Randomest Question Thread

[Plight]

i'm seeing a lot of conflicting answers and wondered if there's a consensus now. what's the easiest way to solo cheese hoarder? i can be blm or rdm (or several other less useful jobs) but i only have gofasters on blm.

The single most idiot-proof way is to kite him around the four teleporters with some kind of movement speed. Pillar kiting is probably faster, but you'd really have to try to mess up if you go the teleporter path.

[Callisto]

i'm seeing a lot of conflicting answers and wondered if there's a consensus now. what's the easiest way to solo cheese hoarder? i can be blm or rdm (or several other less useful jobs) but i only have gofasters on blm.

There's a few different spots, I personally prefer the landing pad(where you get dumped when you take the white teles back from Remnants), it gives just the right distance imo for getting buffed back up and getting a few ticks of rest in before he comes back without it taking an hour and a half. Just nuke him as he comes in the room, kite until he starts dropping bombs, Bio him on the way out, then buff/rest til he comes back. As long as you don't stay too close to the door all the links will despawn by the time they hit the room.

If you angle right you can many times target him through the walls as he's on the way back to get a head start on nuking him as he comes in the room...I don't have BLM myself, but movement speed aside I think I'd still be inclined to use RDM just for the extra Fast Cast so that you can fire your nuke off faster and start running earlier, his TA procs are really nasty, and if he gets close he can hit you with the TP move that locks your gear slots and nullify your Gaiters anyways. That and the extra Refresh helps as well.

[Spekkio]

There's a few different spots, I personally prefer the landing pad(where you get dumped when you take the white teles back from Remnants), it gives just the right distance imo for getting buffed back up and getting a few ticks of rest in before he comes back without it taking an hour and a half. Just nuke him as he comes in the room, kite until he starts dropping bombs, Bio him on the way out, then buff/rest til he comes back. As long as you don't stay too close to the door all the links will despawn by the time they hit the room.

If you angle right you can many times target him through the walls as he's on the way back to get a head start on nuking him as he comes in the room...I don't have BLM myself, but movement speed aside I think I'd still be inclined to use RDM just for the extra Fast Cast so that you can fire your nuke off faster and start running earlier, his TA procs are really nasty, and if he gets close he can hit you with the TP move that locks your gear slots and nullify your Gaiters anyways. That and the extra Refresh helps as well.

i'm assuming /nin? rdm also affords shell4 and a plethora of mdb that blm doesn't offer drastically reducing his bombs i'd imagine. does he ever unclaim? if not, you could actually target him way easier by making a /ta <bt> macro and slamming it. my rdm is actually quite well geared outside of the lack of gofasters (full morg, full af2, so i get quite a chunk of refresh) so if outpacing him isn't a problem, i'd probably just get a hermes quencher or powder boots and flee him to the porter. how do i handle the links? do i not get them if i drag him to the landing pad? any advice on the pull? i hear he depops fairly easily from some people while others claim he never loses hate.

[Ultimagi]

You're forgetting that Double Attack can't happen more than twice.
To figure out the exact chances for Double Attack during a multiple hit weapon skill, you need to calculate the chances of each possibility and sum them.
D = 0.1
N = 0.9

Chance of 0 Double Attacks
NNNNN = 0.59049

Chance of 1 Double Attack
DNNNN = 0.06561
NDNNN
...
These are commutative, so 0.06561 * 5 = 0.32805

Chance of 2 Double Attacks (Remember chance of anything after 2 D is 1)
DD = 0.01
DND = 0.009
DNND = 0.0081
DNNND = 0.00729
NDD = 0.009
NDND = 0.0081
NDNND = 0.00729
NNDD = 0.0081
NNDND = 0.00729
NNNDD = 0.00729
Total is 0.08146

Therefore;
0 Double Attacks = 59%
1 Double Attack = 33%
2 Double Attacks = 8%

[Callisto]

i'm assuming /nin? rdm also affords shell4 and a plethora of mdb that blm doesn't offer drastically reducing his bombs i'd imagine. does he ever unclaim? if not, you could actually target him way easier by making a /ta <bt> macro and slamming it. my rdm is actually quite well geared outside of the lack of gofasters (full morg, full af2, so i get quite a chunk of refresh) so if outpacing him isn't a problem, i'd probably just get a hermes quencher or powder boots and flee him to the porter. how do i handle the links? do i not get them if i drag him to the landing pad? any advice on the pull? i hear he depops fairly easily from some people while others claim he never loses hate.

I've never seen him unclaim or deaggro myself in 20~ kills, though I've heard of it happening. The only thing I could think of is if you're with a RNG or something and you engage to WS before it runs...but not something I've seen myself, especially not solo.

As far as the pull, if you pop from max trading distance from the North end usually there's enough delay that you can run him to the pad without getting hit even without movement+ as long as you time opening the door properly.

Typically the adds despawn relatively easily if you just keep running, by the time you're at the pad and camped the rounds of adds after the first should deaggro by the time they hit the entrance to the pad room, just stay deep in the room and don't stray too close to the door.

I normally open with Bio, but I have W.Legs, without them I'd probably say pop and run, get to the pad room and just kite until he first starts dropping bombs, then Bio and start nuking on his second pass when you're all set up.

[Hwang]

Just got a new PC, and it's telling me it will take me at least 10 hours to download all the FFXI updates, is there anywhere I can get the updates from without having to sit through this?

[isladar]

Moved to randomesterer.

[Callisto]

Just got a new PC, and it's telling me it will take me at least 10 hours to download all the FFXI updates, is there anywhere I can get the updates from without having to sit through this?

There may still be files hosted from the last version update, people usually make mirrors for fast downloading, I know Aikar had one on Windower.net and there were a couple others, but it may take some searching.

[Suiram]

I think if you install all the expansions before you update, it should include all the patches up until a couple months before WotG came out? So you'd just have like 5-6 version updates worth of files, unless that amounts to 10 hours of downloading itself, or if what I said is just wrong (only installed like this once back in 2006 when I switched from PS2 to PC, but that's what I was told, then).

[Callisto]

Here was the post from Aikar, not sure if it's still hosted there or not

http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/72913...-download.html

[Deimos]

I've been leveling SAM, and I'm just about to reach level 50, which opens up a few more options for Store TP gear. I'm looking ahead and trying to figure out my gear setup at 54, since that's when Lesser Colibri typically start, and I'm expecting to spend quite a lot of time synced to that approximate level. I'd appreciate someone checking my math below, and/or weighing in with an opinion as to whether it's worth giving up some other gear to take a hit off my polearm build. Of course, things get considerably easier once I hit 60 and can equip Couse, but I'm trying to figure out the 54-59 section.

Apologies if the information is a little scattered, this is just the notes I made for myself to figure out what was needed.

Polearm = Thundercloud (396 delay)

Available Store TP Gear:
Rajas Ring = +5
Ecphoria Ring = +1
Shinimusha Haidate = +6
Shinimusha Hara-Ate = +9

At level 50, SAM has Store TP III for a natural +20. This gives a maximum possible Store TP of 41.

For a 396 delay weapon, the base TP per hit is:
5.0 + [(Delay - 180) * 6.5 / 270]
So 10.2 base TP per hit.

Using Penta Thrust, assuming all hits land, with no Store TP, TP return would be:
10.2 + 1.0*4 = 14.2 TP.

Using only SAM's inherent Store TP, WS return increases to 17 TP, and TP per hit increases to 12.2. This requires 7 hits to get 100%. We want to reduce this to 6 hits.

Ideally I would like to only TP in 31 Store TP, with base, Rajas and Haidate.
Working with that, I would get 13.3 TP per hit. This would require a 20.2% TP return from WS, which would require 43 Store TP on WS, so is impossible at this level.

Adding Ecphoria Ring to TP gear increases gain per hit to 13.4. WS return now must be 19.6%, which can be achieved with 38 Store TP on WS, but would require wearing all available Store TP gear for WS.

For completeness, by TPing in full Store TP gear, we gain 14.3 TP per hit. This will require a 14.2 TP return from WS, which means I do not need to WS in any Store TP gear at all.

In order to compensate for a missed hit on the WS, TPing in full Store TP gear will certainly be necessary. However, with SAM's base Store TP alone, two missed hits on WS are already covered.

tl;dr version is that I have two options:

1) TP in Luisant Haubert, Rajas Ring, Ecphoria Ring, and Shinimusha Haidate, and WS in full Store TP gear (same as just listed, but with Haubert replaced with Shinimusha Hara-Ate). If Penta Thrust misses a single hit, I will need to use Shinimusha Hara-Ate for TP on the next cycle.

2) Always TP in full Store TP gear, then WS with Luisant body/legs and whatever rings I want. This also allows up to two hits in Penta Thrust to miss and maintains 6-hit.

Did I make any math errors? Opinions? I'm leaning towards #2 for reliability, plus being able to WS in luisant body/legs should be a pretty nice increase to WS damage compared to using gear that has no stats at all other than Store TP.

Edit: Note that if I modify option 2 to remove Ecphoria Ring, 2 hits of Penta Thrust are not naturally compensated for, but WSing with Rajas Ring (which I will probably do anyway) does compensate for this still.

[Drex]

I'd say use the luisant until peti at 55, scorpion harness at 57, then awesomegeon at 59 until you get access to polearms with less shitty delay. 396 delay just wrecks X-hit builds, and I don't see any good ones until Couse at 60. Even then you might have to give up haub for an X-hit, which is still counter-productive.

Realistically, dropping all those stats for store TP, especially without access to gear like haub to make up for it, is going to kill your acc to the point where you need more attack rounds to get to 100 TP in your store TP gear cause you're whiffing so much. That situation kinda defeats the point of x-hit builds in the first place.

FWIW I think you are talking about a 7-hit build (WS+6 more swings to 100% TP). A 6-hit build is WS+5 hits, and I don't think that's even possible with a 396 polearm in the low-mid 50s.

[Rikura]

It's been a while since I've done CoP but I ran a mule up and duoed Ix'Ghrah for Promathia mission 8-2 and completed that, then zoned into RuHmet to activate 8-3.

I thought beating 8-2 would grant me access to the west gate in Hu Xzoi but I'm unable to so my question is, when can you access west gate? After beating 8-3? 8-4?

[Deimos]

FWIW I think you are talking about a 7-hit build (WS+6 more swings to 100% TP). A 6-hit build is WS+5 hits, and I don't think that's even possible with a 396 polearm in the low-mid 50s.

I never actually called it a "6-hit build", just referred to needing 6 hits after WS to get to 100%. As for stats lost, at level 54, my setup #2 effectively makes this trade:

Luisant Haubert, Luisant Brayettes, Sniper's Ring:
STR+3 DEX+3 AGI-2 Accuracy+9 Attack +5 Evasion -12

traded for Shinimusha Hara-Ate, Shinimusha Haidate, Rajas Ring:
STR+3 DEX+3 SubtleBlow+5 StoreTP+20

So Acc+9 Attack+5 is lost to take a hit off, that seems like a pretty good trade to me. I should note that I'm also intending to be using Crab Sushi, and I do have Charm/etc, so my accuracy should be decent. The Acc lost by switching to a Store TP build becomes slightly greater at 55 (Peti) and significantly greater at 57 (SH+1), but I'm also higher level and don't need the acc as much either. By Haubergeon level you're too high to be fighting Lesser Colibri any more anyway, and I assume a Haubergeon would sync down poorly (most things do).

It still looks like a good trade to me, but perhaps I'm underestimating how much 9 Accuracy will do for me at level 54?

[TacoTaru]

I'm not sure if this would be better suited for the crafting section, but do some synths have naturally higher or lower skill up rates than others? Right now I've been trying to skill up on Tigerfangs and I've been getting abysmal skill ups. Sometimes I'll blow through 12stacks of black tiger fangs and see 1 .1 the whole time. I know that 60+ skilling up is harder (I already helped my fiancee do her cooking to 95, so this is my second time going 60+) but it seems that this is far worse than anything else I've done 60+.

[Spekkio]

It's been a while since I've done CoP but I ran a mule up and duoed Ix'Ghrah for Promathia mission 8-2 and completed that, then zoned into RuHmet to activate 8-3.

I thought beating 8-2 would grant me access to the west gate in Hu Xzoi but I'm unable to so my question is, when can you access west gate? After beating 8-3? 8-4?

thought it was post 8-3 when the door in the potless room to the central elevator (the one you reach by going straight) is broken open, but i'm not 100% sure.

[Gergall]

thought it was post 8-3 when the door in the potless room to the central elevator (the one you reach by going straight) is broken open, but i'm not 100% sure.

I believe it is actually after you finish 8-4.

[Callisto]

I thought it was before that, though I recall a friend having trouble with that when we ran them through 8-2, I honestly don't remember if it fixed or not before they had finished 8-4.

[Servo]

The west door is accessible when you can use the shortcut to the elevator in Ru'hmet, which is after you complete 8-3.

At least, I think that's when it's accessible.

[Martinius]

quick question...

can you earn points towards trial weapons (in my case, knuckles of trial) during a campaign battle? or does it have to be against a mob that yields experience points, i.e., EP and up?