Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

[Mezlo]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

I miss ffxi

[Squiggs]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Wotg: Complete the quests already and I'll start

You could come back and do this...

[Jasiwel]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Welp, prepare for walls of text:

First off to help finance your future adventures I would recommend you find yourself a stable source of gil. I went the gardening/crafting route myself. I focused mainly on consumables which I sold on the AH, gardening for a reliable NPC source of gil since the AH can be cutthroat at times, and there were certain crafts were I could go do FoV pages, get crafting items/stuff and synth. Leatherworking was an awesome gil source this way, especially since dark crystals were easy for me to get.

Next, do other BCNMs. This will net you some gil, and get you some of the spells you will need, like Phalanx. Also make sure to pick up Regen, amazing spell that is not to be underestimated.

Umm, what else...

Hit up ffxiclopedia, it's where I got alot of my info when I was playing the game. Always research where you can buy something (and for how much) then compare it to the AH prices. Many people will go buy an item from a NPC and then resale the item on the AH at a hefty markup. So make sure you are not getting ripped off. It's also an easy way to make some gil too, so there's two sides to that coin.

Ahriman have stupid amounts of magic defense, never smack them with a nuke IMO. They always seemed fairly weak to physical damage though. Well, let me rephrase that. They never seemed to have the defensive bonuses that other mobs got. They have some annoying TP moves that help with their defense, and of course they have magic. Also, it should be stated that this mob DOES have Lvl 5 Petrify. Do NOT do this fight at a level that is divided by 5, you will die.

Check out ffxiclopedia for food options. I'm sure that you will know whether you need +att, +def, or +acc food. Easy to get and cheap low level foods that I would recommend looking are:

+att: Dhalmel Steak/Meat Jerky/Roast Mutton
+def: Boiled Crab
mp regen: Pineapple Juice

There is alot to recommend to you in terms of gear. On the one hand there isn't too much to pick from that'll add substantial improvements, on the other, you are badly undergeared especially in terms of accessories IMO. If you are going more of a melee mage route, I would recommend:

Neck: Focus Collar
Gloves: Battle Gloves
Waist: Mohbwa Sash <<< ought to be cheap

Problem with gear is that you get alot more good options in the 36-50 range. I would pick up the lvl 36 +int/mnd rings as they should be cheap and will help your spells. Speaking of which, you will probably need to get used to gear swapping. Certain spells are affected by different stats, someone who played more than I as a Rdm can speak more about that. For instance I think Paralyze is affected by Mind, but getting it to stick and getting it to proc are two different things that I can't really speak of. I think, think mind you, enfeebling skill affects sticking and mind would affect proc rate.

Not sure if you know this or not but you can only have either Bio or Dia on a mob at the same time. Dia reduces defense and Bio reduces attack.

Now granted, Rdm has fast cast, but I think that subbing /nin would be foolish. Yes Utsu: Ichi is handy and quite useful, but the casting time and recast time is so long I just don't think it is the way to go.


If'n you want I can give you long term advice, some key gear, or what I think of as key gear pieces to get for both solo and party play, or short term advice. Short term would still be to get Dancer leveled as a sub and tackle this BCNM again. If you are close to winning as is I think /dnc would help push you the last little bit. I'd also highly recommend getting some help. As others have said this is a group game that can be solo'd to a certain extent.


Also, if you are playing Rdm as a combat mage, you might want to give Blue Mage a whirl. It can get frustrating to learn spells sometimes, but good god if it wasn't the most fun job I have ever played.

I'm making great use of the Auction House so far. I just made around 16,000 plus gold in the past day, so I've been using that to grab new spells. I go around and explore a lot, so I grab a ton of items from monsters. I recycle my old gear by using it at the auction and Decurion's Daggers are incredibly good sellers on Auctions (I have a lot of Conquest points, so you can see why I want to get this mission done with). I use FFXIpedia and FFXIAH.com every moment I play the game (I use my iPod for research) on a daily basis. I'll look up foods next time I'm at the AH. I have a limited time with the game for now (my service will run out in a couple of weeks and renewal looks unlikely for now), so anything besides explorations, AH, and combat is just not feasible. I don't want to invest too heavily in the RDM though as I am REALLY wanting to become a Dragoon before my service runs dry. I'll probably end up at Lvl. 50 (right when I can't go any further because of the Limit Level Cap) RDM and then go straight into Dragoon (at Lvl.34 without Invis/Sneak, I simply can't track it down and stay alive at the same time) since Lvl. 50 would make mincemeat of most monsters in that cave.

As far as equipment, I'll definitely give your suggestions a whirl. Focus Collars are too expensive and none are in stock (plus the accuracy isn't worth the 20,000) on the Bahamut server. I'll definitely try the Battle Gloves and they'll work with DRG too! If I have the money, I'll also grab the sash while I'm at it. I would gear swap if I had the time and cash, but considering having both conveniently there is dependent on the Bahamut server's AH, I often don't have both.

Thanks for the advice though guys! I am definitely having a better time coping with these issues with your support. I have to admit, I was really worried that I wouldn't get an answer given how some of the topics and posts here are from a year or two ago. I really appreciate it, please keep responding.

[Jasiwel]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Hey guys, I'm facing a bit of a decision dilemma. I'm now Lvl. 37 (yay) and my gear has improved quite a bit (got the aforementioned sash, Battle Gloves, and Brass Cuisses). I have Cure III and have figured out the most effective way/time to use it in a fight, plus I now have Protect II, Enaero, Enthunder, and the whole slew of magics that keep enemies from going aggro. However, there are two major battles I would like to complete soon and I have a few questions about how I should prepare as a RDM 37/BLM 15.

The first is simply the one this thread is based around: Rank 2 Final Mission. As far as Food goes, what exactly should I get? What kind of Juices? That stuff gets expensive quickly, so how much of a difference does it make? For magic, should I buy Stoneskin or Dia II? I intend on using Bio in the fight over Dia I, but would Dia II be a better spell?

The other, second battle is the boss fight for the Dragoon (my dream) job and why I've been playing Red Mage as my starter. What do I need to prepare for that? Would it be better if I was Lvl. 40 before that fight? I've heard various testimonies about the fight being ridiculously easy to fairly difficult, so some input/advice would be great about it.

[Armando]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

That's not true, I used to bullseye womprats all the time back in my T-16--

I'm pretty sure this was soloable on RDM back in the day. You needed to Sleep the Dragon and /heal when you were low on MP, but still. I'm kind of shocked it's possible to lose this fight at level 34.

As far as Food goes, what exactly should I get? What kind of Juices?

Not sure what the current foods are (haven't played in years) but Meat Mithkabobs and Pineapple/Grape Juice should be fine.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

For magic, should I buy Stoneskin or Dia II? I intend on using Bio in the fight over Dia I, but would Dia II be a better spell?

Ideally you'll want all your spells, but I'd prioritize purchasing Stoneskin. Also you should start saving right now for Phalanx, because that spell is just absurdly good.

[Jasiwel]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

I'm pretty sure this was soloable on RDM back in the day. You needed to Sleep the Dragon and /heal when you were low on MP, but still. I'm kind of shocked it's possible to lose this fight at level 34.Not sure what the current foods are (haven't played in years) but Meat Mithkabobs and Pineapple/Grape Juice should be fine.

Yeah, I was shocked at how bad it was when I lost the second time. I mean, I screwed up both times with some stuff, but I by no means thought I was going to take as much damage as I did. Although, they may have buffed the mobs (statistically, but not by level) right after they removed the Level Cap. Or maybe I was just bad at Soloing multiple mobs from the start. I have now learned that Tab is a wonderful friend for switching enemies.

And there seem to be plenty of Grape Juices in stock for 500 right now, so I'll grab handful after Stoneskin. Sadly, no Mithkabobs. Any alternatives?

Ideally you'll want all your spells, but I'd prioritize purchasing Stoneskin. Also you should start saving right now for Phalanx, because that spell is just absurdly good.

Alright, I have to head by Sandoria anyways (Sandoria is currently in first place on the Bahamut server), so this works out well. And....Phalanx currently costs 1,600,000 on the auction server....so I honestly don't see "saving" as a valid option when you normally only make around 12,000+ at the AH every couple of days.lol. If I get enough gold though, I'll definitely try to grab Dia II and/or Bio II. It's just they cost 20,000+ together. T_T

[Armando]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Worst case scenario you can use Meat Jerky. Better than nothing. You should hit up FFXIClopedia and try to find the appropriate meat dish for your level though.

[Mezlo]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Phalanx currently costs 1,600,000 on the auction server....

wow! last i remember phalanx was a drop from a bcnm or ksnm fight that sold for 10k, lol...

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

wow! last i remember phalanx was a drop from a bcnm or ksnm fight that sold for 10k, lol...

Those were the days . . .

But yes, it was a BCNM drop that went for 30k, tops (and I might be misplacing a decimal point to the right there). And then the level cap increased to 80 and the spell was given to Paladins natively, as but one of many details of SE's crusade against RDM having anything to do with tanking.

(Unfortunately I never got to buy Phalanx before the fact, but thankfully someone from my LS was kind enough to buy me a scroll, since it was apparently pitiable that I couldn't afford it, even with as ridiculously expensive as it is. Then again, Chocobo Blinkers were still a thing at the time, so take that for what you will.)

[cidbahamut]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

I got mine back when it was 90k, and that was still a few days worth of farming beehive chips. It was so totally worth it though. Getting it right when you level into it just sort of cements the idea that you are an indestructible brick wall mage, or at least it did for me.

It made enough of an impression that back when I was still playing I made a point of farming up the gil to buy scrolls for a couple folks who couldn't afford it when they leveled into it. It just made playing RDM such a treat when I got it and I think it's a shame that not everyone gets to experience the same thrill I did.

If nothing else you should start saving beastmen seals so you can try to get it by doing BCNM(burning circle notorious monster) runs with people.

[Jasiwel]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

I got mine back when it was 90k, and that was still a few days worth of farming beehive chips. It was so totally worth it though. Getting it right when you level into it just sort of cements the idea that you are an indestructible brick wall mage, or at least it did for me.

It made enough of an impression that back when I was still playing I made a point of farming up the gil to buy scrolls for a couple folks who couldn't afford it when they leveled into it. It just made playing RDM such a treat when I got it and I think it's a shame that not everyone gets to experience the same thrill I did.

If nothing else you should start saving beastmen seals so you can try to get it by doing BCNM(burning circle notorious monster) runs with people.

Yeah, I've saved about 24 of them now. I might have more too, but honestly I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to work on many BCNMs that utilize Beastmen Seals. If anything they'll just be ones that go with missions, like the two current ones I'm trying to beat.lol.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

If nothing else you should start saving beastmen seals so you can try to get it by doing BCNM(burning circle notorious monster) runs with people.

That's what I was doing (Royal Jelly specifically), but I nearly ran out of seals before the scroll ever dropped.

[Malacite]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Phalanx skyrocketed in price ever since they allowed PLD to use it.

[Jasiwel]

Re: Difficulty finding balance in Rank 2 Final Mission and parts of the game.

Hey guys, I just wanted to thank all of you for your support and advice! Last night, after purchasing Stoneskin at Lvl.37 RDM alongside several Melon Juices and Meat Mithkabobs, I defeated the boss of The Holy Crest quest and then I subsequently traveled to West Sarutabaruta to beat, finally, the Searcher and Black Dragon. The Holy Crest final boss was ridiculously powerless against me, especially when I had Stoneskin, and Meat Mithkabobs are just wonderful. I basically incurred no damage the entire fight, not dropping to Yellow once I think thanks to Stoneskin. As for the Searcher/BDragon battle, I only dropped to yellow, but never below that. I slept the BDragon, cast a slew of enfeebles on it, then hacked down Searcher just as the BDragon awoke. I was a bit lucky that it didn't use its Curse ability on me, rather opting for Poison Breath instead, but the battle went by quite fast. I used my 2Hour to recast Stoneskin (maybe Blink too) and cast Cure III, which also probably saved me the battle as my health was beginning to turn bad for a bit there (Chainspell is so wonderful). I am simply glad that that portion is over and that I am finally a Dragoon like I've wanted to be since I started this game.

Also, Paralyze and Stoneskin are ridiculously good spells that make me feel horrible for not getting them before. Once again, thank you guys so much for helping me out and through this difficult set of solo battling.