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  • A Beginner's Guide to /check

    Attention: this is not a discussion about checking other players

    One command that is vital from the very beginning of the game is /check. Unfortunately, many new players do not have a good understanding of this simple, yet important command.

    Learning to use /check properly is a basic survival skill all players should have.

    The first time a bunny rabbit beats you to death will illustrate the importance of this command quite clearly.

    What is the /check command?

    The /check command is a command that you can use to examine a target, such as another player or an enemy.

    Using it on an enemy will give you important information relating to the enemy's strength, defense, and basic level in comparison to your own.

    How do I use it?

    The /check command can be used by targeting the enemy and then either

    a) typing /check
    b) selecting 'Check' from the battle menu
    c) pressing CTRL+C

    Why is it important?

    One of the most important commands in the game is often the least talked about. The basic /check command can (and will) save you from many unnecessary deaths.

    Before engaging any enemy, you will want to use the /check command to understand how strong that enemy is in comparison to you.

    Many times, a player will either forget to or choose not to check an enemy, and can often pay for this mistake with their life.

    This command will also tell you if fighting a particular monster is worthwhile in terms of experience points. Enemies that check low will not provide many experience points making them a poor choice for parties.

    How does it work?

    The check command compares and enemy's statistics to your own. It will then display a simple message that relates the difficulty of the enemy in comparison to your character.

    There are 7 different levels of difficulty:

    1) To Weak to Be Worthwhile (TWTBW)

    Enemies with this difficulty are below your level range and will offer the least resistance. You should be able to kill them quite easily.

    Enemies at this level will not give experience points upon killing, nor will they drop crystals. Or normal drop items will still drop normally.

    You will most often see enemies of this level when you are farming.

    2) Easy Prey (EP)

    Slightly more difficult that a TWTBW monster and located at the lower end of your level range (just a few levels below you).

    These enemies are usually easily killed and should not offer much resistance.

    Easy Prey enemies offer a small amount of exp upon death and will drop crystals assuming you have signet.

    3) Decent Challenge (DC)

    Just below your level and will provide a good challenge in a solo battle.

    Decent Challenge enemies can be quite difficult to kill solo and should only be attempted in the lower levels or with a job that has good soloing ability.

    These enemies will provide a fair amount of experience points upon death.

    4) Even Match (EM)

    Even Match monsters are basically at the same level as you. Comparing your stats, you are balanced and the fight could easily go either way.

    These monsters are often too strong to solo in the mid to high levels. They will provide good solo exp, but at greater risk.

    5) Tough (T)

    These monsters are just a few levels above you and would be difficult to solo.

    you will rarely fight Tough monsters in a party and should really avoid trying to fight them by yourself. Only in the extremely low level is this even viable for most jobs.

    These monsters will, however, provide good exp, so if you are waiting for other prey to spawn, these will make an easy target for a party.

    6) Very Tough (VT)

    Quite a few levels above you, these mobs will be very difficult to kill. They present a good challenge to parties and are much more dangerous than Toughs.

    You will rarely ever solo a VT. Even in the starting levels, these monsters will be too strong for you.

    They do provide very good experience points though. Some people even feel that chaining VTs provides much more efficient exp than taking the higher level of mobs.

    A VT can still be quite challenging for a party, but requires far less downtime and comes at far less risk. The exp drop may be worth it.

    7) Incredibly Tough (IT)

    These are the standard fare for experience parties. These mobs are at the top of your level range (or beyond) and will present the greatest challenge for your group.

    They also provide the greatest amount of exp per kill making them a common choice for party targets.

    These mobs will be extremely difficult to kill and will require a fairly balanced party to defeat. The reward exp though is well worth it.

    Why do people say IT++?

    The /check command doesn't just relate their level. It also provides a detailed comparison between your attack and accuracy, and their defense and evasion.

    When you use the /check command, you will often see a second line of text that relates this information.

    Example:
    The Goblin Smithy is Incredibly Tough.
    It has High Defense and High Evasion.

    The first line explains their difficulty level and the second line explains their stats compared to yours.

    High Defense means that their defense is high relative to your attack.
    Low Defense means that your attack is high relative to their defense.

    High Evasion means that their evasion is high relative to your accuracy.
    Low Evasion means that your accuracy is high relative to their evasion.

    If no message appears for either defense or evasion, there is no noticeable difference between your stats or the difference will not have a great impact.

    Saying an enemy is IT++ means that the mob is Incredibly Tough 'plus' has High Defense and High Evasion making them even more difficult to kill.

    These messages will also vary depending on what Buffs and Debuffs you may have active. Blind and other such debuffs will lower your accuracy and the enemy will check as having higher evasion.

    Remember: everything is relative to your stats at that moment.

    Impossible to Gauge?!

    The /check command cannot be used on a Notorious Monster (NM) to gain information about their difficulty.

    When you check an NM, the message will tell you that their strength is impossible to gauge.

    This does not mean that you can't beat them. Any NM will display this message, no matter what your level is.

    Who uses the /check command?

    Pullers (or people who bring a monster back to a party) will often use the /check command and then relate the difficulty level of the monster back to the party.

    This enables the party to prepare for the difficulty of the impending battle.

    People who solo (most often Beastmasters) or farm will use the /check command quite often to ensure that a targeted mob is not to difficult to defeat.

    A Word of Warning

    Check is realtive to your level, but the range of measurement does not change.

    What this means is you will be able to solo DC and EM monsters (and possibly even Toughs) in the very low levels, but as you get higher in level, this becomes much, much harder.

    There are actually very few jobs that can contend with even a DC in the higher levels.

    Be careful and always check a mob before attacking.
    Last edited by Taodyn; 06-14-2006, 05:35 AM.


  • #2
    Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

    You might want to include that, while at level 5-10 you can kill DC-EM monsters on your own, at higher levels that won't be possible with most jobs.
    BLM75 RNG65 BRD50 NIN37 RDM37 WHM25 WAR25 BST21 THF7
    Cooking83
    Elemental Magic Skill Merits 1/5


    Thanks to Kazuki for the awesome sig!

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    • #3
      Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

      ALT+C works as well.

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      • #4
        Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

        Made the recommended changes (thanks, guys) and also added a small section about ITG NMs.

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        • #5
          Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

          I've never checked an NM as anything but ITG...even after i've killed them before...


          I don't really feel like going out and testing..but i'm fairly sure that's wrong.

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          • #6
            Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

            Changed the wording until I can get clarification. Good catch.

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            • #7
              Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

              Pretty sure Feba's right on that account.
              BLM75 RNG65 BRD50 NIN37 RDM37 WHM25 WAR25 BST21 THF7
              Cooking83
              Elemental Magic Skill Merits 1/5


              Thanks to Kazuki for the awesome sig!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                Feba's always right.

                Of course, I see a dragon-related death in his near future. ^^

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                • #9
                  Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                  /c also works. :D

                  And uhh, something else I was going to say, but I forget. :D

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                  • #10
                    Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                    Great guide! This helped me understand some mechanics of /check that were pretty vague before :D

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                    • #11
                      Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                      Nice work

                      A few more bits and pieces for you, mostly BST stuff.

                      Some mobs check harder than their level and some check easier. For example, worms or pets (e.g. goblin's bee, gigas' leech, et cetera) are easier to kill than their checked level would have you believe. Also leeches, slimes and elementals are much harder, and as such make good BST pets (well, not the elementals).

                      On the subject of BSTs, Even Match is the highest conning level of pet you should normally use. Any thing above this will give you an extra xp penalty (above the normal 30% - BST only, not the rest of the party ) as it counts as the highest level member of the party. Also, Tough and above are much harder to charm and won't stay charmed for very long. Tough mobs stay charmed for roughly a minute, while Incredibly Tough can only be a few seconds (if you can charm them successfully at all).

                      Just to remind people, a BST in a party using a jug pet will not receive a penalty to their experience.
                      - If they use a local pet that cons EM or lower to them, they will receive a 30% cut to their xp if it's still charmed at the end of the fight, but the rest of the party will not.
                      - If they use a local pet that cons T or higher to them, but only EM or less to the highest member of the party, the BST will receive a 30% cut to xp id it's charmed at the end of the fight, plus whatever cut they would normally get from not being the highest member of the party, and the rest of the party will not be affected.
                      - If the BST charms a local pet that cons T or higher to the highest member of the party, the pet becomes the effective highest party member. Even if the pet is not charmed at the end of the fight, all party members xp will be reduced, in the same way that having a player of a higher level would do. This is generally only done in emergencies and is the only time when the rest of the party's xp is affected by the presence of a BST pet.

                      There are some times when charming T+ is useful:
                      - converting mobs to EM. More easily done post 35, and the only good thing to come out of the great BST nerf o' 12/12. Charm and leave/zone a mob and hope it respawns as EM.
                      - Farming. Charm/familiar a mob and tear through TW/EP. Often seen in Qufim by BSTs who can just manage to charm the Kraken if they're lucky. We've pretty much all done this one.
                      - Desperation. Fight gone wrong? Charm/Stay the prey and run for zone.
                      - Pretty much any other time when you don't care about xp. For example, the liches in West Altepa drop the Ancient Papyrus for Genkei 1. Charm/familiar an IT scorpion and let them get on with it .
                      I have heard that those who celebrate life
                      walk safely amongst the wild animals.
                      When they go into battle, they remain unharmed,
                      the animals find no place to attack them
                      and weapons are unable to harm them.
                      Why? Because they find no place for death in them.

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                      • #12
                        Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                        I'd also suggest adding a word of warning against discriminating between "IT" and "IT++" mobs. Whether or not a mob will check as High Defense and/or High Evasion is greatly impacted by your weapon skill. Players who have weapon skill far below cap (e.g. most mage classes) will almost always see IT mobs as IT++.

                        I was once acting as a puller in the Dunes. The very opinionated WHM in the party was very insistent that I only pull IT crabs, and not ones that were IT++. I did exactly as I was told, only to have the WHM complain that I ignored his instructions (since his club skill was low, the mob appeared as IT++ to him anyways).
                        Lyonheart
                        lvl 75 WAR, 75 BST, 75 BLM, 75 NIN, 47 SCH
                        Cooking 100.0+3+3, Culinarian's Signboard, Raw Fish Handling, Noodle Kneading, Patissier
                        Fishing 60

                        Lakiskline
                        Bonecrafting 100.0+3+3,
                        Leather 60+2, Woodworking 60, Alchemy 60
                        Smithing 60, Clothcraft 55, Goldsmithing 54.1, Cooking 11
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                        • #13
                          Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                          Originally posted by LyonheartLakshmi
                          I'd also suggest adding a word of warning against discriminating between "IT" and "IT++" mobs. Whether or not a mob will check as High Defense and/or High Evasion is greatly impacted by your weapon skill. Players who have weapon skill far below cap (e.g. most mage classes) will almost always see IT mobs as IT++.

                          I was once acting as a puller in the Dunes. The very opinionated WHM in the party was very insistent that I only pull IT crabs, and not ones that were IT++. I did exactly as I was told, only to have the WHM complain that I ignored his instructions (since his club skill was low, the mob appeared as IT++ to him anyways).
                          Its also influenced by your food and gear with +/- attack and accuracy traits.
                          I RNG 75 I WAR 37 I NIN 38 I SAM 50 I Woodworking 92+2

                          PSN: Caspian

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                          • #14
                            Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                            maybe it's worth mentioning that exp gained is based on how the monster checks to the highest level in your party?

                            i don't know if thats pushing the scope of the guide a little though, but it could still be handy for someone starting out to know.
                            Kylestie was defeated by Curiosity.

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                            • #15
                              Re: A Beginner's Guide to /check

                              nice guide!

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