Why is Guarding skill so hard to improve? Could we maybe get some small revisions in how skill ups are given to help this?
Okay. This subject has probably come up a million times before, but searching keywords is not turning up anything for me, so here goes. I just started to level guard seriously. Mine was always "high," as it was in the low 90's (I'm level 71 Monk now), but I've always wanted to raise it and have seen some people get pretty amazing results with high Guarding levels. I've read how to do it, and I understand that it is going to be time-consuming. I have no problem with spending time working it up, but I do have a problem with seeing my guard time after time with no skill ups. I really need to tally some numbers, but it seems like I've seen him guard hits 30-50 times during one stretch, and not get a single skill up! I've found monsters of the right level for my guard skill, I checked them using Somepage's Mob Database. Right now I'm doing Maze Lizards & Caveberries in Crawler's Nest. I've gotten skill ups, but so infrequently as to make it prohibitive to up this skill. And sadly, I'm not even halfway to cap yet! I should cap at 249, yet despite the disparity I am still making painstakingly slow progress and am stuck at 106 guard. Perhaps this is meant as a test to see who really wants to become good with this skill, to become one of the "elite". But then, don't they have relic weapons for stuff like that? And I don't mind some challenge, but this just seems far too difficult. I know guarding procs after every other possibilty is exhausted; it's only that I see it proc so many times with no skill up that frustrates me. So here are my suggestions:
1) I believe that skill ups should occur more frequently (almost automatically) when your skill level is less than half of cap. Why should it be that a bard using her 91 staff skill against Greater Colibri gets no skill ups when she actually manages to connect? This is backward. You should be rewarded for working up skills you aren't strong in. And I cap this improvement at half of cap because of course it isn't fair to become awesome at something because someone is there helping you. 50% of cap will get you decent, but we all know how good that'll be against xp/merit mobs at level 75.
2) I'd like to see a slight improvement in skill ups overall. Perhaps at the very least a floor, a minimum level that you can't go under. Who wants to train a skill for an hour and see only on skill up? Maybe they can make a minimum. If you've guarded (or whatever) 100 times with no skill up, it gives you one the next time it procs. We're not talking major here, but SOMETHING to keep from wasting your time and discouraging you from working on a weaker skill.
3) It's Christmas time! I know it's late, but maybe a special event item could be available. We had Anniversary rings, which had ten charges and can't be refilled; maybe we could have a ring with ten charges that improves chances of skillups for an hour? It'd make me more interested in some of these events, and I'm sure people wanting to work up Parry and shield would be happy as well.
There's one other thing I'd like to see discussed of the SE guys won't disclose it, and that is what role does moon phase/day of the week play in attaining skill ups? I've heard New moon, I've heard Full moon, and I've had people think I'm nuts for even asking. Can we reach some kind of consensus? Better yet, anyone at SE willing to divulge this? Thanks. Hope some of you agree with some of what I'm saying, I'll be interested in hearing from you.
Im not an expert on this but i have a warrior 24/monk 12 character and when he gaurds against tough opponents, decent match, or even match he will skill up every other time or 2. Maybe its because you have a Mage and they arent really known for good defense stating they will never be easy to skill up on defense.
I gave up on trying to lvl up parry. I was spending atleast 4 hours a night in the Tree trying to lvl it up on steelshells. Then add in the hours of tanking sky mobs for drops and gods, Dynamis mobs, coffer mobs for younger ls mates. I tried -eva gear, +parry gear, +vit gear, +agi gear, +def gear I mixed and matched I ate +def food.
Kinda crazy that I managed to cap sword, katana, great katana, throwing, and ninjitsu all in an attempt to lvl my parry. So I feel your pain..
Nin75, Bst75. Drk61, War61, Rdm40, All other jobs are 37. All 3 starting city missions completed. All Zilart missions completed. All CoP missions completed. TouA completed.
So I noticed on pld with shield skill ups, that pre-24 it was pretty slow, then at 24 I got the Turtle Shield with the -agi, and I was getting shield skill left and right, it is typically close to, if not at cap. And between the +vit and I'm a mithra, I just kept it, and probably will keep it for quite some time...
I think its all random I remember getting 2 skill up lvls tanking a Dhamel at 72. But it never happened like that again. An we did nothing different for that Dhamel then any other. I remember tanking a God Wyvern( name?? I forget) An I managed to get 7 parries in a row with no skill ups. It was funny watching the Ls try to pull hate back from me. On the second go around I died a ton with 0 parry sucess on the same mob.
Nin75, Bst75. Drk61, War61, Rdm40, All other jobs are 37. All 3 starting city missions completed. All Zilart missions completed. All CoP missions completed. TouA completed.
Everything is difficult to skill up, and you know what? They went and made it that while participating in a campaign battle you can't skill up either. Campaign could have been a huge opportunity to skill up, but no. We're getting EXP, but we're not getting the skill ups that are supposed to go with it.
It would be really nice if they eased up on it a little bit.
So I noticed on pld with shield skill ups, that pre-24 it was pretty slow, then at 24 I got the Turtle Shield with the -agi, and I was getting shield skill left and right, it is typically close to, if not at cap. And between the +vit and I'm a mithra, I just kept it, and probably will keep it for quite some time...
Placebo. Don't trust what you "notice." Like, ever.
Use a Size 2 shield 'til 28, then at 28 get a Kite Shield and never touch anything other than Size 3 ever again. You'll be much better off.
When I saw this, I immediately thought of the video linked to in Balfree's sig.
Flight of the Conchords need to get on that one, STAT!
Yellow Mage and Armando the Sig 3
Originally Posted by IM
Armando: Joyeuse makes for some delicious farming.
Armando: I should start coming /BLU for pure power.
Yellow Mage: Which sub gives you huge power?
Armando: That would be /WAR.
Yellow Mage: Ah, I see.
Yellow Mage: Would /Galka give you thick fat? XD
Armando: Yes, unless it's a Galka DNC, then it has a chance at having own tempo.
Armando: In Soviet Russia, L Cancels you.
Yellow Mage: Smashing like it's 1999.
Brawlers to the end.
Last edited by Yellow Mage : 12-16-2007 at 03:15 PM. Reason: Grammar
Shield and Parrying are easier to skill up because you get hate and tank a mob. Tank a mob without utsusemi as Monk in every party and there are the "left and right" skill-ups.
However Monk's don't tank. It will come over time, or you'll have to get a PL. It's just how the game is made.. not much else to do about it, even though it does suck. But then again.. My Guarding skill is at 180 and it's worth it.
Shield and Parrying are easier to skill up because you get hate and tank a mob. Tank a mob without utsusemi as Monk in every party and there are the "left and right" skill-ups.
However Monk's don't tank. It will come over time, or you'll have to get a PL. It's just how the game is made.. not much else to do about it, even though it does suck. But then again.. My Guarding skill is at 180 and it's worth it.
Utes doesn't affect guard, parry or shield skill ups. An I have tanked my far share of ground hnm's, gods, pop item mobs, exp mobs, merit mobs, Dyn mobs. An my parry is nowhere close to being capped.
Nin75, Bst75. Drk61, War61, Rdm40, All other jobs are 37. All 3 starting city missions completed. All Zilart missions completed. All CoP missions completed. TouA completed.
Utes doesn't affect guard, parry or shield skill ups.
Are you sure about that? I thought that to skill up guard, parry and shield you actually had to use those skills which means getting hit. If Utsusemi absorbed a hit you never got the chance to use those skills. Or do I have the order of things wrong.
Shield and Parrying are easier to skill up because you get hate and tank a mob. Tank a mob without utsusemi as Monk in every party and there are the "left and right" skill-ups.
However Monk's don't tank. It will come over time, or you'll have to get a PL. It's just how the game is made.. not much else to do about it, even though it does suck. But then again.. My Guarding skill is at 180 and it's worth it.
Funny, I did actually tank for an exp chaining VTs as MNK when the NIN went afk, and I barely got any skill ups... currently 89, but as I said, when I was PLD, I went from way under cap to capped by the time I was 25 pushing 26. Went from Decurion's Shield to Turtle Shield and it started going up...
Are you sure about that? I thought that to skill up guard, parry and shield you actually had to use those skills which means getting hit. If Utsusemi absorbed a hit you never got the chance to use those skills. Or do I have the order of things wrong.
What he said, Parry, Shield, Guard, weapons etc. only skill up when you use them or connect the hit.
Only Evasion gets raised no matter if you evaded or not, but Utsusemi probably prevents it from raising if a shadow is used.
Sanctuary of Zi'tah! "In this world, the one who has the most fun is the winner!"C.B.
Actually you get eva skill ups even with utsu. Seeing how you'd evade or not. Shadow loss would proc as taking a hit. But since it was a shadow lost, shield and guard wouldn't kick in.
Guard and shield work on the same level, just different rates of procing obviously.
Parry without having massive evasion bonus kicks in as much as shield would. At least in my experiences as rdm and pld when taking hits. Though parry does proc as much as you would evade, or at least it seem when my whm parry when you add to the fact it doesn't have a native skill.
I can see it now. The unexpected dirtnap ... the joyful flutters of the heart as a wandering Pixie casts R3 ... the rage and despair as some endgame prick ganks her before she finishes casting ...
I am not 100% sure about Guarding, But my Monk friend says he done it with shadows up. As for me I was able to get evade and parry skill up with shadows up on my Ninja. Sometimes I did lose a shadow And sometimes I didn't.
As for shield skills I was able to get a few of them with my Bst/nin outside Whitegate. Instead of the shield minimizing the damage I lost a shadow instead.
Nin75, Bst75. Drk61, War61, Rdm40, All other jobs are 37. All 3 starting city missions completed. All Zilart missions completed. All CoP missions completed. TouA completed.
Linear Mode
