The Expansion Is Not the Answer

[Sphene]

I have been watching carefully since the expansion came out, and
I have noticed a few things that I think a great many players are
over looking.

Everyone seems to want to level in the expansion areas
and I can understand why. IS can be used for ... maps and nifty
extensions for food and refresh... but... IS is not Conquest Points...

I know a great many players on our server have multiple high
level jobs and have seen and done it all so you want to hit the
new areas, I get that really I do. However, I would remind you all
that those Empress Bands you all love so much are not charged
up with IS... they need Conquest Points...
I know I know... I have 60,000pts so I do not need
to worry... 700pts to fill that band up
that’s 85 full refills. Seems like a lot but I pulled the 60,000 number
out of thin air, my point is. That between warp scrolls and Empy
charges, you might find yourself coming up short sooner than you think.
Before anyone starts in with the exp bonus from leveling in the new areas..
that’s only because the Astral whatchamacallit has not fallen.. Nothing
lasts forever, especially in Final Fantasy XI.

My second point, has anyone looked at the /regionalmap?
outposts everywhere are empty. I would also like to add
that Sanction does not win you control of an area
on the /regional map you need signet.
this makes travel hard on us all, and
also severely limits the outpost warps that can be acquired by
the newer players that join daily. I mean come on. Nothing against
Bastok. Nevertheless, it is rare to see windy and sandy in such a national state.

Third and final point, Everyone is rushing through the levels.
your leveling unusually fast, this might sound like a good thing but
its not. When you have to grind away for hours say in
Bibiki Bay, your skills actually level up more fully than
if you were in some of the expansion areas. The game was designed
to make you work for what you receive and skills don’t always
fly at you it takes a bit of grind to get them up there.
(Sword, Shield, Ninjitsu, Polearm, Evasion, Parry, Enfeeble ECT)
I am not trying to be a snot about this, I am just
suggesting that perhaps a return to the old ways might not be as
bad as you think. For example, you level up like a rocket.
Your primary skills stop capping... so then you have
to build or find a skill up party. Not so bad, until you are there
for hours. The time spent in skill up pt when you are getting nothing
could just as easily be spent in some of the slower leveling
areas. Why waste hours in a skill up party when you could be
doing something more fun? I hope this has given at least some
of you something to think about, but what do I know.

Edit: if you have read this post compleetly please read my
follow up post on page 3 before posting as to minimize the
outpouring of disagreement.

 

[Legomyeggo]

ToAU made a man out of me.

 

[Skaw]

The reason why people are leveling in the new areas is because it's better EXP. Even without Bands, fully built Sanction gives a noticable bonus increase. What they need to do is make it so that old areas are more appealing, since honestly, exping is just entirely too slow anywhere else.

People are finishing up needing IS. I did today. But would I still prefer to exp in AU? Yes, because of the bonus for it.

 

[Darklion]

meh, If I want conquest I'll level a 1-40 job.

Also I always cap my skills while PTin in the new zones Never really had to get into a skill up unless you are a mage. As for outpost.... if noobs would stop dying you would have more of em, but I have then all SO I'm all good.

@ level 75 its all about getting XP as fast as you can for as much XP as you can. 15%more XP per kill!? Yes,prease. Also runic Portals cut down on travel big time and you save sooo much money and time cause of the new areas.

Yes I think the new expansion is the answer.

 

[Necrosis]

Warp scrolls are a waste of CP. Buy a warp cudgel.

 

[Skaw]

Warp scrolls are a waste of CP. Buy a warp cudgel.

And level BLM to 17+.

 

[Flameass]

Everyone seems to want to level in the expansion areas
and I can understand why. IS can be used for ... maps and nifty
extensions for food and refresh... but... IS is not Conquest Points...

I know a great many players on our server have multiple high
level jobs and have seen and done it all so you want to hit the
new areas, I get that really I do. However, I would remind you all
that those Empress Bands you all love so much are not charged
up with IS... they need Conquest Points...
I know I know... I have 60,000pts so I do not need
to worry... 700pts to fill that band up
that’s 85 full refills. Seems like a lot but I pulled the 60,000 number
out of thin air, my point is. That between warp scrolls and Empy
charges, you might find yourself coming up short sooner than you think.
Before anyone starts in with the exp bonus from leveling in the new areas..
that’s only because the Astral whatchamacallit has not fallen.. Nothing
lasts forever, especially in Final Fantasy XI.

Ok here we go. IS. IS get's you imperial coins, these coins are vital in many quests and services from npcs. Those coins buy you kickass sick Headpiece for all jobs(Walahra Turban) or can be sold on the AH. IS is used to pay for sanction enhancements, warps to Staging Points, maps, and the -bane chakrams. CP, gets you mostly mediocre items, recharges the empress band, not much else it can do. Personally i have 125k CP that are just sitting around doing nothing, frankly i don't want any more.

The exp, the exp boost is quite big, it at least 10% more or something. And no we haven't lost the Astral Candescence yet, but it doesn't seem like it'll happen often(since besieged gives good IS reward) and if it does get jacked you can bet plenty people will be trying to get it back, I'd bet they win it back in less than 3 hours since it would be stolen.

My second point, has anyone looked at the /regionalmap?
outposts everywhere are empty. I would also like to add
that Sanction does not win you control of an area
on the /regional map you need signet.
this makes travel hard on us all, and
also severely limits the outpost warps that can be acquired by
the newer players that join daily. I mean come on. Nothing against
Bastok. Nevertheless, it is rare to see windy and sandy in such a national state.

Outposts, once you have them you can warp from your nation to the outpost at any time(beastmen included). Only 3 regions need to be under control of any nation at all times: Xarcabard, Lufaise, Buburimu, because those are quick ways to get back to your nation.


This week, which I consider bad, only Fauregandi, Norvallen and Movalpolos are under beastmen control. It seems safe to say that in 3-4 weeks you can get most outposts if you are sandy/windy, and maybe 5-6 as bastok (not including outpost outside other cities). No reason to complain. The only problem as of this week was the tie between Bastok and Windy.

Third and final point, Everyone is rushing through the levels.
your leveling unusually fast, this might sound like a good thing but
its not. When you have to grind away for hours say in
Bibiki Bay, your skills actually level up more fully than
if you were in some of the expansion areas. The game was designed
to make you work for what you receive and skills don’t always
fly at you it takes a bit of grind to get them up there.
(Sword, Shield, Ninjitsu, Polearm, Evasion, Parry, Enfeeble ECT)
I am not trying to be a snot about this, I am just
suggesting that perhaps a return to the old ways might not be as
bad as you think. For example, you level up like a rocket.
Your primary skills stop capping... so then you have
to build or find a skill up party. Not so bad, until you are there
for hours. The time spent in skill up pt when you are getting nothing
could just as easily be spent in some of the slower leveling
areas. Why waste hours in a skill up party when you could be
doing something more fun? I hope this has given at least some
of you something to think about, but what do I know.

Because others are lvling faster than you doesn't make them wrong. Try and learn to build effective parties and optimize your job's playstyle. Yes, people make parties that will move at a fast pace and get them gobs of exp, frankly, it's more fun lvling a job that has most of its abilities. 2nd, your comparison is flawed and false. You compare bibiki vs expansion, you say that you will skillup better, sorry, WRONG.
I just dinged 61 nin last night and my pt disbanded. Today i do all of 61 and get 2500 into 62, my Katana and Ninjutsu skills are capped and those are the only ones that matter on nin.
Ok, so i spent 3 hours and capped, you spent what, 5? if we're both capped, I have 2 extra hours where i can go have fun in a skillup pt with friend on additional weapons or farm to skill parry(no way in hell you can cap parry without tons of tanking/meriting/soloing).

So yeah, lvling faster is actually better for your primary skills.

In closing, please stop whining, if you wanna waste time in slow pt's fine, just don't cry that some are faster.

 

[Flameass]

god, 5 replies in the time it took me to write that up >.<...


And yeah warp scrolls suck, use warp cudgels or walk ( warping is too fast, take the slow walking route ).

 

[ds083roadkill]

I have 60,000pts so I do not need
to worry... 700pts to fill that band up
that’s 85 full refills. Seems like a lot but I pulled the 60,000 number
out of thin air, my point is. That between warp scrolls and Empy
charges, you might find yourself coming up short sooner than you think..

hmmm 60,000 / 100 (points per charge) * 0.75 (useable every 16h) = 450

so in around 2 years i'm not gunna have anymore XP BANDS!!!!1shift+one! ohh noeezzzz

Before anyone starts in with the exp bonus from leveling in the new areas..
that’s only because the Astral whatchamacallit has not fallen.. Nothing
lasts forever, especially in Final Fantasy XI.

ya, until SE nerfs whatever is going good

 

[Skaw]

OH SNAP. I missed that gem, thanks Roadkill.

It takes 15 besieged wins to remax out bonuses. When the Astral Candescence is seized, yes, bonuses are reset upon its return. But so does Besieges level wait timer, 15 besieges starting at level 1 happens fast. Plus, ontop of that. Even without any wins, there is still an experience point bonus.

 

[Winklewil]

It's been pointed out indirectly, but I will do so directly. You completely neglected to mention in that entire spiel the experience point bonus granted by Sanction. You alluded to the fact that insane chaining is possible, due to the weak nature and fast spawn times, but the simple fact remains, if it comes down to base experience Signet, or 15% boost Sanction, people are going with Sanction.

What's more, CP is far more easy to come by. You can solo for it on a level 1 job. People are still going to need to head to conquest areas for levels 1 - 50, exclusively ... it's the only option. Nobody will ever be too low on CP to fill up their Empress Ring, if they've been playing for longer than two weeks. You will never want for such base amounts of CP, particularly if you're wise about how you spend it (not blowing a large amount on unnecessary warp scrolls, for example).



Imperial Standing, on the other hand, is not so easy to come by. You need a job to at least level 50 to acquire even paltry amounts of it, and to get really good quantities, you'll need the help of several other people in either a party or Assault mission.



Finally, the expansion is BRAND ... FRICKIN' ... NEW. We've had greater than three years to wallow in a glut of unused Conquest Points. More than three years. I mean, while Conquest Points are definitely valuable, and should be spent conservatively, most people have a fairly sizeable surplus of it. It's all there has been, for a long while. With IS, on the other hand, people are hurting for more. There's a ton of things it's needed for, it (along with Sanction) is arguably more useful overall, and ... put quite simply ... it just hasn't existed long enough for most people to have gotten very large amounts of it yet. People need/want it more.

Thus, you're going to see a very understandable (not to mention justifiable) bias towards ToAU areas for quite a while, if not forever. No, this doesn't mean the sky will fall, nor does it mean that Old Vanadiel will rot from disuse. What it does mean, however, is that an injection of vital "newness" was delivered to the game, and will give things an added layer of fun.

The expansion IS the answer.

Warp scrolls are a waste of CP. Buy a warp cudgel.

Oh, Dear God, YES. I've tried to convince some friends of mine of this, and they scoff at my refusal to burn CP on a warp scroll unless it's absolute necessary. If you're above the level 36 requirement, yet opt to toss CP down the chute each and every time you head out rather than simply making a one-time purchase of a cudgel with 30 charges, you're hurting yourself in the long run.

Going off of a by-charge basis, you're either spending 1,000 gil per warp, or two entire hours of solo CP for it. Gil is infinitely easier to replenish than is Conquest Points, even more so than is Conquest Points over Imperial Standing. A warp cudgel will literally last you an entire month, for a one-time investment of 30,000 gil. If you had used warp scrolls that entire time, you'd be out 15,000 CP. I'd estimate it would take roughly 15-20 party hours to make that back. There's just no contest regarding which is more efficient.

It drives me bonkers ... primarily because they act like I'm the nutty one, in that situation. Not so.

One of these days, I'm just going to buy a cudgel for both of them, and send it to their delivery boxes.

 

[Direwolf]

Expansion areas are absoloutly amazing for exp. So much better then bibiki bay. New interesting mobs, new interesting scenery, and easily 2k exp an hour more. Conquest areas can go fuck themselves.

 

[Gatttsu]

Expansion areas are absoloutly amazing for exp. So much better then bibiki bay. New interesting mobs, new interesting scenery, and easily 2k exp an hour more. Conquest areas can go fuck themselves.

Lmao, I had to laugh at that, and the thought of an entire region trying to screw itself in that manner.

I'll admit though, the new and interesting stuff was the main draw for me to exp out there at first, now it's only because 9/10 times it's where I'm invited to for exp.

 

[Halifirien]

If the expansion isn't the answer, what's the question?

I've leveled White Mage a few times in the new zones, but I really haven't spent a lot of time dealing with the expansion. Yesterday was my first time leveling Beastmaster there.

Neyla and I figured we'd pop into Caedarva Mire for a couple hours and get halfway to 63. We were blown away by the difference. Our XP rings wore off before our first Tuna Sushi did, and we ended up rocketing from 62 to 63 (21k xp required) in less than four hours. We were getting contant Chain 5 on the Marsh Murres, and that was with a full xp party camped on top of us competing for pulls.

I have plenty of love for the old zones and will still level in them (if nothing else, having everyone in the new zones opens a lot of the old ones to Beastmasters), but I know the new zones are going to get a workout. It's too good to pass up.

 

[chrono fantasy]

You got to remember though, that you can't exp in the new areas lets say if you're below lvl 65. So you can go lvl other jobs below that and get CP to make up CP you waste in the new area. It is better exp and more fun, and most people who exp in the new area already has many of their skills capped and are just fighting there for merit points.

Who wants to waste away more time to gain merit points to further their skill when you can get them quicker in the new area and gain IS too. Like you said, many might've have done everything else in the game, so you shouldn't really bicker about them wanting to gain new type of points towards new items.

There's still a lot of new players that will get their way up and continue with conquest, and eventually the craze of the new expansion will die down and people will go back to exping their high lvl in the new area. Either that or SE might nerf the new areas. To me this new expansion is like playing a new game somewhat within a game.

Mind you though, I only exped in the new zones 3-4 times since I barely merited by rdm very much and been lvlling low lvl jobs, but those few times I have pty'd in the new areas, the exp was almost slightly better than cannon ptys in sky, and this was with nearly a normal pty setup.

 

[Grem]

I go where the XP is at.

 

[Direwolf]

Call me crazy but I dont think I am the only one who would much rather go exp off a huge undead monster, IE a Jnun, over another lvl off of god forsaken gobliins and dhlamels, I lvled off those exact same mobs 55-70 lvls ago. Why the hell should we keep up with the same old repetitive mobs. That is WoWs single greatest strength over FF IMO. The adversaries and scenerey is incredibly diffrent.

 

[Uzor]

Third and final point, Everyone is rushing through the levels.
your leveling unusually fast, this might sound like a good thing but
its not. When you have to grind away for hours say in
Bibiki Bay, your skills actually level up more fully than
if you were in some of the expansion areas. The game was designed
to make you work for what you receive and skills don’t always
fly at you it takes a bit of grind to get them up there.
(Sword, Shield, Ninjitsu, Polearm, Evasion, Parry, Enfeeble ECT)
I am not trying to be a snot about this, I am just
suggesting that perhaps a return to the old ways might not be as
bad as you think. For example, you level up like a rocket.
Your primary skills stop capping... so then you have
to build or find a skill up party. Not so bad, until you are there
for hours. The time spent in skill up pt when you are getting nothing
could just as easily be spent in some of the slower leveling
areas. Why waste hours in a skill up party when you could be
doing something more fun? I hope this has given at least some
of you something to think about, but what do I know.

I cap all of my skill levels within 2k exp of a lvl. Blue Magic caps amazingly fast, and my sword skill will be capped for another 5 lvls or so. I'm not really worried.

And the earilest you can lvl in ToAU is at 54 on the Lesser Colibris.

Anyway, I love the new zones. From 54-64, I've got more then 7k exp an hour in every party except one, that one got 4k an hour because the tank just plain out sucked. In any normal area, it would have been less then2k an hour. The best exp (not in a merit party, talking BLU here) was 11k an hour, and that would be VERY hard to get in the normal zones.

 

[Stouter]

First part - 15% all the time vs 50% for your first 2k exp. Even if you don't have the CP to charge your empress band due to leveling in ToAU areas, you still come out ahead if your party lasts 2+ hours and doesn't suck. You can also buy intsa warp scrolls with IS.

Second part, the regions are over-run with beastmen because of people leveling their first jobs through those regions. Do you remember how many times you died the first time you leveled a job to 30? Do you remember how many times you died leveling your last job to 30? Huge difference I bet. Only 6 of the 17 regions with outposts have realistic camps 55+, and none of them are under beastmen control atm.

Third part, skill up doing something fun. You don't have to go to some mandatory location and fight one mob for hours on end. You can skill up while helping a friend with a coffer key, or AF mob. You can skill up in a merit party. Some skills take forever to cap, parry/guard/healing magic for example, you will not have these capped for level 74, just before you ding 75, regardless of where you exp. Healing magic you could cap, but it would take a very sizeable skill up session. If you actually do something with your job after you hit end game (sky, HNM, sea, etc) all your necessary skills will cap eventually.

 

[hellstorm]

well you can blame se for this one. I think this has to do alot with cannon party solusion before cannon party had the advange because of there fast kill and ability to kill all the mob before first on pop agian, but with toau and the 5 min repop it is for any setup to gain massive exp and with the san bonus and the exp bonus it only make it that much easyer. Lets just hope they will see the craze and upgrade the mainland with new signet that give you effects like san and new item that can be more useful.