Help me start a Limbus linkshell

[Nishida]

I am tired of trying to find a shell that runs late night that doesn't fail. Usually every shell I end up in has a chunk of good players, but twice as many bad players. These are shout shells. I figure I should just make my own shell and that way I at least have some control over who does and doesn't join. That being said I'm thinking I'm inevitably going to have to shout for people because most people I know already have a limbus shell or cannot come along at the times I'll be running.

I'm wondering what a good solid setup to aim for, for limbus runs would look like, as well as what is the minimum (provided people don't fail at life) to clear floors for chips? I know people do limbus with just 6-8 people, but is that to clear or more along the lines of for farming +1 items/coins?

Thanks for any help and advice!

[Tsuko_Asura]

Most zones can be cleared with less than a full party, both bosses can be killed with just over a single party.

[jimbobsonofgod]

Don't really be job "specific" get people who are versatile.

A few blms go a long way.

I'd say at least 8 people, split runs, 4 people one zone 4 in another.

Get 8 start winning.

With wins you'll get more people just by word of mouth.Suck, and you wont

[Nishida]

Don't really be job "specific" get people who are versatile.

A few blms go a long way.

I'd say at least 8 people, split runs, 4 people one zone 4 in another.

Get 8 start winning.

With wins you'll get more people just by word of mouth.Suck, and you wont

I see you both saying this is doable with less than 6. I've done this with 6-8 and not gotten full clears before. I'm thinking of putting people on trial runs to see if they can stay in the shell as well. So I mean at first you think I should take it slow see how people do, and then maybe later once I weed out the baddies do split runs?

[Beave]

Also if you can, pay attention to high traffic times....and don't make your new shell at those same times. Really sucks when half of your limbus group gets cockblocked out of a zone (thus pushing back their time for next limbus, which is only really a problem if next is omega/ultima) by some new group that can't even get a clear.

[Nishida]

Also if you can, pay attention to high traffic times....and don't make your new shell at those same times. Really sucks when half of your limbus group gets cockblocked out of a zone (thus pushing back their time for next limbus, which is only really a problem if next is omega/ultima) by some new group that can't even get a clear.

I'm stuck doing a late night shell due to my own limitations. 11PM EST isn't too terrible on my server, most people are doing other things like Dynamis at that time.

[jimbobsonofgod]

Direction might be a part of it too, and sometimes but not often, zones will just fuck you. Most noteably, Temenos West. Some days you get 90 time chests, some days you get none.

For the first while I don't recommend you split at all. Learn the zones, learn what you can kill, with what set up. Learn when to take time chests, when to take item chests.

And to save yourself a huge headache in the long run , Teach someone the zones too, so when you split, you don't have to give directions to 2 groups at once.

You're going to want 3-5 Core blms. When you do eventually split. they'll be doing your
Apollyon NW Temenos East and Central 2 floors.

There are some zones that even I don't split and I got a pretty large group(Temenos Third floor comes to mind).

If you are only Doing Omega side then you don't need a large group at all, I'd say 8 is more then enough. Skill and having the right jobs > numbers really.

[Arthars]

SE: 4 man it. BLM RDM DD DD
DD with different weapon types like NIN and WAR and THF is good here.
BLM is mainly used to manaburn 2F kraken boss after it 100 fist.
BLM also helps to sleepga(wipe shadow) when DD get charm by coarse NM in 3F
Just go for 2 mobs > timer > boss for 123F, should have time to clear all of 4F for extra coins. if not, just go straight to boss is fine for chips

NW: 3 man it with 2 GOOD BLM + RDM
Manaburn 1 2 3 4F for opening portal, get timer and warp. can farm extra coins in 4F if you think you have time. SHould clear with at least 30 mins to spare lol

NE: 4 man it with BRD RDM DD BLU. If you can afford a 5th, get a BLM.
head butt spam is very good here. also its useful to have a blu with magical blue magic setup here.
1F just wait patiently and pull the white and black FAT mandy, kill it, and kill boss.
2F go for the NM bird first, remember to silence because mascure elegy and horde sucks. If no timer from this NM, just kill another NQ bird or 2.
3F Kill huge ass robot
4F Find the right gigas to open portal. if you get unlucky that the portal gigas is Cronos(the one that immune to physical) get BLU to spam magical blue magic on it and RDM sleep > grav nuke too.
5F farm Dhamel and just open the chest to exit. no need to kill manticores

SW: 4 man it with DD BLU RDM/SMN BRD
1F get the rdm/smn to enter FIRST, and pull the fomors of his/her race with carbie. Need some practice to do this right, so it is recommended to use RR for all members at start due to messed up pulls = party aggro wipe. Kill the fomor and warp
2F kill leafless treant and warp
3F kill 1 mimic and warp
4F kill the elementals according to day you entered and win

The amount of people stated on the above tactics are the amount of people you need to win the zone COMFORTABLY. once you get the hang of it, you can do with 1 man lesser per zone. This adds up to 15 people to be efficient.

If you managed to get a free chip from omega, just send in more people for 3 leftover zones and get a set

If omega dont drop an extra chip from previous omega, just go for the above strategy and get back all 4 chips in a day.

you should be doing 1 omega per week to be efficient.

If your good in farming omega chips, its even better

Omega can be won easily with PLD PLD DD RDM/DRK WHM BRD + BLM BLM BLM/NIN RDM/DRK

BLM/NIN for peeling pods obviously. DD like a SAM for standing mode

Omega dies in 10 mins max if you arent farming chips and just targetting the normal 2 pods(first mode change and last 25%)

pretty vague writeup, but this should be enough

my shell and many people dont like temenos, so yea, fuck temonos lol

[Tsuko_Asura]

Ten is a little much for Omega, go with eight max

[Eldelphia]

Most zones can be done with 5 competant people. Six will be more comfortable and some zones can be done with less. Job variety is the key and I don't personally think you need more than two BLMs and if you have a decent SCH then you can drop one of those.

Omega and Ultima will take more people. In time Omega can be done with very few. The key to an easy ultima is a pld or two with decent setup for it and good stunners.

If you have 12 people - you should be able to do everything you need. In time you'll be able to run 2 normal zone runs at once to gather chips faster and 12 covers you for Ultima.

[hagun]

Don't start out low mannig zones. Do that when your members have developed team play and understanding. While every zone can be low manned, it's best to start each zone with six+ members. As a leader, always be aware that something might go wrong. With that frame of mind, have enough people to deal with salvagable mishaps.

Also, realize that group dynamics is vital. A fresh group of people takes time before they can work efficiently. There are chances for many screw ups when you form a new group. So give yourself a crutch in the form of numbers. Early losses to simple zones could easily cripple your LS through dropping morale. This is vital. Once your LS has develop rapport, then you can start out low manning each zone. Also, for bosses, especially Ultima, try to have 18. Facing bosses with a new group with "just over a party" of inexperience folks is bound to reward with fail.

Be sure to have a point system derived from attendance for lotting and a place to view records such as google docs. I think a point based attendace system is vital should people leave and new people join as is the nature of such groups. It's also very fair and rewards those who contribute. Being organized is key to leading well.

Best of luck.

[Vedder]

As stated before, all Apollyon zones can be done w/ a party or less if you have the right combination of jobs to bring to the zone.

It seems like the OP was also interested in the best setups for farming AF+1 mats & coins. So few people focus on that sort of thing after awhile, because just a few months of limbus will get most people all the materials they need to upgrade their AF+1s. However, I'd expect you will need a couple extra people to fully clear the Apollyon zones, unless your single party is top notch when it comes to gear/skill. I think we've full cleared all the Apollyon zones w/ 8 or fewer before, but it was mostly by accident... we haven't tried to see "how low can we go" for full clears, just for getting chips.

[QuePsiXI]

I just wanted to add that I agree 100% to not send 3 in a zone just because it can be done, because you guys are new. At the same time, don't send 12 into any of these zones because that's not going to prepare anybody for the skill and attention you need to pay in a smallman situation. I'd try to take in 6-8, really have them focus on what the strategy is for whatever zone, and then find 1-3 people from that set who you trust to become organizers.

[Korremar]

Most zones can be cleared with less than a full party, both bosses can be killed with just over a single party.

I disagree to an extent on Ultima. While I won't claim he's difficult, to many groups, new ones especially, he's kinda rough. He also seems to have an annoying habit of 1-shotting people now and again.

You're going to want 3-5 Core blms. When you do eventually split. they'll be doing your Apollyon NW Temenos East and Central 2 floors

Eh? Burning through NW is nothing new, but Central 2? I'm curious, I've never heard of that before. We normally take 6-7 in, and just PLD tank Carby.

[Valisk]

I know that this isn't part of your question but one of the most important things is punctuality. START ON TIME! I've quit 2 limbus shells because they fail to start on time week after week after week. Sucks because I was first in line for Homam Body (the only piece I need).

tl;dr - START ON TIME!

[TybudX]

Just a suggestion, but I'd say stick to as few people as you need to consistently beat Ultima. It doesn't sound like you need a Limbus shell, so much as a group of people who are interested in getting Limbus items.

There's a few benefits to operating this way, such as not being tied to a point system, and being able to farm zones freely. "But what about people who only show up for bosses?" you're asking? Well, for one thing, kick them... nobody is that important, and two, with so few people (max 12ish) you will find yourself capping out on some drops pretty fast, anyways, so who cares?

You will also get more familiar with zones a lot quicker than running a larger shell, and by that I mean, everybody will get more familiar. It may start out being something that you are leading, but after a while it will just happen. You might be worried about attendance and all that, but when you have a small group of tight players, they tend to show up regardless of needing drops. Even if some people can't make it, everybody else will be capable of holding their own. It's a win-win.

[Yugl]

My LS is an Apollyon-Specific LS, so I cannot give instructions if you intend to do Temenos as well, but here are a few points for the Apollyon side:

1. BLM. With Apollyon, the more BLMs you have, the better. This goes for BRDs as well, but BLMs will be the major key. To give you an example of what I mean:

NW: 2-3 BLM
NE: 3-4 BLM
SW: 2 BLM + BRD
SE: Melee zone

Scholars work as well for some of those zones, but for NE, you really want BLMs in order to aga dhalmals.

2. Do not start with L-Man groups. Most people here will tell you that X Zone is possible with Y men. True, you *can* do these zones with less than normal amount of people, but considering you're starting the shell, and you're doing pick-ups, it's highly risky business. I'll even admit that after almost half a year, some people in my LS are clueless as to what is needed/where/plans for each zone.

3. Know your goal. Are you hoping to make this a permanent shell or a static for a specific shell? For me, it was more of a static, so I'm very strict on recruitment. If you plan to make it into a static instead of a LS, I gradually building your shell over mass recruitment. Over time, people will leave and some will use the LS to get certain pieces before ditching (Homam legs is the common one for Apollyon). Most of the people who do this are those with 2/4 or 3/4 Homam pieces (Note: Helm is not Homam). If you plan on making it into a continuing LS, then feel free to mass recruit and boot members as necessary. Even if it turns out that every member you picked up is good, you can still farm multiple zones for multiple chips.

4. Educate your members about each of the zones. I myself need to start cracking down on this. It's fine to receive questions about "Which teleport goes where?!" or "What monsters does XX Zone have?!" at the start, but it gets ridiculous later on. It's a simple fact that knowledge about each zone and the strategies associated with each allows your members to play more efficiently and adapt easily. It's especially important for zones like NE or SE where you need specific items that you wouldn't ordinarily need (Ranged Attack for BLM/SCH at NE and different Weapon types for SE).

5. Win your firsts. By this I mean whatever zone you're doing for the first time, you must win it. Not completing a zone will look really bad and drive away members. If it happens later on, it's usually something random that you couldn't account for (Like both Tanks + BRD DCing during Omega!)

6. Technicalities. Fix your schedule, and get your rules straight as early as possible. It's very difficult to change rules/schedule after the LS is running. You'll run into a lot of complaints about past rulings if you don't establish them thoroughly from the start. One advice I can give you is tiering your points system by time of arrival. If they're early-on time, give them more points than those who arrive late. If they arrive super late, give them even less points.

7. REMIND MEMBERS TO GET SOAP EACH RUN. I cannot stress this enough. People forget, and people will ruin runs because they do not bring their soap. Ever try Omega with one tank and no BRD? Not fun. Simple reminds of soap/items will go ways to preventing people from ruining runs.

[FailureMidgard]

SE: 4 man it. BLM RDM DD DD
DD with different weapon types like NIN and WAR and THF is good here.
BLM is mainly used to manaburn 2F kraken boss after it 100 fist.
BLM also helps to sleepga(wipe shadow) when DD get charm by coarse NM in 3F
Just go for 2 mobs > timer > boss for 123F, should have time to clear all of 4F for extra coins. if not, just go straight to boss is fine for chips

DD/nin, DD/thf, rdm, brd is better IMO, and you can clear out every single floor and still finish the zone with 20min left. At the start, I'd just take a 5th DD. Never ever ever take over a party there. Taking too many people at the start does not help your shell IMO, it makes people lazy and makes people not want to be efficient. The different weapon types is good, and sam is amazing...can kill things like that kraken boss basically instantly. Also, bards can sleepga, last I checked...though a charm rarely gets off.

NW: 3 man it with 2 GOOD BLM + RDM
Manaburn 1 2 3 4F for opening portal, get timer and warp. can farm extra coins in 4F if you think you have time. SHould clear with at least 30 mins to spare lol

NE: 4 man it with BRD RDM DD BLU. If you can afford a 5th, get a BLM.
head butt spam is very good here. also its useful to have a blu with magical blue magic setup here.
1F just wait patiently and pull the white and black FAT mandy, kill it, and kill boss.
2F go for the NM bird first, remember to silence because mascure elegy and horde sucks. If no timer from this NM, just kill another NQ bird or 2.
3F Kill huge ass robot
4F Find the right gigas to open portal. if you get unlucky that the portal gigas is Cronos(the one that immune to physical) get BLU to spam magical blue magic on it and RDM sleep > grav nuke too.
5F farm Dhamel and just open the chest to exit. no need to kill manticores

dd/nin, dd/nin, rdm, brd works great here too. Can clear 2f, make sure you get all the chests...3f make sure you get the item chest killing the large pot also. 4f, a rdm can CS solo the magic guy, he can doa full mp bar, convert, more mp, then hit the 2hr chest for convert and a full mp bar back...that means he has 4 mp bars to kill it. Spirits within works also, sam can meditate spirits within, or save tp on the last opoopo, a lot of other jobs (inc bard) can spirits within at the start too. Be sure you farm all the opos for coins.
5f, kill manticores if you have time, 4 free coins.

SW: 4 man it with DD BLU RDM/SMN BRD
1F get the rdm/smn to enter FIRST, and pull the fomors of his/her race with carbie. Need some practice to do this right, so it is recommended to use RR for all members at start due to messed up pulls = party aggro wipe. Kill the fomor and warp
2F kill leafless treant and warp
3F kill 1 mimic and warp
4F kill the elementals according to day you entered and win

DD/nin, DD/nin, brd, rdm or whm. Brd or rdm/whm can sub smn. Dont have the rdm/smn enter first, have the race you want to kill enter first....we prefer hume. Grim Halo sucks, but they pull instantly and shadows work fine. Don't like losing time to invincible or w/e. We take item chest first floor, may want to take time first time there. 2f I agree, 3f clear the floor...everyone should 2hr on the 2f boss, or at the start of 3f, you're guaranteed all 3 chests if you clear the floor.

Omega can be won easily with PLD PLD DD RDM/DRK WHM BRD + BLM BLM BLM/NIN RDM/DRK

Tank, tank, brd, rdm/drk, whm, blm + blm, dd

DD can /nin and pull pods, absolutely no reason to need a blm to do that. Also don't need 10 people at all. My first omega kill ever was with 8.



As I said before, you don't need to overload a zone. People say take everyone the first time, I say that's crap and won't teach you anything. I think failing a zone and learning what to do different will teach you far more than taking 8 to a zone and barely winning. I'd say your goal should be 10 members total (relying on 100% attendance for even omega sucks), and don't take people that don't have a decent farming job (DD, rdm, brd) and a decent omega job (rdm, brd, whm, pld, blm). If you do have 10 show up for a farm day, at the start you can go 5/5 (I don't think 5 is overloading a zone too much), and as people get more comfortable, you can split 3/3/4 or something.

[WANG]

SE: 4 man it. BLM RDM DD DD
DD with different weapon types like NIN and WAR and THF is good here.
BLM is mainly used to manaburn 2F kraken boss after it 100 fist.
BLM also helps to sleepga(wipe shadow) when DD get charm by coarse NM in 3F
Just go for 2 mobs > timer > boss for 123F, should have time to clear all of 4F for extra coins. if not, just go straight to boss is fine for chips

NW: 3 man it with 2 GOOD BLM + RDM
Manaburn 1 2 3 4F for opening portal, get timer and warp. can farm extra coins in 4F if you think you have time. SHould clear with at least 30 mins to spare lol

NE: 4 man it with BRD RDM DD BLU. If you can afford a 5th, get a BLM.
head butt spam is very good here. also its useful to have a blu with magical blue magic setup here.
1F just wait patiently and pull the white and black FAT mandy, kill it, and kill boss.
2F go for the NM bird first, remember to silence because mascure elegy and horde sucks. If no timer from this NM, just kill another NQ bird or 2.
3F Kill huge ass robot
4F Find the right gigas to open portal. if you get unlucky that the portal gigas is Cronos(the one that immune to physical) get BLU to spam magical blue magic on it and RDM sleep > grav nuke too.
5F farm Dhamel and just open the chest to exit. no need to kill manticores

SW: 4 man it with DD BLU RDM/SMN BRD
1F get the rdm/smn to enter FIRST, and pull the fomors of his/her race with carbie. Need some practice to do this right, so it is recommended to use RR for all members at start due to messed up pulls = party aggro wipe. Kill the fomor and warp
2F kill leafless treant and warp
3F kill 1 mimic and warp
4F kill the elementals according to day you entered and win

For your walkthrough of NE, are you somehow able to figure out which of the mobs/NMs opens the Vortex? For example, "2F Go for the NM boss first." Is there a fast way to figure out which is the primary vortex opening NM? Also, "3F kill big ass robot." There are multiple big robots, is there a way for detecting which one is the vortex opener?

It sounds like you aren't really getting any time chests for NE and SW floors. Are you just zerging through every floor skipping all time chests?

Thanks in advance. My shell just started doing low man Limbuses and we've been using probably older strats. We typically try to do every run except the BLM one with 5 people, but ideally I think I'd like to get to that 4-man point.

[Gadritan]

Don't really be job "specific" get people who are versatile.

This is one of the keys imo. Try to find people who have a good mix of support and tank jobs primarily. DD is retarded easy to find, and more than likely those same people will have one if you need it. Tanks and mages run this game.

That way when people don't show up, you've got the versatility to swap jobs up and still make a run.

Really fucking sucks having to cancel out b/c you don't have ____ or ____.