Exp whores

[Antor]

I just hit 75 like two days ago and have seen higher than chain 40. Yeah, your cannons suck.

 

[Stouter]

I'm not missing the point, I awknowledged it. My reference to "skill" in my initial post was because so many people in this game think they're "it" because of their numbers, and honestly when it comes to gamers having "skill" I wouldn't really consider FFXI to be a game worthy of being considered because there are other games out there that require a lot more "player skill" to do well in. Hence my example of PvP... that would be a game that does require more "player skill" to be good at, in comparison to FFXI.

There's a huge gap between those that are retarded and have no skill, and the average players. There's a smaller gap between the average players and those with mad skills. Skill > Gear and Gear > Skill are dumb comparisons, because there are so many players with both, and so many player with neither that it's a moot point to try and distinguish between the ones with only one or the other. Skill will only take you so far, and gear will only take you so far.

 

[etchdog2000]

No, never was, never will be on any melee job. I'm not sure why this aggrivates me so much when people think this but it does. This has been proven time and time again to be complete BS. Once again, subbing THF is for Hate transfer/control only. Please do not fill any more new player's heads that may be reading this with misinformation. I could care less what someone likes to sub for xp, sub WHM for AutoRegen if you want, but do not try to say it's "close" or anything of the sort to something when it's not.

.....

If you are playing a job that involves hitting an exp. monster with a weapon for damage then /WAR is the #1 choice end of story. When survivability or Hate transfer comes into play then there are better options but not for overall damage. I'm not advocating every job sub WAR 100% of the time for exp either because that's inefficient especially in a cannon. Unless you have really shitty gear MNK is too strong by nature to get away with subbing it. Other characters have top notch gear and merits and cannot sub it without being a MP sponge and ruining chains. It's uses in a merit party are extremely situational but what's not situational is that it is #1 for total damage. If mobs didn't hit you back then no one would have any logical reason to not use it full time.

I couldnt agree with this more. I just had an exp party with my WAR with a DRK that was about to get Guillo. And for some damn reason he was arguing with me that /THF always with out question does more dmg then /WAR. Things like that drive me crazy.

To the guy saying dmg in a party between /thf and /war is close. I been lvl 75 DRK coming up on 2 years now, and I have never seen any parse result from myself or another that shows that to be true. You have 2 people equally geared... one /WAR w/Scythe and on /THF with GS, the /WAR will win.

You want bigger numbers in a parse definately go /WAR.

 

[Tristam Green]

To the guy saying dmg in a party between /thf and /war is close. I been lvl 75 DRK coming up on 2 years now, and I have never seen any parse result from myself or another that shows that to be true. You have 2 people equally geared... one /WAR w/Scythe and on /THF with GS, the /WAR will win.

You want bigger numbers in a parse definately go /WAR.

I'm never going /THF again unless I'm NM or coffer hunting. The damage drop from /WAR and even /SAM made me cry.

 

[Stouter]

I just hit 75 like two days ago and have seen higher than chain 40. Yeah, your cannons suck.

Chain 40 in ToAU is a joke, the mobs are so packed together with short repops. Any 73+ group of 4 melee and 2 mages that aren't retarded can get that easy in an empty mire.

 

[Mishaela]

I'd disagree, Stou...while Ballad is one of the more common reasons for dead chains, overcrowding is easily more common. I can't count how many times I've had group lose chain because some other group waltzes in, knowing entirely well that the camp doesn't support another group. And because their time > our time, they're just gonna screw everyone's xp rather than move elsewhere, y'know?

 

[Sharpe]

I'd disagree, Stou...while Ballad is one of the more common reasons for dead chains, overcrowding is easily more common. I can't count how many times I've had group lose chain because some other group waltzes in, knowing entirely well that the camp doesn't support another group. And because their time > our time, they're just gonna screw everyone's xp rather than move elsewhere, y'know?

I know this too well, we were at Mammol Ja Staging point the other day, on about Chain 50ish when another group came and camped near us. They were DRG,THF,BLM,RDM,SAM,PLD. I have no idea on earth why they bothered to come and camp there.

 

[Stouter]

Yeah, the some exp > no exp mentality is the worst thing that can happen to a group at any camp. Another group is hell-bend on exp'ing there, and decides to camp on top of you.

I remember the days when you would be at main shrine weapons camp and another group would come and see you keeping it clear, and go to first water tele camp, or ulli camp, or even search and send tells to party leaders (a long, long forgotten courtesy) before heading to sky in the first place and opt for kuftal, ro'maeve, KRT, or even bibiki (later on) and getting the same exp, without killing the exp of the other group. I also remember the days when party leaders would have their camp listed in their search comment, and 90% of other parties would have at least one member that would look at, and respect the established party. ToAU and the influx of meriters killed that, it's a shame that it's now gone.

 

[Nycon]

I know this too well, we were at Mammol Ja Staging point the other day, on about Chain 50ish when another group came and camped near us. They were DRG,THF,BLM,RDM,SAM,PLD. I have no idea on earth why they bothered to come and camp there.

Didn't know Mammol Ja Staging point was Cannon onry. That pt probably didn't seen the cannon onry sign on the gate as well.

 

[Nycon]

Edit: I wasn't the pld in the pt... lol.

 

[Sharpe]

Didn't know Mammol Ja Staging point was Cannon onry. That pt probably didn't seen the cannon onry sign on the gate as well.

I never said it was. I just wonder why they'd come there when they could see us clearing house. They would of got better xp going somewhere else.

 

[Sharpe]

Edit: I wasn't the pld in the pt... lol.

Would of been hard seeing as this was on Asura.

 

[Nycon]

I never said it was. I just wonder why they'd come there when they could see us clearing house. They would of got better xp going somewhere else.

cool, when you listed the jobs in the pt, it could be taken as "what is this noncannon pt doing here"

You could have just said, "another pt" came and camped on top of us".

I agree though, as a pld that pt's in traditional set ups, if I bring a pt to a specific zone, and there is a cannon clearing house, I find a new spot to pt. lol

 

[Sharpe]

cool, when you listed the jobs in the pt, it could be taken as "what is this noncannon pt doing here"

You could have just said, "another pt" came and camped on top of us".

I agree though, as a pld that pt's in traditional set ups, if I bring a pt to a specific zone, and there is a cannon clearing house, I find a new spot to pt. lol

Weird thing is that was the first time i've been up there and seen a non-cannon party there. Although this may just be on Asura but I think regular pt's know there's bound to be a cannon there and go elsewhere.

 

[Kunel]

Kunel, again i dont care if you like certain setups.

But no one needs to be rude about it. No one needs to think they are 100% better than people, and act like their shit doesn't stink. They dont have to treat people like shit in the process of getting exp. That's my point.

I'll agree that rudeness isn't called for most of the time, but still, when certain ppl are bringing the efficiency of a pt down, they need to be cut. When leaders make bad decisions on job choices and do not take the responsibility to boot crappy players, this is when ppl are gonna get rude.

 

[Sharpe]

I'll agree that rudeness isn't called for most of the time, but still, when certain ppl are bringing the efficiency of a pt down, they need to be cut. When leaders make bad decisions on job choices and do not take the responsibility to boot crappy players, this is when ppl are gonna get rude.

I'd never invite you to a party buddy, i'd be scared you'd boot me for not being 1337 enough....

<3

 

[Kunel]

I'd never invite you to a party buddy, i'd be scared you'd boot me for not being 1337 enough....

<3

psh. How you play your job is more important. You can have the leetest gear and still blow nuts at your job.

Of course I'd invite you! So come back to quetz so we can merit dork! lol

 

[Sharpe]

psh. How you play your job is more important. You can have the leetest gear and still blow nuts at your job.

Of course I'd invite you! So come back to quetz so we can merit dork! lol

I haven't properly logged on for 3 days (you should know how weird this is of me). Since I hit 75 I haven't really had an urge to play. I need sky and sea but don't have the patience to sit shouting for missions.

 

[Vilurum]

Two comments:

1. Do not /THF in parties where there is not a single main tank that the mob is usually aimed at. Simple, to the point, end of subject. It's more hassle than it's worth in parties with hate-bouncing, both for others having to hold back to accomodate you, as well as just the fact that sometimes the SAs just plain will get fubar'd despite the best of intentions. Save yourself and everyone else the trouble, boost your own damage in the process, and go /WAR, /SAM, or /NIN depending on main job, weapon type, and how much hate you pull.

As for THF main, by the time hate-bouncing parties are a significant concern, they have Assassin anyway, which at least makes TA easy enough. Being able to still pull off SA takes rather more player skill - helps if one melee is on "voke the mob off the puller" duty. I do not deny that THF is fairly difficult to play in a hate-bouncing party, and props to anyone who pulls it off well.

2. How to avoid overcrowding (I'm aware that this is advice that's generally preaching to the choir, since most people that *need* to know these things, aren't gonna come here and read this advice):

- Figure out what sort of mobs your party setup should ideally target. (Hint: Tank + SC + MB parties should go for beefier, higher base exp mobs that will actually live through the whole SC + MB, or be killed by the MB - point being, the damage isn't wasted. Cannons should go for squishier, lower base exp mobs that die faster.)

- Search the area before going there. If there happen to be 80 level 75s and a bunch of anons in the area, probably best not to bother even checking it out. If there happen to be a whole 6 people in the whole zone, smile happily to yourself and tell your party to hurry up and get going, so you can snag a camp.

- Send ahead a "scout" (someone who's ready and geared up earlier than the rest, preferably who has sneak/invis) to go snoop around and see for themselves what, if any, camps are open. Seeing one or two unclaimed mobs up at a time, and a party murdering at such a speed that no more than that manage to be around, does not, for the record, count as "open". A good puller will aim for having about 1-2 unclaimed mobs up at any given time, so there's always something to pull, but there's not a significant risk of adds.

- Even if there are a reasonable amount of mobs up, check and see if there's a party nearby anyway: they may be taking a 5 min bathroom break or something. If there is, send a tell to their leader (or another party member if the leader seems unresponsive, or if you know the other person better) and ask if they're starting, finishing, or just taking a break. Respect other parties' breaks and don't move in on their mobs.

- If there are no open camps in your desired spot, send tells to party leaders and see if any of them are finishing up soon. If so, get a time frame of when they're finishing, and move in so you're arriving about as they're done. Most merit parties last approximately 1.5 to 3 hours in my experience (though a few last longer), so it's *far* from inconceivable that one of your competitor parties is leaving soon.

- If nobody's leaving soon, and there are no open camps, move down the list to your next most preferred camp, and repeat the process. Do not, in this process, forget that merit camps existed before ToAU. And keep remembering to pick mobs appropriate to your party setup (melee weapon damage types, skillchain vs. WS spam, single tank or shared hate, blink tank or blood tank, etc.).

- Under no circumstances, do you simply pick a camp, have the entire party go there without checking first, and stay there and start pulling, even if there's already another party there clearing house. All that does is paint a big "idiot" sign on your forehead. Bonus stupidity points if the camp isn't even very suited to your party setup, and there are more suited camps out there. Not to mention, your exp will be horrible for lack of mobs + chains, and you'll also (not that you probably care) you'll similarly gimp the exp of the party you went and sat on.

 

[Tristam Green]

Do not /THF in parties where there is not a single main tank that the mob is usually aimed at. Simple, to the point, end of subject. It's more hassle than it's worth in parties with hate-bouncing, both for others having to hold back to accomodate you, as well as just the fact that sometimes the SAs just plain will get fubar'd despite the best of intentions. Save yourself and everyone else the trouble, boost your own damage in the process, and go /WAR, /SAM, or /NIN depending on main job, weapon type, and how much hate you pull.

well-put. Here's the breakdown I have on DRK/WAR vs. DRK/THF:

My usual party setup consists of myself(DRK), WHM, PLD, DRG, and two other slots. Generally RDM or BRD, and either a 2nd DD or mage, WAR or BLM normally.

With DRK/THF: when I *can* SATA the tank, sure, spike dmg reaches my normal critical damage. SATA/Guillotine? Only gives about 400dmg dependent on the mob, and that's with STR and MND tricked out. SATA/Souleater/Guillotine gives me a more pleasing result, but I lose far too much HP in the process.

on DRK/WAR: I don't even have to use Souleater or Last Resort to achieve kickass Guillotine numbers. Berserk+Guillotine normally on DRK/WAR issues about 800+ dmg.

It was a hard lesson, and one I'm certain to not forget.