NIN tanking on Colibri

[Shinryuu]

So I'm trying to figure out wtf is going on. This is my second time leveling NIN to 75, and first time leveling it through Aht Urhgan.

Levels 54-60 I did fine because I static'd those levels with a BRD, so I had no problems. Now Colibri in Bhaflau is where I'm having trouble (could be because I don't have a BRD, or the party set up is meh). Keeping hate isn't the problem, as I have adequate enmity+ and I don't seem to lose it that often. I've come to the conclusion that birds just aren't dying fast enough to support the wait time on my shadows, or somewhere along those lines.

Some fights everything's OK. Recent party I was in I died twice because I couldn't get shadows back up after consecutive pecking flurries. What I'm trying to figure out is if anyone's actually had this problem on birds while leveling NIN, or if I'm just a bad NIN? D:

This party I didn't have a BRD.

I saw your NIN gear and I can only advice you to man up and do the damage yourself if it's seriously lacking. Without elegy it can be tough though. That said, the middle tier Colibri have too much defense and HP for the exp they give, only Lessers and Greaters are good exp mobs. Aydeewa is good, or just stick to Lessers.

[Shenrien]

NIN can't use Blitz Ring.

I've seen a lot of NINs get their asses handed to them by trying to DD tank in shitty parties. With a bad to mediocre party, you are indeed much better off putting on some evasion gear.

ahh I was just listing items that I knew had haste on them that he could benefit from it, I didn't look it up my bad

[Esvedium]

I agree with the "man up and DD" statements, generally speaking.

That said, the middle tier Colibri have too much defense and HP for the exp they give, only Lessers and Greaters are good exp mobs. Aydeewa is good, or just stick to Lessers.

As for middle colibri, I found they are as good as if not better than aydeewa or lesser colibri in a competent party.

[Despain]

I saw your NIN gear and I can only advice you to man up and do the damage yourself if it's seriously lacking. Without elegy it can be tough though. That said, the middle tier Colibri have too much defense and HP for the exp they give, only Lessers and Greaters are good exp mobs. Aydeewa is good, or just stick to Lessers.

Aye. Like I said, my NIN parses pretty good, but Colibri is completely new territory for me outside of meritting. Like I said, first time actually taking NIN through Aht Urhgan, since last time I did it I took it to 75 pre-Aht Urhgan.

Also, I hardly use evasion gear, since to me its honestly a waste anyway in exp. I usually full-time Hauby in exp parties.

@Starby: When I said full-time enmity gear, I meant things such as Eris Earrings, Arhat's Hakama +1, and occasionally Mermaid Ring. Nothing too major which wouldn't affect my damage outcome much anyway.

@Ksandra: This actually sounds like a good idea and I'll definitely be testing it out. Thanks :D

As for the whole "man up and DD". Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm trying to do >_>' but my hands are tied when I lack merits and don't use food aside from meat because I don't know of any other alternatives. Someone mentioned Crab Sushi? earlier so I'll look into that, as long as its not too pricey. My accuracy isn't TOO bad against Colibri, granted I was in a level sync party @62, but it was still bad enough to affect my damage.

Also, yeah Elegy helps a ton on these things from what I've noticed... but from what I understand, in a good Colibri party, the mobs shouldn't be alive long enough to do too much damage, especially consecutive Pecking Flurries, which seems to be my only major issue.

Also, I've got basically the only haste gear that's available to me on NIN at level 65, aside from Velocious Belt/Speed Belt. I use Swift and Fumas, and if my accuracy isn't complete shit, I use Ninja Chainmail while macro'ing in Hauby for WS etc.

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can do against these fucking birds D:

[Tsuko_Asura]

At level 60, you should be burning the fuck out of Lesser Colibri. With a melee-oriented setup, those are good until you all hit 62.

[Despain]

At level 60, you should be burning the fuck out of Lesser Colibri. With a melee-oriented setup, those are good until you all hit 62.

I take any party I can get atm, no time to be choosey.

[richardd]

ok was longtime ago I did nin/played FF, so I cant remember if ALL colibri cast reflect. If they do, what I used to do (for standstill pts) is I would wait to completely lose shadows, then cast an elemental spell (low tier one). Colibri take a bit to cast it back on you (usually for very little dmg), and that usually gave me enough time for ni to be back up n' casted. Try it out, I wasn't a super buffed nin when lvling so if I could do it, you can too!

yeah exactly.

when i exp'd war, i used see my friend who was lvling rdm would cast fire or something T1 just so the bird can repeat those spells to make it easier on the nin's shadows until me and aztech released our TP and had about 2s left to kill it if it wasn't already dead to save mp.

[retice]

Your best bet is to forget colibri at that level and go on over to Mount Z and just chain the hell out of crawlers,crabs,pugs. And with right setup you could go till 70+.

[Burnsy]

Drop the enmity gear, use full dd gear, and stop trying so hard to hold hate, and instead let it bounce around a bit (seigan is there for a reason), and kill faster.

Bolded for emphasis, trying to anything but DD on ninja pre75 fails, just toss debuffs and spam jin, also, be picky, just taking any party fails excessively.

[Despain]

Bolded for emphasis, trying to anything but DD on ninja pre75 fails, just toss debuffs and spam jin, also, be picky, just taking any party fails excessively.

Lol I know. This wasn't my main concern when I made the thread.

I partied on Colibri again last night @ a higher level sync, and I tried casting the occasional elemental Ni whenever I needed sometime to put shadows up. It worked every now and then but not always, although I didn't have any trouble tanking in this party, since the set up was much better.

I was just concerned that I was doing a shitty job tanking Colibri honestly lol.

[Seedz]

Colibri at 60 can be quite challenging (read: you're overhunting) indeed, so I'd recommend going elsewhere until you are 62+. Your procedure is fine, the problem is that you're fighting mobs that are way too high level for you. I personally remember leveling WAR at 60 on colibries, and with very good gear I felt I wasn't DDing as I should be, because they were too high level for me. I moved to Aydeewa and never looked back.

[anathema]

tell a mage to dia the colibri when they see pecking flurry to stall so you can cast ichi.

[hagun]

Stop over camping.

NIN does just fine on colibri when your PT isn't stupid to take on mobs they shouldn't. Every fool of a PT goes to Bhaflau birds at Lv60 instead of Lv62-63. Everyone is foaming at the mouth for birds and forget that there are puks and crawlers those level ranges that are perfectly fine.

[Shinryuu]

tell a mage to dia the colibri when they see pecking flurry to stall so you can cast ichi.

The only person I've ever seen to do exactly this was a BRD, and coincidentally my bardmule. God I love that trick.

[Bakthi]

Doing birds at level 60 is fine! Just find someone who is 37 or 55.

[Lilkerm]

I like.. pups tanking colibri... jk

[Valyana]

Yeah, I use Threnody on BRD/NIN to give myself time to Ichi.

[Panthera]

Colibri *could* be done without a bard at 62. They are doable at 61, but then you must have a bard or corsair. 60 is overcamping either way.

Yes, kill speed affects your survivability. And kill speed is directly affected by party setup. I try to recruit jobs in certain priority tiers. Try to recruit Rangers and Dragoons first; Dragoons tank by virtue of damage output. Axe Warriors are nice because they can voke off you when you need them to, and Rampage is nice despite the fact it's non-piercing. Samurais are good too if they're clever enough to put down their GK and get a decent Polearm. Although Monks become a powerhouse later on, I don't go out of my way to get one at 55-65 level ranges. Blue Mages spend a fair amount of time on their knees resting MP, and don't do real piercing damage, and lack Weapon Skills worth a shit (i play, know, and love the job, but i don't exp or merit on it). Puppetmaster's Sharpshot Frame IS piercing damage...but Daze is not Sidewinder, and it shoots so slowly, it's like it's trying to conserve ammo (even though it has an unlimited supply). And too many Dark Knights treat exp parties as skill-up parties for their Scythes. Healer-wise, you're better off with a Whm and Rdm for Haste and Dia II. That's not to suggest i won't party with Monks etc, but if i do, it's because i need a 55ish or 62 synch bitch. And of course, it helps if people are attentive and know what they're doing, and have at least standard gear. If not, give them the boot. Further, i setup all my own parties so i have control over it. Put up your flag, and you never know what you're getting into.

And yes, let these guys help tank. Everyone should be doing enough damage to get the enemy's attention. Ideally, the mob is hitting nothing but shadows across four players.

Remember those commercials,"There's Hertz, then there's...not exactly"? Well, there's parties with a Bard and or Corsair, and then there's...not. If there's no bard or corsair seeking or available, I'll just find something else to do. I realize Corsair doesn't get Elegy, but with strong enough buffs, the mob will be dead before it matters, especially if hate is dividing amongst the party, not just on one poor sole trying to solo tank. People dual tank Endgame, and it works here, too.

Since Level Synch was introduced, I've NEVER gone to Aydeewa. Crawlers at that level are terrible to exp on because they necessitate bad setups. You're forced into getting a Scholar or Red Mage for Dispel AND you still need White or Dancer for Erase (slow WILL get someone sooner or later when Haste is down). So now you have two healers and you STILL have to use a party slot for a bard or corsair. Then let's say you get a Paladin Tank, which by this points means you have room for only two damage dealers. And for that matter, I steer clear of Puks as well. They attack WAY too fast and have AOE attacks. There's a plethora of mobs in this game, but only a handful you'd want to exp on, because they have a few things in common; they don't buff themselves or debuff you; they don't have AOE of any consequence; low HP and MP.

Happy Exping

~Panthera

[Plow]

Crawlers at that level are terrible to exp on because they necessitate bad setups. You're forced into getting a Scholar or Red Mage for Dispel AND you still need White or Dancer for Erase (slow WILL get someone sooner or later when Haste is down). So now you have two healers and you STILL have to use a party slot for a bard or corsair. Then let's say you get a Paladin Tank, which by this points means you have room for only two damage dealers.

Haste overwrites crawler slow... even if the slow is on first...

[stewie]

I did defoliators/puktraps RDM BRD SAM SAM COR WAR. >.>