Liabelle Returns!

My sultry companion returns in what might be her final feature, but do not fret if you will miss her, I expect Lia will appear in cameos every now and then. Now onto the star herself, I decided to work on Lia's time extensions and dream apparel again, and originally, I wanted her to sport a new pair of Noble's Pumps. However, after going through all the possible options again, I settled on a pair of Gavial Greaves instead.



















For the most part, I felt the greaves better matched Lia's harness and chapeau, and although I wanted to replace Lia's mitts as well, I could not find a better-looking item for that slot. Unfortunately, I needed a fourth armor lock before I could retain the new feet, and that alone took a whopping 60,000 Fellow points.



In addition, the time extensions were also costly at 30k, 50k, and 70k Fellow points, respectively, and in total, I have spent 210k Fellow points to maximize Lia's potential. To put things into perspective, thirty DC/EM/T monsters only amounted in 8k Fellow points, and with the same number of kills in a duo or alliance, I received even fewer points.




However, Liabelle has proved her worth time and time again, and she can even deal some damage occasionally. As a level 70 Soothing Healer, Lia always prioritizes my safety first, even when she is at critical HP.















Finally, Lia is great for any group picture, and I knew I wanted a pose with her (and Snippy) after just finishing my Stage 3 Axe last month. Look forward to more on the Axe in my next GUPS post!

BST Merits and You

There comes a time when one must decide which BST merits are worthwhile and how those merits should be allocated. Ideally, there are two types of BSTs at level 75: the melee and non-melee BSTs. As such, I have recommended merits for both types below:

Legend:
Red - Do not invest in this merit.
Yellow - This merit might be worthwhile.
Green - Definitely invest in this merit.

[Group 1]

Killer Effects [Melee/Non-melee]
This merit increases the activation rate of all "Killer Effects" by 1% per upgrade. I only recommend this trait for non-melee BSTs because melee BSTs should be using "Snarl" frequently.

Reward Recast [Melee/Non-melee]
This merit is recommended for both types but for different reasons. For non-melee BSTs, healing your pet can be very important, but for melee BSTs, there does not seem to be much else worth getting.

Call Beast Recast [Melee/Non-melee]
A useful merit that shaves almost a minute off your "Call Beast" recast when fully merited. Recommended for both types.

Sic Recast [Melee/Non-melee]
Only useful if you like using pet moves more often. Even with jug pets, I find that most pet moves tend to be unimpressive in general.

Tame Recast [Melee/Non-melee]
The only merit that I do not recommend for both types given that "Tame" has a base recast of ten minutes; invest your points elsewhere.

[Group 2]

Feral Howl [Melee/Non-melee]
A somewhat useful skill if it lands, but it tends to work poorly for anything EM and above. It can also serve as a secondary claiming tool if you have a jug pet out.

Killer Instinct [Melee/Non-melee]
This skill has been tuned up a notch with the March 2010 update, but it remains useless on some mobs given the current jug pet selection. In addition, it only lasts one minute per use.

Beast Affinity [Melee/Non-melee]
Only useful if your favorite jug pet(s) is/are capped at your current level.

Beast Healer [Melee/Non-melee]
If your letting your pet do all the work, get this and your "Reward" merits to the cap. For melee BSTs, choose this merit if nothing else interests you.

Updated: September 16, 2011

Scrapbook Collection, Page 2

Since I have not done much for my BST lately, I decided to hunt down a Herder's Subligar for testing purposes. Initially, I started slaying monsters on BST, but after some time, I thought of a more efficient way of dispatching my foes: AoE Weapon Skills.















And what better job for AoE WSs than DRK? By rounding up ten to thirty monsters at a time, I could decimate the entire mob via "Shockwave," a Weapon Skill that induces AoE "Sleep" around its target.

Most of the time, the critters dropped blue caskets, so I used them to recover my HP, MP, and/or TP between waves.






As for brown caskets (these drop the Herder's Subligar), I had a decent shot at opening them most of the time, but sometimes, I got unlucky with the number of available hints. In total, it took me some six hours worth of brown caskets before I finally found my Herder's Subligar.

Unfortunately, the trousers share the same model as a Bone Subligar, but look forward to testing on the Accuracy effect in a future post.










I have also been Fishing in the Quicksand Caves lately, and occasionally, I will manage to pick up an Antican Tag on route to my Fishing spot. The tag is used to pop the NM above, and upon its defeat, it has a chance of dropping a Tungi and some random ores. Since I already own a Tungi, I was mainly after spare change.















I also hunted Bright-handed Kunberry just after the big update last month, and overall, I ended up going 1/2 for the cape. Usually, I can avoid fighting the NM's Tonberry friends by using a pet pull, but I have also fought the NM and links simultaneously before.















While on route to a Fishing spot in the Sea Serpent Grotto, I spotted both Wuur the Sandcomber and Masan on my "Widescan" list. Initially, I was only after a few Grimmonites for Fishing GP, but I decided to take a detour and slay the NMs first. Gil is gil after all, right?















Next on the list is Campaign. After stumbling into Jagidbod's Warmachine, I attempted to flee from the NM, but instead, I soon found myself pincered between Jagidbod and an Orcish Strongarm. Not surprisingly, I ended up dead moments later.















After receiving a "Raise" from a passing WHM, I immediately retaliated by attacking the nearby Belfry. Although Belfries summon periodic reinforcements on their assailants, I decided to abuse some pet mechanics to bypass this defense.

Moreover, by attacking the Belfry with local pets, I could pacify a reinforcement that attacked my pet by using "Release," and by doing so, the reinforcement would then attack the nearby outpost. Afterward, I could assault the Belfry again by reacquiring my pet, and by repeating the process several times, I demolished half a Belfry before my Campaign battle ended.















I have also been Fishing in the WotG areas, and to summarize the experience, it is really, really bad. Not only do most fish have notorious bite rates, but they can also snap your line (or rod) frequently. Even with an Ebisu Fishing Rod, I only managed to catch the fish above after receiving no less than two dozen line snaps.















I only shudder at how a Lu Shang's would fare. If I am correct, these fish will serve some purpose with Zaldon after the next update, and I pray that the corresponding items are worth the difficulty.















To add insult to injury, these fish are only worth slightly more than their older counterparts, which makes them otherwise useless for now. As such, I will be funding my Guttler via older fish until the new ones are fixed price-wise.

GUPS 015

I am back in FFXI, and truth be told, I missed my friends not long after departing. However, I will be reserving more time to myself from now on, so I might get sloppy with releasing posts on schedule. As such, readers can expect fillers now and then, and the reasons for fillers are two-fold:

1. I have completed my Ebisu Fishing Rod (along with updating my diary), so I have decided to fish more in my spare time.
2. I do not like blogging on a schedule: some months are uneventful while others are just hectic in real-life.

In addition, all gil earned from Fishing will go towards my Guttler. Realistically speaking, I estimate that I will need another two years before I can hoard enough Dynamis coins at Rolanmart rates.

Other Stuff


Most of my new merits are earned on BLM or from Campaign battles. I have also decided to prioritize my MP and Group 2 BLM merits before switching to BST-related ones.













Finally, level 100 Fishing!







I managed to snag this shield from the AH for 700k. By pitting a DC Wajaom Tiger against several 72 exp Lesser Colibris, I obtained the following data:

Damage taken with shield: 46-79
Damage taken without shield: 53-85

As such, the shield is not very useful on its own, but the effect is there. Still, I am hoping for better results by adding additional Pet: Defense pieces.






As mentioned earlier, the Ebisu post has been updated with the results above. Time-wise, both my Lu Shang and Ebisu Fishing Rod have taken approximately six weeks straight to complete, but of the two, the latter is definitely more frustrating.




However, I also picked up some other Fishing items along the way. While I was out Fishing for Bhefhel Marlins, I occasionally landed some Ryugu Titans, and one of them had a Mercurial Sword in its belly!









But the next day, I even managed to get a second and third sword! As shown above, you can get really lucky (or unlucky) with trading items to Zaldon, but going 2/6 on something with a 1% drop rate is very impressive.





































Finally, a bunch of Pirate Chart runs that did not yield a single Mercurial Kris. I might try more runs someday, but in the event that I find another kris, I am definitely keeping it this time.

Guttler Updates












I have purchased more Dynamis coins (2.7M worth) because I have made excuses not to for the longest time. If you are wondering where I got the money, the gil came from selling my Lu Shang's Fishing Rod -- I do not think I will be needing it now that I own an Ebisu.

Currently, I am working on Stage 2 -> 3 of my Guttler.

I have acquired:
[1/1] Leonine Axe
[1/1] Tabar
[1/1] Darksteel Tabar
[1/1] Tabarzin
[10.33/14] Montiont Silverpieces

Gil towards next 100-unit currency (subject to change):
[0/1000k] Montiont Silverpiece
Status: Varies greatly on selling price


Crafting Status

Exemplar
[100/100] Fishing Skill (+4)
[78/100] Woodworking Skill (+3)
[20/60] Smithing Skill
[13/60] Goldsmithing Skill
[7/60] Bonecraft Skill
[38/60] Cooking Skill

Cooking mule
[22/50] Fishing Skill (+7)
[15/100] Cooking Skill

Smithing mule
[11/50] Fishing Skill
[28/100] Smithing Skill
[19/60] Goldsmithing Skill
[35/60] Leathercraft Skill
[7/60] Bonecraft Skill

Alchemy mule
[100/100] Alchemy Skill
[19/60] Goldsmithing Skill
[34/60] Smithing Skill
[16/60] Bonecraft Skill

For Another Day

Once again, I am quitting FFXI due to real-life issues, and to avoid regret, I have decided to finish a few outstanding goals and my preparations to forge a Guttler someday.





First off, I never thought I could attain the rank of Captain without an Assault static, but the day is finally here! Although I arrived on Asura as a Lance Corporal, determined shouts and teamwork with other enthusiasts have finally brought me to the top.

To anyone else who is also aiming for the rank of Captain, do not give up, and keep track of everyone you have worked with. In my case, there were many times where I repeated a mission due to a lack of members, ideal jobs, or luck in general -- especially for the FL Assaults.

In addition, do not be afraid to low-man Assault missions. For example, I once gambled on beating "Azure Experiments" with a three-man team, and as a BST, SMN, and MNK trio, we managed to clear the mission (with three minutes to spare) thanks to our 2 hrs, pet pulls, and team coordination. A BST is also excellent for low-manning "Azure Ailments"; one can "Charm" disposable pets to easily gather AoE status effects.





The perks for being a Captain are not too overwhelming, but they are useful to have around. Essentially, you get:

1. Free Runic Portals - the cost of runic portal permits drops to zero, but you will still need to purchase them manually. This is probably the best part of becoming a Captain.
2. Free access to the Alzadaal Undersea Ruins - I rarely travel to the ruins myself, but this can be a lifesaver if I ever need to zone without Imperial Silver Pieces.
3. An extra I.D. tag - only useful if you are not actively partaking in Assault.

Speaking of new things, I also ended up with 17 to 20k AP in each of the five Assault regions, so I decided to work towards a Yigit Armor set a few days later.









A piece strictly for my hMP and MND set. Although some players might nuke using this piece, I still prefer using my BLM AF hat over the Yigit Turban.









Again, another piece for my hMP set rather than my MAB gear. The Yigit body also serves as a cheap Sha'ir Manteel substitute should I ever level BRD.








These gloves definitely improve my nuking set, and although my Igqira Manillas have Elemental Skill, the INT on these gages also provides Magic Accuracy while retaining the same MAB. As an Elvaan, I was looking forward to nuking with more INT, so this piece definitely stood out from the rest.








Another not-so-useful piece that will be integrated into my hMP set. By doing so, I will lose less MP when converting between my nuking and hMP set (the former has much more MP than the latter).








The other useful piece. Essentially, it is very similar to my Cobra Crackows, but I will trade "Conserve MP" and MP for more MAB and INT any day.










One of two KS30 runs I did a while back. Neither of them yielded anything spectacular, but I did get a bunch of weapons to sell as a consolation prize.










Just kidding! My ODS run yielded a Damascus Ingot, so I have finally broken my streak of twenty bad KS30 runs! As Ennayram -- another BST blogger -- would say, "moar gil!"









Nowadays, most of my KSNM drops are sold directly to the shops, and thanks to selling all that junk, I think I have earned an extra 15k gil.







Finally, I decided to buy a pair of Cursed Gloves -1 with the money leftover from selling my Mercurial Kris. Although I could have bought three ridiculously-priced M. Silverpieces, it would not have been enough for a Stage 3 Axe, and as such, I decided to invest the gil into something on my HQ wishlist.















Technically speaking, the gloves are only a slight improvement over my Pallas's Bracelets, but I wanted something for my BST before leaving the game.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for reading my blog(s): it has been great fun detailing the adventures of a virtual trio for over a year now. Someday, I know I will return for my Ebisu Fishing Rod and Guttler, but for now, these items will be left as goals for another day.