away a Light Staff will still work wonders on your charm rate.

Sweet cause I got a Light Staff but Apollo's is kinda expensive! But ok that sounds cool cause I was gonna ask about the Leave thing cause I heard a lot of BSTs hated on it hard! Well I look forward to playing this job even more now!

Yeah - I levelled post-Leave patch but it's still annoying as heck sometimes when you go to recharm a pet and it's depopped since it's 1mm out of its spawn area.

You can use it to your advantage releasing pets outside area so they repop faster on 100% hp, and it's still possible to dump mobs on gillseller exp parties if you're a touch more creative with your positioning - not that I'd ever do a thing like that.

LMAO omg that sounds like something fun I'd like to try out! The more and more you guys give advice and share stories the more I want to play BST lol.

[fantasticdan]

/blu multiple chr spells (Pollen, Helldive, Sheepsong, Featherstorm), auto regen at 32. At low levels (<40), spells like Sprout smack, Headbutt, and Bludgeon, hit. Metallic body is only 30hp stoneskin from what I recall. This sub is mainly about sticking charm. Spamming Pollen to heal yourself will get a little old at times.

Not that I would suggest leveling as /blu (eww), but you do get wild carrot at 60bst/30blu, which is pretty much the same thing as cure 3.

[Lordwafik]

Race means nothing, get a HQ light staff and you're set charisma wise. It'll make up for anything you are lacking.

[Arcanesoul]

What is FoV?

It's Fields of Valor. Both wiki's have a nice description of them.

Not that I would suggest leveling as /blu (eww), but you do get wild carrot at 60bst/30blu, which is pretty much the same thing as cure 3.

True, but by that time, most switch subs so they have snk and invis, and then you already have access to Cure III on /whm anyway. I would only recommend /blu for early levels anyway. At later levels other subs beat it easily. Although I still use /blu for rank 5-1 Skeleton BC in Fei'Yin. Bludgeon and Headbutt spam and a Funguar rock in there.

[Riel]

You get stun at a very low level via Head Butt from /BLU so there are actually a few special uses. For example, BST/BLU is the preferred method for a 6 BST group to use for stunning Diabolos' nightmare move in PM3-5.

[Corruption]

Not that I would suggest leveling as /blu (eww), but you do get wild carrot at 60bst/30blu, which is pretty much the same thing as cure 3.

Well yeah I can see that but also isn't Cocoon one of those spells that scales up as you level (even on sub)... I mean I know on Paladin with blu sub cocoon is retardedly amazing (for def) but I am pretty sure BST is a whole other ball park...

Also with /blu could I join in and fight with my pet or would going /nin be better for that cause of shadows? (P.S I just got Wild Carrot and omg it rocks!)

Race means nothing, get a HQ light staff and you're set charisma wise. It'll make up for anything you are lacking.

LOL ok cool thank you very much! So the general consensus is the must own peices are Apollo's Staff and Gaudy Harness ftw! Cool got it thanks

It's Fields of Valor. Both wiki's have a nice description of them.



True, but by that time, most switch subs so they have snk and invis, and then you already have access to Cure III on /whm anyway. I would only recommend /blu for early levels anyway. At later levels other subs beat it easily. Although I still use /blu for rank 5-1 Skeleton BC in Fei'Yin. Bludgeon and Headbutt spam and a Funguar rock in there.

You get stun at a very low level via Head Butt from /BLU so there are actually a few special uses. For example, BST/BLU is the preferred method for a 6 BST group to use for stunning Diabolos' nightmare move in PM3-5.

So Fields of Valour huh? I gotta read up on that I'm usually late to all the new stuff thrown in the game, except for Salvage... I researched it early since day 1 and to have been dying to them ever since... Still haven't even done 1 /sigh lol. Also I was wondering how good or bad /blu is at higher levels using Cocoon for def and throwing in a Sopporific or Pinecomb Bomb for Sleep incase the monster gets crazy? I mean I've read before that blu sub sucks because you have a level 37 blu mage casting level but then I've also heard from others that its still a good sub if you gear it right (for example THF/BLU {I might try one day} and PLD/BLU). If you guys try it out or hear anything better let me know

P.S I think I'm gonna go /blu atleast til I get sneak/invis from whm sub.

[Valyana]

Cocoon is a straight +50% DEF.

[fantasticdan]

The only thing /blu gives you over /whm are some minor base stat bonuses from equipping spells, and physical debuff spells like headbutt, sprout smack, and wild oats, but the proc rate on the debuffs are pretty crappy at higher levels, definitely not reliable. Cocoon is always +50% defense, but if you're face tanking while soloing on bst you're doing it wrong.

Compared to /blu, /whm gets sneak, invis, functional stoneskin, blink, raise, reraise, status cures, erase, teleports, regen, dia 1/2, protect, shell, etc. Not to mention cure 1-3 are castable on anyone if you want to help someone out, where as wild carrot is party only. Outside of very situational uses like the one Riel mentioned, bst/blu is pretty silly.

[Valyana]

Incidentally, a post in another thread recently explained why pets tank better and better at higher levels: it's because mob HP rises significantly faster than player HP, and hate loss from getting hit is proportional to your max HP. So a pet with 3000 HP loses 1/3 as much hate from getting hit for 100 damage as a player with 1000 HP. But at low levels, mob HP is pretty similar to player HP, so hate bounces.

[The Stig]

Incidentally, a post in another thread recently explained why pets tank better and better at higher levels: it's because mob HP rises significantly faster than player HP, and hate loss from getting hit is proportional to your max HP. So a pet with 3000 HP loses 1/3 as much hate from getting hit for 100 damage as a player with 1000 HP. But at low levels, mob HP is pretty similar to player HP, so hate bounces.

Is it possible to link me to this thread? I am interested.

[Arcanesoul]

Well yeah I can see that but also isn't Cocoon one of those spells that scales up as you level (even on sub)... I mean I know on Paladin with blu sub cocoon is retardedly amazing (for def) but I am pretty sure BST is a whole other ball park...

Also with /blu could I join in and fight with my pet or would going /nin be better for that cause of shadows? (P.S I just got Wild Carrot and omg it rocks!)

Cocoon does scale because of the %def increase, but I personally never got much use out of it. 90 seconds isn't very long in solo and I was never getting hit that often. I would use Metallic body more often than not when I needed to rest and had poison/bio/choke or something on me. It gave me enough time to rest a few ticks of mp back to cast pollen or whatever (remember I used this sub pre 50 only).

How you play bst is generally independent of your sub job, until the later levels. In fact the only difference I see is between /mage and /nin playstyle, where with /nin and haste gear you can afford to be more aggressive and let the shadows absorb what they can, keeping your pet alive longer. The downside is, it requires a lot more practice with the hate line, because you only want to get swung at when your timers are up. The /mage subs while generally more versatile, don't have the capability to cure away the damage from the same amount of swings at you, unless you have various forms of refresh on you, which just causes more problems anyway (hate from cures, etc).

Basically, you need to find your own playstyle, and is part of the fun of bst.
Some don't melee till half way or something. I tend to go straight in after my pet (regardless of level or even if I'm playing /bst), letting something like regen from FoV tabs cure off the damage, or using whatever native abilities/magic you have.

Also I was wondering how good or bad /blu is at higher levels using Cocoon for def and throwing in a Sopporific or Pinecomb Bomb for Sleep incase the monster gets crazy? I mean I've read before that blu sub sucks because you have a level 37 blu mage casting level but then I've also heard from others that its still a good sub if you gear it right (for example THF/BLU {I might try one day} and PLD/BLU). If you guys try it out or hear anything better let me know

P.S I think I'm gonna go /blu atleast til I get sneak/invis from whm sub.

The only thing /blu gives you over /whm are some minor base stat bonuses from equipping spells, and physical debuff spells like headbutt, sprout smack, and wild oats, but the proc rate on the debuffs are pretty crappy at higher levels, definitely not reliable. Cocoon is always +50% defense, but if you're face tanking while soloing on bst you're doing it wrong.

Compared to /blu, /whm gets sneak, invis, functional stoneskin, blink, raise, reraise, status cures, erase, teleports, regen, dia 1/2, protect, shell, etc. Not to mention cure 1-3 are castable on anyone if you want to help someone out, where as wild carrot is party only. Outside of very situational uses like the one Riel mentioned, bst/blu is pretty silly.

Dan's post above covers it well, except I wouldn't call it silly, just less useful. My own experience with the proc rate on stun from headbutt at around level 50 is that while it happens, it gets resisted quite a bit. At 75 it will just be worse. This is going to be the same for anything like Soporific/Sheep Song, or any /blu debuff (They'll be more or less fully resisted). As you point out it's because your blu skill is at half it's level. The only reason the damage from physical blu spells take effect, is because it's not based on skill, but rather your main weapons accuracy.

Try it all out. The experience can only help you. The playstyle is something you have to discover for yourself. Sometimes melee with your pet, other times let the pet do all the work. Use 1/4 health pets and swap midfight, while you melee. Send a pet into a bunch that link, let it die and charm another while the one you set your pet on comes flying for you. Do it all, mischarm, and learn how to kite, and use mob pathing.

Occasionally you'll hit the dirt. Other times you'll survive with 2 hp, and be /ls O.O I survived! OMG I live <hp>. Just try it out. Advice doesn't get you as far as practice.

[Valyana]

Is it possible to link me to this thread? I am interested.

If I remembered which thread it was

It follows from Kaeko's recent research on hate loss from taking damage...which I also can't find atm, it isn't in the main enmity testing thread. Basically, the CE you lose from getting hit depends on the ratio between damage taken and your max HP. At higher levels mobs have thousands of HP, so they make good blood tanks.