| FFXI: BLM Solos! |
[04/06/2009|22:38] |
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Another FFXI post you say? Turn away if you fear ingame jargon. I only post because I feel that I've taken a major leap forward as a Black Mage in the game. My efforts at upgrading my gear/merits/tactics are clearly paying off as I'm much stronger than the average BLM now. This means being able to solo stuff I had difficulty before.
First, Operation Desert Swarm (ODS), a KSNM battle. ODS is normally done in full parties with either melee or BLMs, but it can be easily duoed by two decent BLMs. I've got tons of Kindred Seals (KS) floating about from farming like a madman up in Boyahda on Thief, and since most KSNM fights only expend 30 seals I tend to gather than faster than I can find groups to take them on. Though I'd much prefer to do Royale Ramble (guaranteed 200k) with a group, most of the time it's too much of a pain and waste of time to get five other people together. Even though ODS drops are shit most of the time, I can get myself up there on a whim and solo it very quickly.
So, I've been trying to refine my technique to be able to solo it. Everything seemed perfect, as I had the gear necessary to win with only 5 Thundaga/Blizzaga casts (medicore BLMs require 6 and therefore more meds), which means only needing to spend 8k to buy a single Elixir. And yet, my first four or five attempts all ended in failure. The scorpions kept getting through my Stoneskin and interrupted my Sleepga casts, so I sacrificed accuracy (Pluto's Staff) on my Sleepaga for extra protection by using my Earth Staff (20% damage reduction) while casting. The result was completely golden, as I was able to solo the fight without my Stoneskin being broken at all. Now that I know I can easily do this, I can roll up there anytime my Manafont is up and hopefully come away with some coin.
The other BLM solo I pulled off tonight was the Happy Caster ISNM. This fight is completely different, as you burn Imperial Standing points you get from fighting mobs in Aht Urghan areas. Many players (myself included) are overflowing in IS and so these battles are a good way to expend it and get a chance at some cash. The fight is totally different in strategy as well, and since most don't know it can be soloed I'll outline in more detail how I did it. Instead of 6 scorpions you are pitted against a single flan that stops every 5 seconds or so to cast -aga level black magic at you. He is also highly resistant to your own spells and can't be slept, so you can't just nuke him down rest rinse and repeat. Keeping your mana up with meds is the main issue. Fortunately, since the flan basically spams magic at you and doesn't have any movement speed or casting speed bonuses, you can wear him down with DoT magic. Bio II, Poison II, and the elemental DoT line works quite well to whittle down his HP. These alone will cannot suffice though, as you will run out of time before killing him.
So, the most important spell in your arsenal for this fight is Drain. It's mana efficient and casts quickly, which is important for not getting hit by the flan's own magic. Having lots of Dark Magic skill gear helps, as does some Haste/Fast Cast pieces. Aspir benefits much the same and keeps your MP levels up. However even then, you're still going to run into problems with time, because you're not doing enough damage. You do need to hit him with some T4 nukes to speed it along, but this is going to usually run you out of MP and require meds. What really speeds this fight up and makes it almost impossible to lose though is your subjob choice.
Scholar sub shines greatly for this fight. There is simply no need for defensive buffs in this fight, nor do you need to restrict the flan's movement in any way; RDM sub for once is kicked to the curb. You may get access to only two strategems with SCH sub, but being able to cast 50% faster and reduce your recast timer by that much is simply amazing. Granted you can only use it once every two minutes, but it's a huge help. Stopping to cast Blizz 4 puts you at great risk, but cutting its cast time in half makes it safe. A reduced recast timer also benefits you with Drain due to its long recast. You also get enhanced spell accuracy, 10% reduction in MP cost, 10% reduction in casting time and recast just from being in Dark Arts. On top of all that you can use Sublimation to further enhance your mana efficiency. It all added up to a 23 minute victory (with a 30 minute time limit) with a very unrefined strategy, so I am fully convinced now that I can't lose aside from making a stupid mistake, and I can speed this fight up by squeezing in more Blizz 4 casts. This fight is not highly gear-dependent, only SJ dependent, so I think even NQ AH BLMs can solo this thing.
There are other proven BLM solos out there that I'm going to attempt in the near future. The Brothers ENM is one such solo, and I don't see any reason why I can't do it. Another fight gives me a way to expend Beastmen Seals on my own, and that is the Up In Arms BCNM. Being capped at level 60 there cuts a lot of gear and all my merits out of the equation, so I'll be more dependent there on tactics and meds, but if I can do it it's a chance at keeping a Kraken Club all to myself.
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| Entrance into Camwhoredom |
[03/28/2008|03:51] |
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mood |
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With my shiny new digicam I do plan on shooting a few video blogs while I'm away, and to test it out I've shot a tour of my Mom's place in South Carolina. As I write this my first flight (of many) departs in less than two hours. So, I should be making my next entry from Honolulu! Anyway, enjoy the video.
X-posted at Nikkatsu Blog
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| LJ Housekeeping and a new blog! |
[03/24/2008|02:48] |
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mood |
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Last year I decided to make my LJ friends-only, but it's left me without a place to chronicle parts of my life I don't mind sharing with the entire world. To that end I've gone and created a public blog over on Blogger. For now it will be Japan-centric, as it very well should be for the next four months, but afterward I will probably convert it into a more general daily life blog. As it stands, until August you'll find lots of good things about how I'm doing in Japan, and it'll be of the variety I don't mind professors, casual friends, family members, and total strangers knowing about. However if I want to vent, LJ still has a place for that and I won't be ignoring it completely. Hell, I may even cross post things! Anyway, as I'm sure all five of my regular readers are just itching to know, the address is http://americajin.blogspot.com Yes, I am quite creative with the URL. The title of the blog for now is Super Happy Special Nippon Seikatsu Wonderblog! Once again, I am quite the creative cat.
Of course I did mention some housekeeping on the LJ front, which was important to get out of the way. Basically, for starters, clearing out all the communities I don't even bother to participate in and whose posts I skip past on my friends page anyway. But also, removing as friends people I've fallen out of touch with, as well as some journals that haven't been updated in many years. If you should happen to still be checking your friends page but simply not posting anymore, and you still want access, leave a comment and I'll see about re-adding you.
And yes, this is a public post, so I'll once again reiterate that this is a friends-only journal and if you want access to the rest of the posts here you will need to ask for it. If you want nothing to do with my private musings and whatnot, then by all means head on over to my public journal. Once again the URL is http://americajin.blogspot.com
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| Friends onry? No wai! |
[09/26/2007|11:56] |
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Only people I trust are allowed to read this. If you want access feel free to leave a comment and tell me why I should let you view my journal.
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