How NOT to get your Tactics Pearl

[LyonheartLakshmi]

I've previously successfully completed the Tactics Pearl mini-quest at Promyvion-Dem and Promyvion-Holla. Last night, I decided to give Promyvion-Holla a try.

I entered Promyvion-Holla, called out my TigerFamiliar (I was BST/NIN), and then contacted my NPC at the Rendezvous Point. We dispatched a Wanderer and then moved on to the first big group of mobs nearby. To my misfortune, the closest mob in the group was a Craver (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Craver). Having handled pretty much any of the mob types on the first floor of the other two Promyvions (except for Memory Receptacle), I had the further misfortune of decided to take on the Craver.

During the fight, the Craver went on to use at least 2 AoE TP moves, hitting me and my NPC with Poison. My NPC, set as Soothing Healer, pulled hate and got whacked a time or two. When we finally dispatched the Craver, my NPC was left with a sliver of life which was slowly dropping due to poison. Unfortunately, NPCs using Healer and Soothing Healer will not heal themselves. Or at the very least even Poisona themselves. So I had no choice but to watch my NPC die off only a few seconds after just the 2nd mob.

Moral of the story: Avoid Cravers when soloing for your Tactics Pearl. I would suggest avoiding all of the Memosphere dropping mobs -- Cravers in Holla, Thinkers in Holla, and Gorgers in Dem. They all have some nasty TP moves, and a lot more HP than the other empties near them. When going for your Tactics Pearl, it's best to stick to the weaker mobs while making your way to the destination point.

[fastcart]

Yeah, I've found that getting tactics is easiest in Dem after trying all three. Live and learn.

[Mhurron]

What exactly is the Tactics Pearl. Is it the same as the signal pearl with a lower cool down timer?

[Eohmer]

Tactics pearl lets you call your NPC sooner... it has a 10 minute timer, as oppose to the Signal Pearl that has a 20 hour timer. The tactics pearl though has 4 uses, while the Signal is infinite.

Once your Tactics pearl runs out, you have to throw it away and get a new one by doing another Promy run... once every Conquest Tally.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Tactics Pearl effectively increases the number of times you can call out your NPC every week by 4.

As you do more and more with your NPC, it's nice to not be restricted by the 20 hour cool down on Signal Pearl. For example, one of the NPC growth quests require having your NPC out while you HELM for 3 different key items, each of them in a different zone. Now that the game allows you to move from zone-to-zone without losing your NPC, it's feasible to get two of those 3 key items with one call. It's nice to have up to 5 calls at your disposal if you want to complete that quest in one sitting.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

I did Promyvion-Holla Tactics Pearl last night. I think I took down two Thinkers during my time there. The Thinkers still did a number to me and my NPC, but nothing like what that Craver did. If you're tempted to take on a Thinker, I'd suggest making sure you're close to 100% HP / have Reward or Call Beast ready / etc.

I don't remember if I took on a Gorger back when I did Dem a couple of weeks ago. I think I'll revisit Dem next week, and try my luck with Gorgers.

[Kyrial Arthian]

I didn't have any problems with Cravers most of the time, simply because I always went in as WHM with my NPC as Stalwart Shield. As such, I was always able to Poisona her if need be. We still got stuck with Slow/Gravity from Murk, but that was just a minor annoyance from time to time. But then again, I did the Tactics Pearl quests mainly for the purpose of trying to get Memospheres, and the exp for my NPC was just a bonus. I don't really even summon her anymore, although I probably should finish getting her to 65 (she's 62 atm) now that I have a job better at soloing than WHM.