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Zantetsuken's diary (20 articles)

Sam Merits and you(open)09/01/05 14:10(128)
DISCLAIMER:

1 the expressed views are solely of that of the author. They are not fact and you're welcome to disagree with me

2 I haven't played XI in what, a year and a half now? That said, one of the things about XI is it doesn't age the same way WoW does (my poor 70s are useless in light of Lich King) and from what I've read game mechanics and gear/merit issues still haven't changed that much (Hagun still reigns supreme for pre-relic GKTs and my Hauby +1 is still a sexy, sexy body piece)

SAM Merits 101:

Hp/Mp: MP is useless for SAM obviously, and really the HP ones won't do you much good either. That said, both are invaluable for leveling lower jobs. save them for later if your focus is endgame SAM

Attributes: I'll come outright and say I've always had a bias against attribute merits; they're a terrible bang for your buck. 3 merits for the first point and 9 for the subsequent, all for one more of stat. Maxing out a stat like STR uses so many merits you could have done two other categories instead. That said, SAM WSing revolves around strength, plain and simple. They're useful but cost-ineffective, so I had planned on saving them for last.

Combat skills: GKT comes first, hands down (and should probably be the first category you focus on). Skill points are both more damage and more accuracy, and with the exception of unique merit abilities will usually give you the most for your merits. In addition, once your gear improves and your merits are done, you can use the boost in accuracy and attack from your merits to focus on other stats such as Store TP. After that, go for polearm; Penta spamming with a decent polearm is perfectly viable for merit parties, though expect people to ask you to leave your polearm at home for more difficult encounters. If you want to put your extra merits in bow, knock yourself out (though I've never cared for it myself). For the defensive merits, if you want to do those I'd go with parrying, since SAM actually has a really high parry rate it just seldom gets capped.

Magic skills: doesn't apply to SAM obviously

Others: Critical hit rate, low to mid priority. I wouldn't suggest messing with enmity 'cause it can kill you if you level a different job (or *not kill* you as a tank, lol).

Group 1 Merits.

Third Eye: I was wrong on Beanie's post, it's actually 2 seconds non-seigan and 1 second for seigan. Is it useful? sure, no denying that. But as I was explaining in said post it's only situational. Meditate is universally useful and flows well with several of your other abilities while Third Eye only works in conjunction with Seigan. Sometimes those extra 5 seconds would make a difference, I won't deny that, but any situation where you're not taking the merits go to waste (especially since third eye can't stop AOEs) whereas you'll always be meditating and even when you're tanking it helps you keep your threat. If you want to discuss the matter further that's fine, worse case we agree to disagree.

Warding Circle merits: junk, don't bother

Store TP effect: Worth it, though it should take second fiddle to meditate merits IMO (max both but meditate first). Store TP can reduce the number of hits to WS which makes you waste less TP and crank out as much WSs as possible. However, people tend to look at TP to 100 in a glass box; they don't factor in the extra TP you could take from pulling hate, AOE attacks, losing TP from only Double attacking/Zanshining a WS (those times when the WS does about 200 damage and you only get 1 TP), etc. Doing research and making a viable "X hits to 100 TP" is a good idea, but don't rely on it like it's the sacred word or anything. Worse case, you run multiple parsers and make some decisions based on that.

Meditate: I already stated my case for this one multiple times, so it shouldn't need to be mentioned again. Another thing to bear in mind though is that meditate can be enhanced through AF1 head and AF2 gloves, which just makes the merits even more useful (as does Overwhelm and Shikikoyo). I'll say it again; Samurai revolves around TP and WSing, and meditate is the building block of that.

Zanshin; I like Zanshin, I really do. problem is it's unreliable and the better your gear gets (in terms of accuracy) the worse the Zanshin merits get. If you have spare Tier 1 merits for any reason it never hurts, but by the time you're getting solid 75 gear these merits will become less and less useful.

Tier 2 merits
Shikikoyo: useful, definitely nice for endgame situations. I'll admit I never cared for Shiki but at the end of the day it's nice. A good way to show favoritism in a party when everybody asks for it at the beginning ;)

Blade Bash: ah blade bash, was so nice when it was a ranged attack and gave samurais a chance to actually claim stuff (there's screenshots of samurai claiming fafnir halfway across the room, lol). That said, now that it's melee range it's pretty junky. If you're hardcore about maximizing your merits, skip it. If not, take a rank out of Shikikoyo and get it just so you have it.

Overwhelm: Best tier 2 merit hands down. Max it out 100%. That said, just bear in mind you won't always get to face the enemy in certain situations, and tanks usually get cranky about melee getting in their business. Also, after an overwhelm move to the back so you avoid parries.

Ikishoten: There have been players who've tried out heavy Ikishoten/Zanshin setups I think. Unfortunately, I don't recall them parsing very well. It's a great merit category in theory, but in practice it's not worth it since you'll begin to rely on zanshin less and less. Pass it up, get overwhelm and shiki.

An important thing to bear in mind about merits is that gameplay mechanics change a lot at 75. Store TP setups for example aren't nearly as practical in lower levels, so Store TP merits wouldn't be as useful. Abilities such as overwhelm are both impacted by other abilities and merits but also in turn change your gear setups and approaches. Long story short, what may be true/useful for you leveling SAM may be very different at 75 + merits. Finally, a fully merited character really isn't 75 anymore, it's more like they're 78 or so; merits make that much of a difference.

As for gear, I won't really get into that much since I know it's changed somewhat since my absence and there's a lot of issues to address (not to mention I was stubborn in resisting several haste or Store TP setups, and in retrospect I was probably wrong on those).

For endgame GKTs though, the answer is simple; if you can't get a Hagun at 72, find a GKT to use in the mean time then farm/ENM until you can get a Hagun. Relic takes literally a year of grinding, turmoil, and a *lot* of drama to get and really isn't worth it. Futsuno Mitama that you mentioned is a drop off Absolute Virtue, which I don't even know if there's Midgard HNMLss who even down him regularly. Even if they do, finding a seller would be difficult/impossible and the price would be outrageous. Even then? it's not *that* good; almost every GKT pales in comparison to Hagun regardless of its stats. Sad but true. In your case Morlock, you can probably stick to Soboro until 75; it may not be the best choice, but it'll get the job done until you can get a hagun. There's a few intermediary GKTs that can be viable though; Kamewari at 70 (drops off Amikiri in Gustav, only takes 6 or so 75s to down), Ushikirimaru/Onimaru at 73 (Ushiki drops off Zipanca, a sky NM; the drop rate is abysmal. Onimaru is an ENM drop and used to be quite cheap; it's a really nice GKT for what it is and should out-parse your Soboro. It has both latent *and* hidden effects).

Hagun only drops from An antlion in sheep's clothing ENM, which isn't terribly hard but the drop rate is pretty poor. Plus, you have to find people who are willing to regularly do the ENM AND climb that stupid freaking mountain each week. If you can get a group to do it for you great, but I'd start saving to buy it just in case.

Any other questions/comments are welcome.
Morlock > Zantetsuken, thank you very much for the discussion. I appreciate the huge effort in compiling this information. Since I have a couple of months before I make any decisions on merits, I can ponder several points of view on the topic. Sounds like my initial plan to organize a Hagun hunt is still the biggest bang for my buck. Also, appologies for now having *3* locations for this discussion. (09/01/05 15:38)
Zantetsuken > no need for thanks Mor, this was mostly from memory and I always enjoyed helping those who wanted to pick up the GKT :). Bear in mind though with Hagun that it's once per 5 days and the drop rate is estimated around 15%; even if you do it nonstop it can take quite a while before you get your hands on one. Be prepared to get a temporary blade if needed, I'd still suggest saving money regardless, and make sure to keep your Soboro sharp 'cause you may be using it for a while ;) (09/01/05 16:56)
Mirrsie > Your KoL person got deleted! I can't throw TP at you! (09/01/07 18:08)
Zantetsuken > sowwie Mir; when they re-vamped the endgame for KoL my shadow went from stupid easy to needlessly difficult; I got tired of it all after that and stopped playing. I may be stupid enough to take up Squeenix's offer of return home to Vana'diel at some point though =P (09/01/07 19:37)
Sara > maMjvLpsRhhfixanst (09/02/18 01:36)
Sara > Xkmpllrr (09/02/19 22:58)
Sara > kZgmUpjcEYdlhidd (09/02/21 00:07)
Sara > ibMqLezfhyGrpzxmkaG (09/02/21 01:44)
Tome > dMMwxtjo (09/02/21 17:59)
Tome > qLrchabesQ (09/02/21 19:33)
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05/18 17:33(open)05/18 17:35(127)
as it says on the main page, I'm doing tatami on Monday in the afternoon. This isn't a terribly practical time for a large scale event I know, however Siv and I are going to be around and having Northstar and Draxyle Kite/DoT it while we SA WS it a few times until it dies. it'll take a while, but they're willing to do it, we have HQ shields and I have faith in their duoing ability. Not to mention at the end of the day I just want my shiney new shield (Siv and I hit BST 72 on Thursday ^^). So, if people are around and want to punch/kick/slice/hack at a big fat gigas, awesome. if not, we should get the job done and I'll post an SS of the newfound shields ^^.
Linmayu > Monday afternoon? Awesome, I ought to be able to log in around then. I like kicking gigases in the crotch. (05/18 21:45)
Shadowneko > I'd love to go as I cold use the shield for the attack+ but I'm not sure I'll be home then.... (05/19 14:45)
Zantetsuken > yay LinMNK. and Neko, not only is this a pop NM that requires a pre-made item with materials that have a terrible, terrible drop rate....but you're thinking of Viking Shield. Tatami shield will give you a whopping 1.5 atk outta 3 STR (05/19 16:50)
Guppy > I'm afraid I will be at work at that time, sowwies! (05/19 20:31)
Izzitda > I may or may not be around. If I am, though, I'd be happy to send a puppy to gnaw at its ankles. (05/20 09:03)
Shadowneko > yeah I got them mixed up but both of those are reccomened THF/WAR endgame shields. By my calucations I'll be either at the train station then or in transit XD (05/20 15:51)
Mirrsie > I miss yoo. (07/11/20 13:37)
Zaalus > SPAM spam...spamspamspam... lalalabeerbeerspam! (08/09/10 12:22)
Zoofster > SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM (08/09/10 15:53)
Zantetsuken > oh don't be silly you two, "spam" from you two is actually welcome, in a weird, convoluted way =P (08/09/11 10:49)
cealia > yay zan! *hug* (08/09/11 12:27)
Lothiriel > hi! (08/09/14 10:32)
Zantetsuken > hi Lothi. is crafting even worth doing these days with all the deflation? =P (08/09/14 19:04)
Zoofster > Yay Zanny, you crazy Elvaan. Did you ever get your katana sheath? (08/09/15 13:07)
Zantetsuken > only in my mind Zoofy, only in my mind :(. Some people did some lovely .dat mods of sheaths, but I didn't bother with them. plus, they tended to glitch during weapon skills (particularly Kasha) (08/09/20 14:05)
Mirrsie > *throws TP* (08/11/04 00:08)
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(open)08/09/12 13:28(126)
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Assaults, NMs, farming, BCNMs, the works.(open)04/15 21:04(125)
I've been thinking it over, and I'm realizing there's a whole bunch of stuff I have on my things I want to do list. However, as usual most things you can't do by yourself (unless you're a red mage =P). So far I think I'm looking at (in what's roughly an order of priority.......)


1 KSNM30 Season's Greetings. Last I checked there was plenty of interest on this one, but we still need to find a day that works for everybody. Strat's already ina previous entry, so that's taken care of. I'd prefer to do quite a few of these if possible, because if I could snag a few logs I'd like the cursed pieces for a rainy day. Logs are still at a decent price and we could probably sell them to semitry, so hopefully we can get on this maybe as soon as this weekend (though it's easter weekend so probably not)

2 Nyzul Isle Static. I figure hopefully there's enough people out there who are interested in a piece from the new sets or just enjoy Nyzul enough to do it regularly. I personally want to get to at least the 40th floor for the Askar Pants, since they'd be quite useful. I figure we'd set a day, do something like 3-4 runs so we'd make progress but at the same time leave tags open for people who wanted to do other stuff too.

3 Tatami Shield Run. New Strat for Tatami shield! simple, effective, just requires lots of melees!

4 Limbus- *update* currently Jhedin, Myself, Ketra, Siv and Chesh are planning on setting limbus on Wednesday and Sunday around 6 central. we're hoping that since some people can't do that every time we can find a few people here and there to fill in the gaps. we're hoping to find at least 1-2 apolloyon/tenemos that we can handle so people can get AF1+1 from both sides.


5 Sea Organ farming- been working on this with Jhed and Co, but it's easier said than done to get a Yovra-friendly party made. let's work something out, kill UFOs for great justice! besides, just about any other organ I can solo/duo for you with enough paitence =P

6 Beastmen Hat quests- most people got a beastmen hat made shortly after they came out, but few people actually finished the quest for them. each quest involves going to a ??? and selecting it, triggering 7 NMs to pop. you only have to kill 1 in particular, so you sleep them and zerg the one. takes a few 75s (*edit* just tried this with a party of 5. the thing has a *lot* more HP then I anticipated, and aggro is permanently fixed on the person who pops the NM. you'd want more like a party of 10 with 8ish melees, a WHM and a sleeper). it's not something with a large amount of prep time or strat, just requires manpower. the big reason I want to do it is so I can hand in my gobby hat and then get a Yagudo hat made.


7 Promyvion Vazhl map- yes, I know the map isn't terribly useful, and that's why it's low on the priority scale. However, it *is* my last map period, and for that reason I'd like to get my hands on. Just need a few crazy people willing to kill big scary empty.


I wrote this mostly to remind myself of what is on the to do list, but also to see what perks people's interests and whatnot. hopefully I'll be getting stuff done/off the ground/dates settled in the near future.
Lothiriel > Heads up, can't do anything the 22nd, it's my birthday. (04/11 16:48)
Zantetsuken > sorry, I deleted Amir Korazin since it was done and wanted to add two new events/shift priority (since Vazhl is still the lowest). (04/11 20:55)
Nimbex > I will help with things! (04/12 17:24)
Izzitda > Interest in lumber = check! (04/16 16:30)
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killing stuff at the killing guild(open)03/21 08:37(124)
so yesterday I decided since I wasn't going to see my friends (they were all back at college or doing something or another) I'd just watch some movies at home while I LFP'd for meriting since it always takes forever. Of course, the first time I LFP while watching a movie I hadn't seen (MI:3, it left something to be desired), I get an invite within 5 minutes from littlemaru, one of the owners of those fancy Maat's Cap things. I take it (got an invite right after too heh), went to the Mire with RNG SAM WAR NIN BRD WHM (WHM later dc'd and was replaced with a RDM).

We got the good mire camp just outside the staging point, and the bard did a rocking job pulling. We first had a chain of 40+, then our second time around got to chain 68. After that the war left, I stayed for a few more chains then stopped 'cause my sis and I were going out to dinner. Racked in a little over 20k exp, and was put at 4 2/10k towards my rank 5 meditate.

After dinner I decided to lfp and watch a movie again (this time one I'd seen lol). Another mire party invite about 30 minutes later, only the spot wasn't as good and about 10 minutes into it I got stuck pulling. While I don't care for pulling much as a whole (don't like it but I can tolerate it), on SAM I'm entirely opposed to it for two reasons. The first being I macro in and out Tiphia Sting and Sachet, which leaves me without an RA to shoot without mucking up my macros. Second, my melee setup uses dusk trousers which slow down running speed, so I have to switch to STR to pull, then back to melee then back to STR if I WS and with that much macro hitting I'm more and more likely to be meleeing in STR setup which I prefer to avoid since it hurts my damage output. Anyways, despite the party not being so hot I managed to get my 5th merit and finish meditate. All that's left is Rank 2 Shikikoyo (I'm tentatively planning on keeping Blade Bash despite its nerf, I'm kinda fond of it).

I decided later in the evening to get to work on that merit, and got a nice thickets party. thickets aren't so hot for me since Mamool Ja like to firespit which ignores third eye, but we had a WHM and RDM so there was plenty of healing power to accomodate. Managed to get a pretty nice rate of exp (I'd guess at least 8k/h) and I walked out with 16k meritis towards my rank 2 shiki. I figure two decent merit point parties outta get me that and I'll be done with SAM merits.

On the other hand, last night I did the number crunch on how many merits I'll have for SAM VS how many go into BST. Once shiki is done my grand total for Samurai merits (thoguh it includes Crit Hit) is 83. However, BST merits goes all the way up to 90 x.x;; (30 of the merits are MP, the other 60 BST specific including Axe merits). Not to mention another who knows how many merits if I decided to level stats. So yeah, SAM may be done in about 2 merit parties, but the journey is far from over heh.
Sivara > I am all for more Shikikoyo merits, for obvious reasons. >_> (03/22 07:04)
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What a day for a daydream....(open)02/26 08:38(123)
my my, I had quite an adventure yesterday. It all began with Zaalus out in the Garden of Ru'Humet to help a friend of his, Psymon, get Euvhi organs for a relaxing earring. They were duoing them, and since I owe Zaal a favor or two I decided to go out and help. Triong went fine, but the drop rate was pretty meh. Jbo came out (friend of Zaalus's) with TH4 to speed things up, whereas Jahn came out 'cause he was bored and Chesh came with in hopes of snagging a few Euvhi organs too. We managed to get all of Psymon's euvhi organs, and Jbo left.

Afterwards, we met up with Loth who was outside soloing some sea mobs for her gorget. We helped her finish off her non Yovra organs, and i got the bright idea of "hey, there's 6 of us, why not try a Yovra?". Everybody was down for it, so Jahn lead the way to a Ul'Yovra (he'd been trying to kill them earlier with his linkshell and had a fair amount of difficulty). Buffed up, pulled/slept it, debuffed it and got to work.

Even the weaker Yovras are no pushovers. They have a noticeable auto regen, hit for a good 250 a strike (additional effect paralyze too), and their WSs are nasty. With the exception of Boost (which is generally considered the more pleasant WS as long as a ninja can blinktank the strike), *every* WS they do is AOE, and 2 of them strip utsuemi (1 of those stuns and the other one strips you like lamias). They also have a 1,000 needles type move (which comes with a nasty poison), AOE damage + gravity, and the fomori move Dancing Chains only with a different name. Oh yeah, don't forget AOE charm.

The setup we had was Zaal and Loth NIN, Chesh and Psymon RDM, Jahn RNG and myself SAM. We had Loth and Zaal stand on opposite sides of the thing, and set up Darkness for me so I could SATA on to which tank didn't have hate. Jahn just kept his distance and did damage, while Chesh and Psymon did mostly healing and debuffing. While they don't have a large amount of HP (I don't know, say 7,000-10,000? It's not too bad when you're cranking out 1k+ WSs with sneak attack ), the Regen does drag out the fight. Furthermore, their WSs can turn the tide of a fight pretty fast. One good AOE stripga or stun and a few smacks and a tank can go down pretty fast (which happened at one point). We played it pretty conservatively, and managed to take it down. Yovra Organ dropped (which apparently is about a 50% drop rate for Ul'Yovras), and Jahn won the lot. he already had his other organs farmed, so he went and got himself a fancy new breeze gorget.

2 Ul'Yovras are up at a time, so we decided to go after the second one as well. Killed that one as well, no organ drop. Since the Ul' Yovras don't repop for another hour, Loth suggested "why not try an Om'Yovra?" Om'Yovras are just like the other ones, but a few differences. They have a much higher auto regen, and when they charm people they completely lose hate when they're uncharmed (whereas for Ul'Yovras only lose partial hate after a charm). Not to mention they're higher level so they hit harder, have more HP, etc. We all decide "why not" and Jahn leads the way to an Om Yovra.

You could tell the difference on the Auto Regen right off the bat, I felt a lump in my throat when I saw it regen a noticeable tic of HP a few minutes into the fight. Even so, we kept going at it. The WSs it used were overall mild (it could have been a lot worse, stuck to AOE drown and such a lot), but it was a hard fight for the tanks to get back hate after the charms. We managed to get it to about 15% and had trouble getting it any farther. It was cranking out the harder WSs, and eventually it AOE charm'd and Zaalus killed Psymon. Chesh got Psymon up, ninjas got back hate, but it was regenning at the same pace and was hard to keep it in check. After getting it under control we got it to about 10%, I cranked out an SATA WS, popped the 2 hour, and managed to kill it (for once my Meikyo WSs didn't miss at a crucial point lol). Organ drops, Zaalus wins lot.

By the time this was all done the Ul'Yovras had started to repop, so we decided to go after those in hopes of getting everybody who wanted a Yovra organ one (4 people). We kill another Ul'Yovra (which felt like a cakewalk compared to the Om), organ drops, Loth gets it. Psymon wanted to get going, so we decide to kill one more Yovra before stopping. We fought the other Ul, which took a turn for the worse when Loth died. This led to a partial whipe around 25%. Everybody at some point died except me ^^''. Good thing the red mages had reraise up. Chesh managed to pick up Psy (he died twice), then raise the rest of the melee. We kept it slept/bound/gravitied, and waited while the melees got unweakened and the mages got MP. The thing regened (in about say, 7 to 10 minutes) regen from 25% to about 75% x.x. Once we were all ready to go we started round 2 and killed it, another organ dropped, yay Yovra organ for me!

Psymon had to run, so Chesh Zaalus Loth Jahn and I mopped off some of my orgrans. Afterwards Loth left, so Chesh/Zaalus/Jahn/Me kille Xzomits to finish organs for Chesh and I. I had to run to dinner in the middle of this, and when I came back I was summoned off to limbus. We did Tenemos-west, which of course got my hopes up because it drops both SAM and BST AF1+1 (not to mention it's a pretty good coin dropper, 13 people and I got 5 ABCs out of it! ^^). Had a scare 'cause the time chest was being fickle, but that worked out in the end. First floor dropped BRD (nobody wanted), second floor didn't drop an item chest, and third floor dropped BRD again x.x. finally we get to 4th floor lizards, an item chest drops and......bam, BST *and* SAM drops. I couldn't ask for anything better lol. BST goes to me uncontested (nobody except Siv and I want 'em), Avy lotted the SAM but then passed it for me (very nice of him), so I finished my 2nd SAM AF1+1 item set and my first BST Af1+1 set. Unfortuntely, I don't have the coins to upgrade both (in fact I'm a few coins short of upgrading one x.x), so I'm taking a temporary coin loan from nimbex to hand it in so I can lot future BST AF1+1 items. Was going to upgrade hands first, but I'm starting to have second thoughts. I may upgrade boots first because at 70 there's Trainers Wristbands that are 5 CHR, whereas for Boots the only other piece with 5 CHR is volunteer's nails which look like a huge pain in the butt to get. Or maybe I'll even just take Zaalus's advice, suck it up and get the AF1+1 pants while requesting the whole set since I need the NQs lol. I don't know, I'll figure it out before Sunday.

Anyways, afterwards I came back to help Zaal get his last Aern organ, then convinced (read: begged =P) him and Guppy-taru to help me get my last Phuabo. it dropped, handed in my organs for a Flame Gorget, checked my Bird and went to bed.
Nimbex > organtastic! Very nice to know that a group of 6 can handle either sort of Yovra. (02/26 12:13)
Chesh > Nimbex: It really isn't recommended unless you have a) really well geared, and b) crazy people. (02/26 19:50)
Lothiriel > The Om' was *rough*. If we hadn't had 2x NIN and 2x RDM I doubt we could have pulled it off. (02/27 07:24)
Zantetsuken > A decently balanced party of 6 (moderately to well geared) could handle Ul'Yovras with little difficulty provided they were careful. I would *not* recommend going after an Om'Yovra with 6 unless you're in a great setup and/or crazy. we honestly shoulda lost ^^' (02/27 12:18)
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L-l-l-l-limbus!(open)02/22 12:20(122)
So, as I've mentioned to people earlier, I'd really like to do some CTY focused limbus. Like some people here I just want AF1+1 and for the most part don't want to touch Omega/Ultima with a 10 foot pole, 6-4 was enough thanks. From who I've asked so far, a workable roster *might* be feasible (the lack of a red mage or a bard is really where the concern comes in, but we'll be doing the easier limbus so it may still be feasible).

In order to put the wheels in motion on this, a few things need to be done. First, I need to know from those who I asked if they're definitely willing to try this out. Second, I need to know what Af1+1 items people are interested in so I can know what zones are and aren't needed. Finally, we need to pick a day that we could do this. I'd prefer to avoid sundays if we can find another day that works since a *lot* of stuff tends to happen on sunday as-is. So, if I can get this info outta Guppy/Siv/jak/Lin/Loth/Zaal that'd be super, and I'll take the next step to getting this in motion afterwards.
Lothiriel > I'm still interested. I mainly want NIN but I'll take RNG too, and perhaps BLM. Saturday before Dynamis would work great for me, if people were available. I'm usually sitting around before Dynamis wishing I had something to do. (02/22 12:37)
Sivara > Best non-sunday nights for me are Monday and Thursday (after 9 PM, for now. Galka says I will get Thursday nights back eventually). You and I can work our BST schedule around this pretty easily. As for items, I just need the BST upgrades; I'm not sure which but you know. (02/22 14:04)
Lothiriel > Monday and Thursday I tutor a neighbor kid from like 7-8 central but am available after that. (02/22 14:47)
Jakune > no sat during day, or tuesday :-P my current limbus time is fri and monday (02/23 14:58)
Guppy > Have BLM and WHM at 75, and would be interested. I'm currently in the Pacific time zone. Sometimes work late, but can work around that if I know in advance. (02/24 10:08)
Linmayu > Mondays I'm not free until after 10pm central. Any other day is good for me. I have no idea which items I need, but they're all monk. >.>; Also, my NIN sub isn't leveled and won't be for a while; getting my RL house organized is a higher priority right now. DX (02/24 18:09)
Name
TATAMI GAESHI!!!!!.........errr, Shield.(open)02/22 12:15(121)
Well folks, as you probably know I've had my eye on a Tatami shield for my BST for a while now, so Siv and I managed to get enough lumber to get some Piccarroon's shields made, so I'd like to put them to good use in the near future by setting up a Tatami Shield run (not to mention if something goes wrong then I have more time to farm for more lumber before BST can actually use the shield). Here's the rundown on the NM:

The NM is a Gigas named Gration, lvl 80-85ish. He's found as Misureaux Coast at a ???, H-8 (only clearing the 3 promies is needed to fight him). He's spawned by trading a Hickory Shield or a Piccarroons shield (HQ). Hickory is a 50% chance of dropping, Piccarrooon 100%.

Gration is a caster, but from what I've read has fairly low MP. He casts the following spells:

Thundaga III
Thunder IV
Haste
Enthunder
Shock Spikes

He uses standard Gigas TP moves (I'm told his Grand slam hits around 500, which is powerful but not horrible). Finally, he has a very strong intimidation factor that intimidates all jobs roughly 50% of the time.

First, here's the setup I'm looking for:

2 NINs
2-3 WHMs
1-2 RDMs
1 BRD
4ish BLMs
The rest Melee

It's just a tentative job list from what I've read and what strategy I have in mind, I know it could be done with less of some jobs but this is the "ideal".

The fight:

Have all the melees who can use a sword charge up TP for a 300 TP Sprits within (on mobs *outside* his regular pop area). Mages buff, everybody eats food (if I can find some fairly cheap +HP food I'll divvy it to the meeles), etc. one of the ninjas pops the NM, Uses Spirits (if they can, if he thundaga IIIs or something they run) and then starts kiting him. The other ninja follows, but tries to stay out of the AOEs ranges so he can pick up the kiting if the first ninja dies. The melees (carefully) follow and use Spirits within when he stops for longer castings. We'll kite him in roughly a circle, so the mages can stay in the middle and cure/nuke. When the melees dump their spirits within, they disengage and start killing the local mobs to re-gain tp. once they're at 300 and have their hp at full, they'll go back and repeat. I'll probably have 2 or so melees (probably myself and a monk) set up a skillchain for the mages to burst off. rinse and repeat until he dies.

Ideally, we'd be killing him 3 times. First I'd use a leftover hickory shield as a practice run so people could get a feel fro the NM. Once we get that down, we'll pop 1-2 Piccaroon shields (maybe only 1 if he drops a shield on the NQ, but I'm not getting my hopes up). Afterwards, if others who want a shield bring pop items, we'll kill those too *if* the group is willing to stay. Afterwards it's off to the Bat's Lair where the drinks are on me ;).

As usual, I'd like to schedule this for a Sunday since that's usually the day that CTYers and other folk come together the best. I'm planning on bringing in some help from friends and other acquitances, so if a good chunk of CTY is willing to help Siv and I out combined with a few friends we should have more than enough people to get the job done. Tentatively I just want a roster of people who are willing to stab/nuke/curebomb for this thing, and what time on Sunday generally works for you. Once that's done I'll see how a specific date works, and if there's the green light we'll go for it.
Lothiriel > RNG is good for kited mobs like this, but I can bring NIN if you're short on them. I have lots of nice kiting gear for Dynamis (Arhat's+1, etc.), but I'm not sure if my sword skill is high enough for SW. But with +15 Enmity or whatever I don't think I'd have a hate problem. Maybe I can borrow Hades Sainti from Semitry. (02/22 12:40)
Nimbex > I'm open to helping. I pretty much can handle a time between 10a and 8p Central on most Sundays. (02/22 17:17)
Izzitda > Axl > Baiken (02/22 17:23)
Elizara > I helped on this fight once before. I'm usually free from about 3:30 EST -5 EST and after 7 EST until I get sleepy. ^^ (02/23 05:51)
Elizara > And that's on Sundays. :) (02/23 05:52)
Lothiriel > Apparently RNG can solo Gration... http://www.killingifrit.com/forums.php?m=posts&q=141324&d=120 (02/23 07:32)
Zantetsuken > I have a hickory shield in my bazaar that I haven't been able to sell, if I haven't sold it by the time this run happens I'll let you try if you want loth ;) (02/24 05:42)
Guppy > Poke me if I'm on, not always around on Sunday afternoon though. (02/24 10:09)
Name
KSNM30- Season's Greetings(open)02/02 09:55(120)
As some of you know, I've been preaching to do a different KS30 for CTY then copycat. This one's a bit harder, but if you can pull it off the rewards are better then pretty much any KS30 out there (consistently at least). Here's the breakdown:

There are 4 Treants in this BCNM, each representing a different season (you can tell by the leaves on their head):

Gilagoge Tlugvi-WHM (Spring)
Goga Tlugvi-MNK (Summer)
Ulagohvsdi Tlugvi-NIN (Fall)
Gola Tlugvi-DRK (Winter)

In the beginning, none of them aggro and you can choose how you want to pull them. they go in the order of the seasons: Spring >> Summer >> Fall >> Winter >> loop back to Spring. When you pull a treant the rest do not aggro/link, but the next one in the order of seasons links when the current treant pulled uses his 2 hour ability.

Recommended order (the one my group did and it makes sense) is Nin (Fall) >> DRK (Winter) >> WHM (Spring) >> MNK (Summer).

Notes about each Treant:

NIN- only uses weaponskill "pinecomb bomb" (1 shadow, causes sleep if lands). attacks have additional effect paralyze. Mijin Gakures at low health. Doesn't dual wield

DRK- only uses "Drill Branch" (2 shadows, blind if it hits). Additional effect, Absorb TP and Blood Weapon.

WHM- only uses "Entangle" (Cone bind), additional effect dispel. Benediction

MNK- Only uses "Leafstorm" (AOE 2 shadows or 600-900 damage). Additional Effect: Stun and 100 fists.

The NIN (as long as you don't get a nasty Mijin), DRK, and WHM are all a joke with a balanced party and a Ninja tank. the real difficulty comes in the monk. He attacks at least 2 times a round (usually more due to Kick Attacks), Stun procs frequently on his attacks, Leafstorm hits like a truck and if he's awake when he hundred fists you can pretty much kiss the run goodbye. Also, the Treants will regen to full if left unattended over time, so whipe >> raise will not work.

Ideal party setup:
NIN (essential)
RDM (essential)
BLM (essential)
2 Melees (could probably do with other jobs, but the lack of damage output would cause problems)
Support Job (I'd say a BRD or a WHM is best to fill this last spot, another RDM or a SMN might work too).

Have all melees sub ninja, even if it's gimp (in my case >.>;;;). The biggest reason for this is Leafstorm can be absorbed my shadows, and most melees will die in 2 leafstorms if left uncured, and Ichi can take care of that. Even 2 handed melees can put out enough damage output to get the job done with /nin.

Strategy:
Enter, Buff, etc. Have everybody except the ninja stay in the pathway a little bit away from the burning Circle, and let the ninja pull the NIN Treant. Have the mages stand closer to the Treants while the ninja and the melees fight the NIN. for the NIN, put up Barfira/Fire Carol around 50%. At around 40% set up a skillchain and have the BLM burst off it. Stun if possible and try to minimize/avoid the Mijin Gakure. When Mijin goes off (I think we only avoided it once), the DRK will aggro. The Red Mage needs to sleep II it so the melees can finish off the NIN.

Once the NIN is dead, pull the DRK a bit farther back and repeat the process. When he uses Blood Weapon the RDM sleeps the incoming WHM. Mages need to keep a close eye on the ninja tank since the DRK will hit hard if he can get through shadows.

When DRK is dead pull WHM and start killing. the MNK will aggro once the WHM Benedictions, and again the RDM sleep IIs the monk. WHM takes a little longer to kill due to Benediction, but isn't hard.

Once the WHM is dead the real fight begins. Have the Ninja use provoke every 30 seconds while the MNK is asleep to build hate (use emnity gear if you have it). Red Mage should stick Gravity on the Monk. Have the ninja waiting in the circular room for when the monk wakes up. when he does, the ninja kites the monk in a circle. Gravity must be re-applied when possible, and if the Monk starts getting hits onto the nin, sleep him (the monk will get resistent over time, so the RDM will need to get everything he can outta his/her enfeebling gear). In the mean time, the BLM will support the RDM with sleeping and such and also doing *light* nukes (can't be anything heavy because the ninja needs to keep hate). In the mean times, the melees will run ahead of the treant and attack him (he'll walk slower due to gravity). Melees will continue to do this and use WSs unless they pull hate, which they'll back off a bit. The ninja will not be attacking the MNK, and can use an earth staff. When the monk uses hundred Fists, sleep it. period. Two sleeps will most likely be needed to stop all of hundred fists (it lasts 45 seconds). Ninja build more hate during this time. When the monk finally reaches low %s (20% or so), the BLM and RDM can try to sleep nuke it. This can be risky since the MNK will start to build resistance, so the kiting strategy can be used to the death of the mob. once the Monk is dead grab the loot and do it again.

Rewards:
* Thyrusstab
* Rampager
* Expunger
* Subduer
* Durandal
* Hoplites Harpe
* Morgenstern
* Sorrowful Harp
* Root Sabots
* Attila's Earring
* Lacquer Tree Log
* Divine Log
* Adaman Ingot
* Damascus Ingot
* Damascene Cloth
* Demon Horn
* Orichalcum Ingot
* Darksteel Ore
* Beetle Blood
* Petrified Log
* Raxa
* Philosopher's Stone
* Vile Elixir +1

(Rare/ex KS30 items are Bow, Great Sword, Great Axe, Staff, and Club)

Most of the loot is pretty standard, however the big appeal to this KS30 is the divine Logs. Divine Logs still fetch a nice price (currently around 900k on auction house), can usually be sold directly to known woodworkers (last run I did we sold 3 D logs directly to Semitry), and drop at a very high rate (my run we won 4 times and log dropped 3 of those, 4th dropped a dama ingot. One of the guys I did that run with won 6 runs and D log dropped 5 times). Basically while this BCNM is harder, you'll get more gil per orb then any other KS30 on average as long as you win.

So, I'd like to do another run of this naturally. I was hoping to shoot for a Sunday since it's usually the best day all around. Most people here have jobs that can fit the requirements, though obviously there has to be some pick and choosing. Interest?

Sivara > *vokes the other melee spot* I have Kindred Seals out the wazoo, I'm a 1337 WAR/NIN, I'm free on Sundays, and I need to burn my heaps of Kindred Seals. The problem is that I imagine melee selection will depend on who can make a good skillchain for the BLM, which means I probably can't go with Zan. (02/02 10:16)
Sivara > I mentioned my load of seals twice. D'oh. I blame it on the fact that it's hard to read your whole post on this single line. >_>; (02/02 10:17)
Lothiriel > I can probably go if I'm useful. Was saving seels for KS99 but yeah that's never going to happen. And I'd still like to do Copycat for the rare/ex gun... but bleh, guess I can just get a Shark Gun and be gimp. (02/02 10:44)
Nimbex > I'm saving all my seals for KS99, but I'd help for a round of 5 fights (or whatever) just for the shot at a Morganstern. I don't think a Thrysusstab is actually worthwhile, but Morganstern is pretty much a top choice for DD, I think? (02/02 12:17)
Ebin > I'm interested if you need a DRK/NIN. I have 250ish seals. I'm available before the Super Bowl (5ish EST) (02/02 12:26)
Ebin > Oh, I see know..."a Sunday", not necessarily this one. Anyways, stun sounds like it could be useful against these mobs. (02/02 12:33)
Chesh > I am a BLM! I'd really like a Dissector for my RDM and BLU, so I was planning to save for birds, but I would like gil more. (02/03 11:04)
Izzitda > Interest! Unless it's the 3rd Sunday of a month, I'm free. I can either come DRG/NIN and stab things or SMN/something and outsource some beatings. From how Leafstorm sounds, perhaps you'd do well with some Earthen Ward and Noctoshield. (02/03 22:06)
Guppy > I have a keen interest in this as well. However, although my BLM is now 75, I still have quite a ways to go for merits. (02/04 16:57)
Zaalus > If you need a nin, tag this galka along! i have lost count of KS's i have and currently only have about 20k to my name. (02/05 07:39)
Name
01/25 10:22(open)01/25 10:28(119)
So, despite having Sea for several months, the only things I had gotten out of it for the most part were my rajas and my brutal (which are both important, but I essentially bought the brutual). with Avails disbanding I had no limbus shell anymore (though they were horrible at doing it regularly :/) and not only have I not done much of Sea gods, but I've also heard the horror stories.

Turns out some people in Delevel also wanted to do limbus, so I decided I'd sign up for that in hopes of getting items for my BST in advance and hopefully updating a piece or two of SAM. First run we did was Weapons Weakness Apolloyn (which I had done with avails once), which went great: 4 coins per person, AND I got SAM and BST +1 items (two people were nice enough to pass on the SAM for me). So last night we were debating of which zone to do, and naturally I opted for a temenos since not only had I not done one, but I would love a stab at the other +1 items I need. Around the 4th floor the SAM +1 item drops, the person who passed on my first piece passes on the second (owe her a big thank you on that one) and bam, upgrading my first AF1+1 in a week. add a few buying of coins from chesh, a quick laminated buffalo leather from Thistle and I have a Myochin Kote +1 due to arrive around 10 PM central on Sunday ^^. Go go limbus!
Nimbex > In my experience, coins tend to be the limiting factor, more than the upgrade items. Of course, if you're inclined to buy coins, I imagine this works differently. In any event, kotastic! (01/25 10:52)
Zantetsuken > my enke bracelets have 7 str on them and they were what i was using for WSing, they're being replaced by the 7 str 7 dex on the kote, so I didn't mind buying coins since I was selling the bracelets (BST doesn't need STR as much, and I have no intention of getting Pallas/Aylk). It was an equivialant exchange IMO (325k in coins + 50k for buffalo hide and the bracelets sold for 390. close enough) (01/25 13:35)
Nimbex > Whoa, how did you get Limbus into your autotrans? (01/31 14:31)
Zantetsuken > the same way I got (Fat) (Dick) into autotrans. ()s do wonders (02/01 09:56)
Nimbex > Clever! (02/01 12:20)
Name
oh random generators, the fun you bring.(open)12/26 23:14(118)
so, I saw that Paws had a link to a site where you type in a noun and it puts it into famous movie quotes, so I just had to see what it would do with BONER....


I ate his BONER with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.


The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Taking EAFD to a whole new level.

http://thesurrealist.co.uk/movie.php?word=BONER <-- that's the site, there's at least 10 other good quotes that had me laughing my ass of using boner.
Name
The emptiness is calling you.....(open)12/12 12:23(117)
In light of some luck (key dropping during Swift Belt run + chest being out of hellroom due to servermaitence) + a lot of death (about 10-15 WHM deaths) = Zan has a near complete map collection. I've finished The Garden of Ru'Hmet and Sacrarium in the last week, which leaves the Brenner Diorama map (just need to do a brenner), Grand Palace of Hu'Xoi (which Ezhno said he'd solo), and last but not least........



Promyvion Vazhl.

Promy maps are somewhat straightforeward: get a memosphere off the "unique" mobs in each promy (thinker, gorgers, etc) and trade it to a ??? to get your brain fried with the map. I was able to do the other ones by duoing the mobs with my NPC then climbing spires during ENMs or with Siv. However, Vazhl doesn't offer the npc quest *and* the unique mobs on each floor are significantly harder (VT to IT) so I need a party to go farm memospheres. The exp actually isn't too bad, and the mobs can be killed with a party of 6 or more.

Both myself and guppy need this map (in his case it finishes his collection, for me it's the last major hurdle) so I wanted to organize an event to farm. Vazhl is 50 cap, and requires you to be on CoP 5-1 or farther to gain access to the zone. I was hoping to get a party of 6 or more, farm the memospheres for a reasonable amount of time (set a rough time limit such as an hour or so), then go do the ENM 50 at the top of the spire, pulling the plug. Assuming people do want to do the ENM, I'll do research on strategy and drops. For now I just want to get a feel for who's willing to do this, then I'll schedule a day based on whether or not people are up for this and what works best for them.

Just think, if I get this done you'll always know who to ask for directions ;)
Chesh > I would enjoy maps! Also ENMS! (12/12 14:11)
Sivara > ENM and map-hunting sounds good. I can bring THF (for drops) or WAR (for rawr damage). (12/12 21:52)
Zantetsuken > if you were willing, assuming we had a big enough party to handle it I'd say THF for farming and WAR for ENMing. since Vazhl you can teleport to different floors the issue of going back and re-changing isn't like other promys (12/13 07:46)
Nimbex > Memospheres drop 100% off the Dia Wand NM. >.> Perhaps we can go farm up some pop items for that. Supposedly a party can handle both the Mea NM and the Vahzl NM. (12/14 09:23)
Zantetsuken > I've considered that approach, the only downfall I can see is we'd have to go to Mea *twice* to get 2 pops (1 for me 1 for guppy), which means a bear minimum of 2 runs (that's assuming we go after vazhl NM right after 2nd Mea) plus if we don't kill the vazhl NM...back to square 1 (12/14 12:18)
Zantetsuken > I mean, I'm open to the idea, and I'm willing to help you get a dia wand. just saying if the focus was solely on maps, the other approach would probably be more efficient. I'm open for either approach though, just want my map heh (12/14 12:18)
Guppy > I have a set of 3 weakness Animas as well, and my Tactics pearl quest is open for this week. (12/17 09:17)
Name
11/25 17:00(open)11/25 17:01(116)
stuff
This is my cat: note the vibrant greyness. (sorry it took me so long to post this Chay, finally found the USB port for the digi).
Lothiriel > cute! (11/25 17:57)
Sivara > /pet gray cat (11/25 22:44)
Chesh > Your cat has a very pixelated back. (11/26 03:18)
Zantetsuken > not really: I just have shitty photo-editing skills (11/26 09:42)
Mirrsie > /pet /pet /pet (11/26 13:57)
Chaylinn > I hear JPEG-artifacting affects 80% of the cats whose photos are posted on the web! (11/26 14:01)
Linmayu > Yay gray cat! :3 (11/26 22:54)
Nimbex > Paws! Cat ears! Such a good cat! (11/27 10:28)
Name
A Dirty Little Secret(open)11/17 19:19(115)
"Really Sir, it's not a problem. Let me take the receipt and deliever it."

Zantetsuken shook his head at the guard. "I insist. I said I'd deliver it presonally, and I intend to do so."

The guard sighed, his shoulders drooping slightly. "Very well, go on in."

Zan nodded to the guard, and entered.

"I only wanted to get a chance to walk around a bit," he heard faintly behind him.

The Chateau d'Oraguille looked as it always did: elegant, noble, and spotless to boot. Zan took his time walking in its hallways, occasionally nodding to the Royal and Temple Knights he passed on his way. A few recognized him, and those who didn't merely stared at his Saotome Armor. He couldn't help but smile behind his kabuto. Mess with a few vanguards and suddenly you attract everyone's attention, he thought to himself.

He passed through the central garden and approached the guard at Prince Trion's room.

"Excuse me, is Trion in?" Zan inquired.

"Prince Trion is out sir. I will take care of any matters relating to him," the guard responded, putting great emphasis on the word "prince".

Zan chuckled. "Very well then. Make sure he gets this," he responded, handing him the receipt.

The guard slightly nodded then starting looking elsewhere, ignoring him. Zan continued to walk on the sidewalk towards the larger garden made for Destin's former wife, the queen. Chalvatot was hunched over as usual, carefully attending to each and every flower in the garden is if they were his own children.

"You're working as hard as ever Chalvatot. I'm sure the Queen is smiling upon you in the afterlife," Zan said, smiling.

Chalvatot finished his business with his current flower, and slowly stood up. He stared at the samurai for a moment, then his face light up when he recognized him.

"Ah, it's Zantetsuken! You're putting that map to good use I imagine?"

"Of course, I travel to the outlands on a regular basis these days. And did the hummus I give you do any good?"

Chalvatot nodded. "The garden is growing beautifully, as you can see. I'm glad Altana has blessed this garden."

Zan shook his head slightly. "It's more than just Altana. Those flowers bloom because of your hard work. Don't forget that."

Chalvatot blushed slightly. "Perhaps, perhaps."

Zan stared at him itently. "Don't sell yourself short, I can't emphasize that enough. If you weren't preoccupied here I'd hire you personally," Zan chuckled.

Chalvatot laughed heartilly. "My duty will always be to the crown. Thank you for the compliment though."

Zan nodded. "In any event, I must be on my way. Keep up the good work."

Chalvatot gave a brief bow, and continued his work. Zan walked slowly towards the exit of the Chateau, looking at the various flowers and art as he passed. As he was leaving the central garden he heard a voice behind him.

"The great warrior Zantetsuken has become an errand boy?"

Zan turned to face the voice. It came from King Destin, who was slowly approaching him from Prince Pieuje's room.

Zan gave him a very curt bow. "Sometimes even the greatest people should do little tasks in order to get a better perspective on the world."

Destin chuckled. "I disagree. The mighty are meant to do what the weak cannot, and focus solely on that. Let the weak handle the minor details."

Zan cringed slightly as his words. "Well, we must agree to disagree then I suppose. Now if you'll excuse me I must be on my way."

"Now just a minute young man," Destin responded, speaking as if he were talking to a delinquent child. "I have business with you."

Zan looked slightly puzzled. "Oh? and what would that be?"

"You're a Windurstian citizen, yet there's San D'Oria blood in your veins. I think it would be wise of you to return to serving the Royal Family. A skilled warrior such as yourself would be a great asset to us."

Zan briefly pondered his words, then slowly shook his head. "I am not interested in serving the Royal Family, blood or no blood. The windurstians took in my family and treated us well, and I've had pleasant experiences with their government."

"Government? a bunch of tarutaru respecting a Sybil who they claim can predict the future? What a bunch of rubbish," Destin scoffed. "Your father was a great temple knight you know, and I'm sure you'd be even greater then he was. Don't make the same mistake he did."

Zan's left hand clenched into a fist, making a slight creaking sound from his Saotome Kote. "Mistake? My father made no mistake. After all, why should he support a king who's church is misguided, who causes undead to roam in his neighboring nations, and sells out his sister nation to save his own sk-"

Zan didn't finish his sentence. He sensed the intent, and swiftly sidestepped to avoid the attack. In the same motion he drew his Hagun, parried the second blow and faced his opponent.

"Good afternoon, Lady Curilla. How's that water working out for your eye?"

"How dare you insult His Majesty!" Curilla roared, glaring at Zantetsuken.

Zan took a few steps back, taking stance with his Hagun at his side. "I didn't come here to cause a stir. He provoked me and I responded. Nothing more."

Curilla crouched slightly, taking a small step in advance.

"That is enough Curilla," Destin spoke curtly.

Zan sheathed his Hagun. "Fighting you would be a pointless battle, for both of us."

Curilla kept glaring, and slowly put away her sword. "I won't forgive you for this."

"I said enough Curilla," Destin snapped. "Zantetsuken, I think it'd be wiser for you keep any further business you have in my nation as brief as possible." Destin turned around and headed for the Queen's garden. Zan stared at Curilla for a moment, then walked past her and exited the Chateau. He pulled out a small ring and took off his left Kote. He placed the ring on his finger and raised the hand to the sun. After a few moments he felt a strong pull on his stomach, and after being engulfed in darkness for a few moments he found himself at the breakaway bridge in Tavnazian Safehold.

"Others may, but I will never forgive you for what you've done to this place Destin," Zan said to himself. He crossed the bridge and headed down the stone path to the Sealion's Den.


To be continued.......
Sivara > Nice writing. ^^ (11/17 19:29)
Lothiriel > ::does word search for "sivara" and "furry mithra bosom", comes up empty, decides not to read it:: (11/19 20:50)
Name
11/16 11:03(open)11/16 11:03(114)
Ancient Man of Mystery: The hunt begins.









'nuff said.
Cydori > But is he an International Man of Mystery? ^_~ (11/16 11:49)
Zantetsuken > No, but he wields about 5 weapons, including a GunBlade, Brotherhood, Buster Sword and a blade from the older FF series. (not to mention he looks freaking awesome) (11/16 13:36)
Sivara > *stabs Zan for minor spoilage* :P (11/16 13:53)
Cydori > Someone with the combined powers of Cloud, Squall, and Tidus? Think of the angst! It would be unstoppable! (11/16 13:57)
Lothiriel > thanks zan, guess i don't need to play ffxii anymore. jackass! ::throws ps2 in the garbage, mijin gakures:: (11/16 14:53)
Name
11/04 12:19(open)11/04 12:19(113)
Zan White Mage is going places
Name
The exp scrolls! they do nothing!(open)10/23 09:04(112)
so, the version update finally gave me an item I've wanted for ages: a crafted, powerful sam-friendly polearm (Engetsuto: lvl 70 85 DMG 480 delay 2 acc store tp 1 drg sam war). I've been wanting to do Royal Ramble for a while to get my hands on the Gondo, but I figured a crafted polearm would be easier and then I could put my seals towards other things (such as the rare/ex KS30 GKT). So I had a friend look up the recepie and it seems fine....except for the Scintilliant Ingot.

Scintilliant Ingot: 98 GS, Orich ore x1, Luminium Ore x3. Luminium ore can only be obtained via an ISNM or mining in Halvung. Ingots can also be obtained through lamia bracelets, but those drop off T>>VT Lamia and is an HQ3 desynth. So, Siv and I both wanted one and have decided to go halvung mining for it.

Halvung is an interesting mining spot. All the points are contained in a relatively small area (you can check all the spots within 5 minutes), and there's about 15 points total. There's sneak aggro crawlers and womuaras and sight aggro moblins, bombs and trolls. A good majority of the points are just next to crawlers (nice and easy since you can mine sneaked, which is ironic considering the noise you're making) a couple are near trolls but still safe and some are pretty much inaccessible.

Sounds fine, but there's a few catches. For starters, some of the points are by bombs. The bombs usually are far enough away that you can mine without aggro, but they aggro magic casting as well. So either you bring a stack of powder or sub nin for Tonko, or you run the risk of getting magic aggro. I've learned multiple times now how good bombs are at detecting magic >.< (Siv's had a few times where she's gotten to run 'cause they casted flare: I haven't had that luxury yet).

Another problem is the trolls. normally you just need to invis to walk past them and they don't bother the mining, but there's one spot in particular that has 2 mining points and 5 trolls all in a rather small room. Considering 3-4 points can only be up at a time (it may be more, may be less: I can't get an exact count of how many points are up at a time) it can slow things down. Furthermore, I discovered last night there's an NM who's truesight that spawns near a point that is normally mineable. But with him there it's just as bad as the room with 5 mobs.

Last but not least, the final kicker is the outcome of mining. the Luminion ore is *stupidly* rare, so a lot of the times you get a whole pile of flint stones, sulfur and bomb ash. The best mining Siv and I have had so far is Orich ore (she got it not me) and a couple of gold ores. I've burned through 7 stacks of pickaxes and Siv's probably through at least 5 stacks and we've yet to see the luminion ore.

Despite the setbacks, mining halvung has its perks. First off, it's a lot of fun sneaking around and finding points. The death is discouraging, but as long as I have an "affordable" buffer I don't mind that. Second is while there's a lot of crappy stuff to mine up, there's also moblin and troll equipment. the moblin stuff can be sold, and the troll stuff can be desynthed for troll bronze. Troll bronze is used in 91 and 96 smithing recepies, so this is a great way to farm for future smithing while still going after something I want. Plus, Scintilliant Ingots and luminion ore haven't sold on the AH for over a week now, and the last ingot went for 500k. even if we were to try to buy the materials for the ingot rather than mine it, it'd cost a fortune.

So yeah, who wants to do exp scrolls for mining buffer? >.>;
Guppy > Zant, is group mining in this area a possibility? (10/23 12:51)
Sivara > Guppy: duo mining is pretty awesome, and I imagine 1-2 more people could join in to cycle through the points quickly. In thinking about where the points are...you could probably put a higher level WHM/NIN over with the bombs, another person near the points with eruca (2 points), another with the big troll room and side paths with trolls (4 points). There's another point way off to the south that someone would have to jog down to and check, or a 4th person could sit there and rarely mine (and that would suck). People could also communicate constantly and have points that they'd share in checking. But yes, I think group mining could work in this zone. (10/23 19:21)
Zantetsuken > group mining is all about cutting a zone into equal sectors of distance/mining points. In the case of halvung, yeah I could see you dividing it into more than just half, into thirds, and probably even fourths (fifths seems too much). one of the biggest problems though is that while you can divide the zone equally easily, it doesn't mean it's practical. the personw ith the 3 bomb + 1 Bomb/womura point won't be as happy as the person with all crawler spots, plus there's 3-4 points that are nearly impossible to mine depending on circumstances (another perk of multiple people though is you can train mobs while others mine to get those ugly points gone though) (10/23 22:09)
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Royal Ramble! Cardian smashing for great justice!(open)09/27 15:57(111)
well, you guys know me: I can't go on too long without scheduling an event. I've been thinking about it more and more and I've realized I really want to go after the rare/ex polearm: Gondo Shizunori. Today's horoscope (the other KS30 that drops it) looks ugly, so I figure Royal Ramble is my best bet. Here's the breakdown:

There's 4 King cardians: Rdm, Blm, Pld, Whm. When you attack one, the other three despawn and 2 queens pop: BLM and WHM. so you fight 1 King 2 Queens. they are all immune to lullaby, charm, and sleep. they can be bound, gravity'd, and silenced, though I've heard people having trouble with bind and silence. The general approach is to kite 2 mobs and pick them off one at a time. Here's how I wanted to approach it:

get a party along the lines of: Ninja, Red Mage, White Mage, Samurai, Warrior, Ninja (this is the first thing that comes to mind). Pick a BLM or PLD king, and have the Red Mage and ninja work together to kite the King and the WHM queen. the other ninja (or paladin if that's the main tank) provokes the BLM queen and the War and Sam go to work. Once he's done the ninja brings back one (preferrably the king, save the WHM for last) and the red mage kites the whm. kill the king, then kill the whm, all done. 2 kiters may be unnecessairy, but I figure start with two and if 1 can handle it move back to just 1 kiter.

Noteworthy drops are:
Dissector/Destroyers/Gondo-shizunori/Coffinmaker for rare/ex weapons.
Dama Cloth/Ingot/Trump Crown/Orich Ingot (supposedly) for money.
Adaman Ingot/Vile Elixir for smaller but still significant money.

Here's what I propose:

All I really want out of this is to get the polearm and to sign my haubergeon if an ingot drops. I have enough for two orbs. If the polearm drops, I'll let people split the rest of the spoilers between themselves and take myself out of the cuts. If the polearm doesn't drop I'll still split my 2 orbs 6 ways (including myself). if a dama ingot drops, I'll synth a haubergeon and split the nq 5 ways with the rest of the people. so basically provided we don't lose you can still get something out of the run even if you don't bring the orb.

We can approach this several ways: either
A set a date for just my 2 orbs + Sivs (she said she wanted one) just do those three and leave
B make a larger event out of it if everybody wants to bring an orb (which would be 7 or so)
C not set a date (I'm guessing we'd only do this if there was 3 orbs) and just do it whenever people are avalible

I told a couple people in Avails I'd make them the same offer, so I'm mostly focused on finding a time to get this together and go. So, if you're interested let me know and hopefully we can work something out that suits all.
Lothiriel > I'd like a Coffinmaker, I don't think I want to drop an orb though... (unless it turns out to be an easy win, and/or Trump Crown turns out to be a common drop, then maybe). But yeah I can help. (09/27 16:23)
Sivara > I have a stack of 99 KS, and I do not mind throwing down more than one orb. (09/28 08:13)
Salsachip > Count me in. (09/28 21:04)
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Assault Stuff(open)09/19 15:32(110)
I figure while I'm not a permanent part of Nim's assault group on Sunday, I do join up with you guys on a relatively frequent baisis, and I do have corpral. So, I'm posting which zones I need stuff from (at the very least it'll be good for my own memory). Also, I'm posting which assaults I haven't done yet in case more runs are scheduling for the sake of overall completion.

Assaults I haven't done:

Leujaoam Sanctum:
Escort Professor Clavauert (SP)
Counting Sheep (C)

Mamool Ja TG
Sagelord Elimination (SP)
The Double Agent (C)

Lebros Cavern
Lebros Supplies (PFC)
Siegemaster Assassination (C)

Periqia
Building Bridges (C)

Ilrusi Atoll
Searat Salvation (C)

Items from each location (scale of 1 to 10 on the want):

Leujaoam Sanctum
Miraculous Cape (10,000 points: 1)

Mamool Ja Training Grounds
Amir Boots (20,000 points: 10)
Antivenom Earring (3,000 points: 4)

Lebros Cavern
Amir Korazin (20,000 points: 9)
Insomnia Earring (3,000 points: 4)

Periqia
Hotarumaru (15,000 points: 5)
Fortified Chain (8,000 points: 6)

Ilrusi Atoll
Invigorating Cape (10,000 points: 1)
Grandiose Chain (8,000 points: 1)
Velocity Earring (3,000 points: 1)


In Summary: Need Mamool Ja and Lebros the most, haven't cleared Corporal and some of the harder non coporal assaults.
Nimbex > I'd like to plan out an opt-in sagelord fight some time. Not sure when, but might be a weeknight thing. Sagelord is hard, but doable. Probably needs heavy sleep/nuke types, but might be room for a SAM 2hr. ^^ (09/20 11:52)
Zoofster > If you guys are doing any SP missions, I'm more than eager to help out. As well as with any missions I haven't done yet, since I'd like to up the duration on sanction. ^^ (09/20 13:22)
Zantetsuken > nim: I glanced briefly at the sagelord fight, I know the big deal is that he runs around linking everybody and their sister. what I'm wondering though is how long is the fight/how difficult are the mobs? I think you might be able to kill most/a good chunk of the linkers in advance and then just keep chasing after the sagelord (09/20 13:34)
Beanie > Zan: I've done sagelord. If you have 2 sleepers it's easy to keep the links under control, just ignore them, really. The sagelord himself seems to have a lot of HP, so keep him DoT'ed 'cause most of the damage to him will come while he's running away from you <.<a He always does "Warm-Up" and then bolts. Having an Avatar on him to follow helps a ton 'cause he'll run out of your viewing distance in a flash. Otherwise it's not a hard Assault. Just keep whacking at him when you can while 2 people keep the adds under control. By the end it's actually pretty funny <.< It's like a car chase x.x (09/20 17:40)
Nimbex > With 3 sleepers, we didn't find us able to keep the links under control. We didn't see much reason to use an avatar, since finding him isn't the concern, it's the links. But, yeah, with BRD, BLM, BLM, we still had a hell of a time keeping the links asleep. (09/21 11:53)
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Promy Spire Runs(open)09/15 08:04(109)
I'm completely deleting the old post (minus the subligar run info). why? update/new agenda. Last friday I did ENMs with Jhedin and his friends, and managed to get 2 of my memosphers handed in. So rather than focusing on multiple promyvions.......


Let's focus on Dem.

Promy Dem has a stupidly easy ENM, and a fairly decent Mission as well. (Gorger Mobs are the weakest of the three). Plus I couldn't trade my memosphere in there since the ??? was on the third floor and I couldn't reach it. So three birds one stone.

Last I checked, the only people who need Dem is Phht and Paws (Soteria and Lorelei are done with promies I think), so I'll talk with paws about setting a date. Phht if you could post here that'd help me work this all out. Offhand, here's people I know who have expressed willingness to come help out:

Izzitda
Myself
Paws
Phht
Chesh.

Assuming all 5 of us could find a day that works, we would just need a 6th. The event as a whole would take a decent chunk of time (a few hours) mainly because we'd be checking map ???s, ENMing, and probably hitting up memory fluxes on the way. However, once we're focusing only on ENMs and Mission Fights, I suspect we can run through Mea and Holla with efficiency.

As for the issue of Anima, for Dem I'm not going to worry about it since I have 2 anima in my locker that I'll put to use for this promy. Mea might require farming, and Holla definitely will. we'll cross those bridges when we come to them. Either way, let's start small and move up.

Also, keep in mind if people want to come to help spire climbing but not the actual fight for some alterior motive (maps or fluxes for example) that's fine by me.

*ninja edit update*
Just talked to paws, she said: Monday after 2, Friday after 2, and Sunday after 7 works for her. Thoughts on those days/times?

In other news.....

I'm still shooting for subligars on the 17th. Several people have raised complaints about my sac pulling idea, so....I'm going to test it. there's a 2 man party in the ducts, so I'm going to bring Siv with and pull one with provoke while she takes the other one and see if it goes after Siv once I die. Based on that I will decide where the run is. if we can safely sac pull, we're doing ducts. if we can't, we have to go Sacrarium, plain and simple.



Also, I've updated the old post to reflect what I recall saying people wanted in terms of subligar and who was just willing to help. If I made a mistake or am missing information, please tell me here or on the subligar post
Lothiriel > How is getting promy maps your number one goal? lol.... sorry =P also lol at fan service. I can't help who I am! I told you I swapped female hume rse .dats for a school girl outfit right? xD (09/06 17:04)
Sivara > If you want to go the tactics pearl route, I can help (although getting my own memospheres is tempting...). I imagine me/you/Zoofster would work well for that, as far as availability and compatibility. If you go the mission/ENM route, I'll have to pass for various reasons. e.g. I don't want my schedule to restrict the times you can do this, a veteran shouldn't take the spot of someone who needs this (Phht, Soteria, Lorelai, etc.), and so on and so forth. (09/07 08:20)
Nimbex > There's a bunch of people who need trips up the spires to the Memory Flux -- might be useful to track them down. ^^ (09/07 12:06)
Lothiriel > Good call Nimbex! (09/07 14:03)
Izzitda > I'd love to BLU up some Promies and get some sweet ENM EXP. Color me interested. (09/07 18:46)
Cydori > When do you want to start subligars? My normal playing time on Sundays is 1-5PM Eastern (noon-4PM Central). However, I could do a little schedule moving and be ready around noon my time (11 AM yours) if needed. (09/11 09:25)
Lothiriel > Is Dem Indigo? I have an Indigo in storage. Tried to trade it once and got pwnt. (09/11 10:31)
Cydori > Mea is Indigo. Dem is Beryl. (09/11 10:38)
Cydori > Noon central works for me. Since we're doing the ducts, can I bring my WAR? If so, would you prefer me to sub MNK or NIN? (Or THF, but that's slightly underlevelled.) (09/14 06:42)
Cydori > Agh, commented to wrong post. Oh well. ^^; (09/14 06:52)
Lothiriel > Your comment is now officially longer than Elizara's. Just a heads up xD (09/14 08:37)
Cydori > Ehh, might as well keep on commenting to this post... Zan, please don't kill me, but some family stuff came up and I'll probably only be able to make it for an hour or so on Sunday. I'm sorry. Also, please let me know what you want me to do about jobs. If I don't hear from you then I'm coming as WAR/NIN. (09/15 06:56)
Zantetsuken > Cyd: War/nin is alright I guess, but I'd prefer if you can bring a G-axe 'cause I don't want to give the mobs a bunch of TP with everybody dual wielding. if G-axe doesn't work for you I'd prefer Drg/thf for the polearm/th1 even if it's gimp. As for only having an hour, I *strongly* encourage you to show up ready and on time: heck maybe even early. if you're prompt and there's still enough people after you leave to go after my subligar, I don't mind if we get yours first and you have to split. Let's just make do with what we have (09/15 08:04)
Shadowneko > aquducts? I can't ever get a THF subiglar and I can pick the locks on the gates ^^(I offer my help) (09/19 10:13)
Zantetsuken > ummmm neko, you don't read dates so well: we did this last Sunday (09/19 11:56)
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