Pyrrhic Victory

Today marks a glorious day. Thanks to my constant farming these past two months, I now own a Stage 4 Axe. Hurray for a baby Guttler!















Although I only need one more item to finish a Guttler, I expect it will be some time before I can obtain the 10,000 piece. Moreover, I pushed myself hard these past two months, so I am all but burnt out from non-stop farming and Crafting runs. Every day, I was either farming or Crafting for gil, and on average, it took a six to eight hour farming trip coupled with ten to twelve hours of chain synthesis for a new One Hundred Byne Bill. In addition, my next relic stage involves L. Jadeshells, and those are approximately twice as expensive as One Hundred Byne Bills.

As such, I need a break so I can recover from exhaustion, search for a new farming method, and explore the latest version update.















I did not do all the work alone however. I would like to thank Goddessalura for both accompanying me on numerous farming trips and providing me loans whenever I was short on gil. Although I have paid off my loans as of last week, I feel that I owe her something special, and if you are reading this, Alura, you should be receiving that Lu Shang's Fishing Rod you always wanted in the next few days.

Nursery Nazuna

Despite the date of my previous post, I have been farming gil for over a month now, and I am already drop dead tired. If all goes well, I will report my progress in late August, but in the meantime, I have decided to blog about something BST-related. If you have been following me on Allakhazam, you can probably glance over this post, but for everyone else, this post explores an intriguing parse with Nursery Nazuna.



















To estimate Nazuna's Accuracy, I assumed* that she could only spawn at lvl 76 (the lowest level one can summon her at) for a lvl 76 BST. By sending Nazuna against lvl 81-82 Greater Colibris, I could then determine her Accuracy via her Hit Rate (a value determined empirically through parsing). Since I did not want to alter Nazuna's base Accuracy, I did not bother with any pet gear, and in order to limit my enmity gain, I decided to forgo food, buffs, and Virtue Stones.

*an assumption from another Allakhazam poster















So after 36 fights and 1000+ melee rounds, Nazuna had a 82.83% Hit Rate (396 rounds) on lvl 81 Colibris, and a 82.92% Hit Rate (679 rounds) on lvl 82 Colibris. Given the sample size, it is highly unlikely for Nazuna to have a similar Hit Rate on both level 81 and 82 Colibris, so what is going on?

One poster on Allakhazam suggested that Nazuna was spawning under level 76 and that I was sending lower Nazunas against lower Colibris; higher Nazunas against higher Colibris. Although this is a plausible explanation, we would have to first determine whether a lvl 76 BST can spawn Nazunas under 76. Unfortunately for me, I do not have the time to test for a level variance anytime soon, so look forward to a follow-up post in the future!

The Last Crusade

After grinding my BST to level 80 solo, I feel the job is still unwanted by the greater XI community. For the longest time, I believed BSTs could be integrated into PTs and endgame events as decent damage dealers, but I will now retract that statement: the majority of players still perceive BST as a hobby job.















As such, I am now redoubling my efforts for a Guttler, and by virtue of gear, I am hoping to open new doors for myself. However, the odds are I will falter before the end, and if I do or if finishing a Guttler produces less than adequate results, I believe I can finally quit FFXI without regrets. So, this is it: a blind charge towards the finish line with no plan whatsoever. But win or lose, it is about giving the race everything I have got.

GUPS 021

A new post already? Khel, what is going on?! Due to the new version update and level cap increase, this GUPS will be relatively short so I can elaborate on my new priorities in July.

To summarize my recent endeavors, I have spent most of May and June preparing for the new level cap. Moreover, I have leveled WAR, SAM, SCH, DNC, and BLU to level 50, and in addition, I have also leveled my PLD to 30 to make use of a few items that were collecting dust. Although I could have leveled even more subjobs, I am relatively exhausted from the previous six.

Other Stuff


Just one new merit today. Although I initially had enough for "Aura Steal" as well, the new limit break required three merit points, so my THF took a hit for my other jobs.






Picked up a new neck piece for my WHM and RDM.















The final rewards of the WotG branch quests. I cannot say the San d'Orian ring (bottom) looks very useful, but the other two seem promising.

Guttler Updates






I have finally reached level 100 Smithing, and in addition, I have raised both my Goldsmithing and Clothcraft skill to 60 as well. For nostalgia sake, I still plan on using the crafts to synthesize a Cursed Hauberk -1, even if an Armada Hauberk becomes outdated by level 99.

Currently, I am working on Stage 3 -> 4 of my Guttler.

I have acquired:
[1/1] Dynamis Axe
[1/1] Attestation of Bravery
[30/60] One Hundred Byne Bills

Gil towards next 100-unit currency (subject to change):
[240k/800k] One Hundred Byne Bill
Status: 30.0% Complete


Crafting Status

Khelandros
[100/100] Fishing Skill
[80/100] Woodworking Skill (+2)
[54/60] Smithing Skill
[14/60] Goldsmithing Skill
[8/60] Bonecraft Skill
[8/60] Leathercraft Skill
[59/60] Cooking Skill (+21)

Cooking mule
[100/100] Cooking Skill

Smithing mule
[100/100] Smithing Skill (+12)
[60/60] Goldsmithing Skill (+39)
[39/60] Leathercraft Skill
[16/60] Bonecraft Skill
[60/60] Clothcraft Skill
[45/60] Woodworking Skill
[54/60] Alchemy Skill

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

Bonecraft mule
[40/100] Bonecraft Skill (+10)








If you are wondering how I leveled Smithing through the final levels so quickly, it is all thanks to failing recipes on purposes. By keeping my subcrafts purposely under-leveled and using Moghancement: Fire (with overwhelming energy) and Artisan's Advantage, my goal was to break as many synths as possible while retaining the most expensive ingredient(s). Considering I got through the last three levels of Smithing with about four stacks of materials, I would say it worked out pretty well.

Distorter of Time

Warning: WotG spoilers ahead! You have been warned.

Click here for part three of the spoof series.
Click here for part five of the spoof series.















So I just narrowly escaped becoming an Elvaan snowman; luckily for me, Larzos' goons tried to build me bottom up and gave up when they realized it would not work. Now if I could just get out of this snow mound, I could go kick a certain Galka's butt. A little help, anyone? Goons? Ladies? Naoi?















Oh noes, what is this? The girls abandoned me to frolic in Larzos' bubble dome after he just tried to kill me? This is utter madness; I wanted to play in his bubble dome! Wait for me, ladies!















Hey, where is everyone going?















And it seems that Larzos has whisked the girls off to his mistress. I guess he did not learn the concept of sharing in kindergarten, but I still have Naoi at least. Speaking of which, has anyone seen that cat? Hmm. Since everyone has abandoned me today, let us conveniently find out what the bad guys are up to.















Yep, there is Larzos, but I did not want to see him in particular.















And helloooooo, Mistress Lilith. I do not know how that green chair of yours keeps you suspended, but my eyes are too busy examining the rest of your body to find out. Lilisette probably cannot hear me right now since I am thousands of yalms away, but if she can, your future alter ego is hot!















I guess Lily did get the message, and now she wants to fight her alter ego. What is it with catfights in this storyline?















It seems that Lady Lilith has both beauty and brawn, Lily. I suggest you keep quiet about her until I come rescue her -- I mean you! If you are wondering how I plan on doing that, I have conveniently met up with Naoi again, and we have joined forces with a San d'Orian ambush party.















In fact, forget the girls; I want a new black carpet! Let us get them, boys!















Supposedly, this ambush provides the perfect backdrop to rescue the ladies from a nearby cavern. Off-screen magic, goooooooooooo!















So after entering a spooky cavern, we found the ladies held hostage by the traitorous Cait Sith from earlier. Just one cat? Even I can handle this. Brace yourself, ladies, for I will -- hey, where is Naoi running off to?! Hmm. It looks like she wants to settle the score personally, so I will sit back and watch.















And watch.















Oh, come on; someone strike a decisive blow already! Fine, I will do it.















Just as Lily and I joined the fray, Cait Sith Ceithir decides to unleash Atomos on us to turn the tide. Hey you evil, vacuum-demon thingy, take Naoi instead!















OH MY GOD! Atomos sucked Naoi right up, and now she has transformed into a giant cat. Please do not hurt me, Super Cat; use your super strength to pummel Ceithir instead! Yeah, like that! Oh man, I do not think he will walk again after that. Now let us go find Larzos and teach him a thing or two while we are at it! What do you mean your powers are temporary, Super Cat? The bad guys are here now!















And Larzos is seducing Portia with his bubble dome again! Do not do it, Portia; it is a trap!















So much for my advice! At least Lily learned to stay back after her previous experience, but I guess I will try and save Portia anyway. Okay Larzos, let her go, and put your hands up slowly.















Hey, do not teleport away! Oh well, I guess we will have to track them down another day. Let us head back to Southern San d'Oria [S] and hang some wanted posters for now.















WANTED! Scantily-clad Elvaan babe with horns. Might be the future alter ego of a girl everyone has forgotten. If seen, please contact Khelandros or the San d'Orian authorities. There, that should do it. I am sure someone will be brave or lucky enough to cross paths with her, somehow. We better report Portia's disappearance to Rage now, Lily.















Hey Rage, this is not going to be easy, but the chick you were totally into has been kidnapped. What do you mean you do not recognize us? It is us, Khelandros and Lilisette!















What the hell is with the amnesia in this town lately? I mean I suppose you could forget about a small, bratty, red-haired Elvaan girl, but how could Rage forget me?! Oh well, until next time.