(yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

[Shinhiryu_Kage]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

You know, you can aggro the Sand Bats in both of the tunnels and run away from them and eventually, they will de-aggro. So, to be perfectly honest with you, unless you have extremely pathetic HP, don't maneuver well with your character, or stop dead in your tracks, the tunnels should not be an issue for any character. Besides that, I think like..... after LV14 or so, if you are a melee, you can solo the Sand Bats. Seems to me that a BLM could do that same thing to, even with Bind. I know as RDM, its quite easy to solo the bats. Maybe not if you are level 10, but then again, if you are not at LV13 or higher and trying to go thru the passages into Valkurm Dunes proper, you really shouldn't be going through the tunnels to meet an XP party. You have no business xping outside of the Konschtat zone lol. Unless, you're desperate for some form of a party. w

Gobs, on the other hand, are a whole different matter. But, the funny thing is, I've walked right behind the back of a Gob time and time again, never getting aggro. Even walking to their side on the left and right and it was no big deal. Its only until you get at a 45 or 90 degree angle that they start to go apesh*t and chase you lol.

I mean, where's the MGS leet skeelz at? Unless you are a glutton for punishment and like to repeat mistakes over and over again to waste time and anger a bunch of quote/unquote "fellow party members," you should be using your tactical Metal Gear Solid skills of stealth. And if you haven't played MGS, then you have no business playing FF11! lolu

[Celeal]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Isn't the secret beach a popular XP camp site O.o? 7 death within an hour for just unable to get to the camp, something is really wrong.

[FatCharlie]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Personally I feel if it's a player's 2nd or more time through the Dunes there is absolutely no excuse not to bring oils/powders with prices these days. 16-20k for a stack of oils AND powders. What veteran player cannot afford that?

As for the leader warning the n00b, meh. I don't think I've ever been in a PT outside my LS at any level where the leader gave me any warning or advice on what to bring. This is a game of assumptions.

I think it falls more upon the LS to prepare n00bs for their adventures. I know my first time through the dunes I shouted out in my LS that I got my 1st PT invite, and numerous people in my LS reminded me to bring oils/powders.

[Emurei]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

HOW many times have you been through Valkurm Dunes?

Considering I have 10 Jobs at Lv18 or higher and 1 Job (Blm) at Lv17 for warp obviously. Sooooo I been through the dunes twice :D and normally I bring friends, not a PL I'm aginst that, but other people in my LS or friendlist that is level a job around that level. So people tend to do as they are told if I invite a random extra. And most of the time I invite someone that doesn't have a subjob, just to have a chance to teach them a few things, and well spoil them with good party setup. I sometimes get thanked randomly from people I don't know cause of that gives me a warm fuzzy inside.

"Only twice you ask?" You see us Windy peeps have this place called the Maze where we fight you know non-moving, non-aggroing worms that gives really good exp and is extremely easy. Right after you hit 16-17 range you move to the extremely unpopulated area outside of Mhaura or travel to K.tunnel in Bastok to fight more, dare I say, overly easy worms till you hit 19-20 than you go and deal with the qufim undead woes Heck I even did my subjob quest in Mhaura so long long long long time ago. As well as most of my LS mates :D

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Just got SAM through the dunes in the last few days and went to join a PT with a friend since I was still level 20 last night and she was level 19.

So we get to the secret beach camp. I see an assortment of people in my PT with 75 jobs and... they aggro the bats in the tunnel, pull mobs when the RNG was designated to be the puller and piss and moan about any EXP that isn't IT+ EXP.

So basically, this was the traditional Valkurm PT everyone hates. Funny thing is, I had better PTs with the actual Rank 1 newbies than I did these guys. Perhaps the newbies these days - in thier hopes to catch up starting so late in the game - actually listen now.

Our WHM in particular was a major whiner about the EXP. This I don't really understand because in Valkurm, no job as at the level where you can constantly chain IT with ease and this is why you pull the Ts and VTs instead. I think there's a sector of high level players that just forget that and commence the piss and moan because their expectations are skewed.

At some point in the PT, I ended up tanking instead of the PLD. He apparently didn't know what provoke was or how to cast cures, so after one simple WS, I'm beaten senseless by a pugil and die. Not a huge deal to me, in fact, I wasn't even pointing fingers.

But as I laid there waiting for Raise (our PL had apparently wandered off because he had more important matters to attend to, like killing leeches), the WHM asks my RNG friend to pull while I recovered, but not to pull T or VT, just IT. This for the umpteenth time after I told her upteen times to quit crabbing about the EXP.

So I bit her damn head off this time. And she's all like "Chill, its just a game." And I'm like "If its just a game to you, quit complaining about the EXP in the damn dunes."

Then I unweaken. My RNG friend goes to pull, in fact, has had a macro specifying exactly what she intends to pull - a damselfly. The other SAM in my PT runs off and smacks a pugil. I two hour the fly while pugil is being, lol, kited by the other SAM, then I help them take down the pug, but WHM dies. We kill the pug and just as we do... a bogy aggros the other SAM. He dies. Both morons dead

I zone to Gustav, don my chocobo whistle, zone back out and call forth my noble steed, LuckyOutlaw. My friend uses her warp scroll. We're out.

I still have BLM to take to 18, and WHM and THF to get through Valkurm as subjobs and then I am NEVER, eeeeeeever, going back again.

[Celeal]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

I agree with Omgwtfbbqkitten. Before level 20, when you only need 3k or 5k to gain next level (sorry, I don't have the exact number with me), you don't really need 200+ xp per mob and exp. chain #5... T and VT mob is a good idea in Dunes.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

I hate it when the "divas" in the pt start to complain about what kind of mobs are being pulled (like the WHM complaining about only pulling ITs, and not Ts and VTs), especially when I'm the puller. They're not the ones out there /checking the mobs, and finding that everything out there only cons VT. I've had players complain like that in the Dunes when they were level 19 ~ 20. At that low level range, a mob has to be at least 6 levels above the party to con IT. That means that the Gobs will only rarely con IT at lvl 19, and never at lvl 20. The Damselflies haven't conned IT since lvl 17. At lvl 19, even the Beach Pugils are just as likely to con T/VT as they are to con IT. These players just seem to have no clue what mobs are even out there.

Another thing that irks me when players complain about the mobs getting pulled: when they demand only IT or IT+, and never IT++. The players who complain about that are usually the mages, who happen to be weilding a weapon type for which their skill is horribly under leveled. Why does that matter? Because a player's weapon skill has a huge impact on whether or not a mob comes up as high defense and high evasion. I remember having this happen to me in the Dunes long ago. And I had it happen fairly recently... in Bibiki Bay.

/rant

[Celeal]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Because they only care about the big number of exp for yield from the IT++, have no clue about melee, mob spawn time, other parties in the area, etc. They are not the ones out there to pull...

[Vyuru]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Because they only care about the big number of exp for yield from the IT++, have no clue about melee, mob spawn time, other parties in the area, etc. They are not the ones out there to pull...

Not only that, but they fail to realise that there is a certain level range that a mob can spawn within, and so by killing the T and VT you might just get a IT mob to pop in a little bit.

Myself, I don't carry sneak oils or prism powders to the dunes. I can avoid goblin aggro most of the time, once I have a melee job between level 13-14 I can normally survive a fight with a sand bat, since I won't be going over to the Selbina area until then anyway, I don't need sneak oils to avoid the sand bats in the tunnel. Undead I just give a wide berth to so sneak oils for them is rather pointless IMO. If I'm in one of the towns and get an invite to the secret beach, then I would bring along some sneak oils, but I'm not running back to town to get them if I get an invite while in Valkurm. I don't bring reraise items to the dunes either, but I will set my home point at the outpost in case I die, and if there is no raise capable whm standing next to me then I will homepoint rather than wait for a raise.

I think you were fairly reasonable to be mad. If you are going to the secret beach, you should have asked if eveyone had sneak oils. If not you might have been better picking a different place. Goblins in the area might have been better, or you could have picked one of the Damselfly camps.

Or you could have waited for the party to gather in front of the tunnel, and then fought your way past the 2 sand bats and giant bat. Most of what you said tells me that the party leader wasn't doing his job in safely getting the party to the exp spot. I can see what you are saying with some of the things, but I don't agree with all of it. I would point out that if the whm got aggro in the tunnel, where is he going to zone to? There are 2 giant bats in front of the Gustav Tunnel zone and the other zones are too far away.

If this was a standard exp camp, I'd be griping along with you, but from my experiance few players go to the hidden beach, it's about as standard of an exp spot as say, the Shrakami Maze or the Korroloka Tunnel. And it's just at that level I would not expect anyone to bring along the meds needed to reach that camp because it is so rarely used.

[Mog]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

At times like this, I'm glad I staticed with two other people through the dunes....

[Solymir]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Good stories.

Long before I ever heard of how much trouble people have had with the Dunes, I made the decision to never go there before level 15. Mostly because I would rather ride a Choco from my Home Town (Bastok FTW), than trudge my way through 3-4 different zones on foot. But, also, you can save yourself a lot of frustrating moments just by getting those 5 "extra" levels on your own. When you get into a party in the Dunes with level 14-16 players, they have just a tad more experience, and that can make all the difference in a good Dunes experience and a tolerable one or in some cases, a tear-your-hair-out-scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs experience.

If you can find an LS mate or a friend to duo with you until level 15 it will make the time go faster as well. Every nation has a zone tailor-made for leveling to 15. Basty has Dangruf Wadi, and the other two have zones similar (their names escape me right now, and no access to any map sites at work) you just need to be careful not to bite off more than you can chew with the beastmen in those zones. Don't forget (especially you noobs) the items and gil you get from mobs while soloing is all yours, and that means you can afford better gear for going to the Dunes. Anyways, just my 2 Gil.

[Skylar]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

Ive only been playing for about 2 months now. Ive leveled RDM , WHM , WAR , BLU and NIN all in the Dunes. I remember my first time I had no idea what to expect obviously. I had no LS (or friends for that matter) and honestly wasnt even sure why I was there. I just remember someone sending me a /tell ''You want a party in the Dunes''? To which I replied ''Um...Wth is that''? This person (who not at the time) but obviously now I realize was a seasoned FFXI player. He helped me from WestRon all the way to the Dunes through /tell and met up with me at the zone along with the rest of the party. He introduced me to the rest of the party and then pretty much gave me private lessons as we leveled for about 5 hours that day. If it wasnt for his help I would be just another target of this rant here. I learned AN A$$ LOAD leveling in the Dunes. Everyone seems to be putting this place down. Without the Dunes Id probably still be in WestRon killing little bunnies and wondering wth my next level would come. Now every time I go to the Dunes to level a new char I make it a point to invite ''noObs'' and players with no /sub. I also take it upon myself to help them understand the workings of a pt and how the mobs will aggro and how the next time they come they need to be properly prepaired. Its my opinion that ALL higher levels should take the time to do this. WE WERE ALL NEW TO THIS GAME / DUNES AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. Not one of us hit the Dunes our first time and E-Z'd sh!t.. After all this game was created with the thought in mind of ''PLAYING AS A TEAM/PARTY''. Like a few have mentioned , you basically know what to expect when going to the Dunes. New players getting aggro+death and what not. Yah I want to get a level 75 job too. I want to get the party moving so the exp starts flowing. But what I want more than anything is to play this GAME and have FUN doing it. Not sure how anyone else feels , but when I know I helped someone have an easier life on FFXI by taking maybe a few hours helping them understand a bit more I feel pretty damn good about it. In turn I find myself wanting to play the game more and more.

As for players who know what to expect and still get aggro+death. Heh... Im not perfect either. But maybe think about where youre going and what your part in the party is? Which 1 of them would be to use your experiences to help out and NOT DIE DUE TO BEING CHEAP OR LAZY. (Leave that for the the people its meant for...Us ''noObs''

And just as bad/lazy imo is the high level who just doesnt feel like offering up any advice or saving a ''''noOb'' from an aggro. A WHM who bitches about having to raise? Heh... Ridiculous. And God forbid youre a vet and the leader of the pt and dont meet your incoming fellow pt mates at a zone... ''Booo@you''

[Skylar]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

I would also like to add , anyone who is new to the game or going to the Dunes for their first time.. Feel free to leave me a message or send me a /tell and I would be more than happy to help. I am by no means a pro but I do have some experience leveling there.

Char name: Skylar Server: Kujata (Ftw!)

[Takira]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

I mean, where's the MGS leet skeelz at? Unless you are a glutton for punishment and like to repeat mistakes over and over again to waste time and anger a bunch of quote/unquote "fellow party members," you should be using your tactical Metal Gear Solid skills of stealth. And if you haven't played MGS, then you have no business playing FF11! lolu

Then I guess I should quit playing now since I have NEVER played MGS.

In any case, any game you play online you are gonna run into lazy players but I usually ask when I get party invites where is the party gathering, where is camp etc.

I basically partied 2x in the dunes with my mule (RDM) , got maybe 3 levels between them (12-15) and the rest I solo'd with a 71 RDM in the Maze to avoid the idiocy of Valkrum.

I know how to avoid aggro but sometimes no matter what you do - its unavoidable.

If I am leading the party, like most suggested, I set the gathering point at Selbina or the outpost and the party goes together to camp, safer, faster in the long run because you aren't waiting forever for party members who die, you are there to protect them.

Just my thoughts.

[LilithAngel]

Re: (yet another) Valkurm Dunes Rant

I would also like to add , anyone who is new to the game or going to the Dunes for their first time.. Feel free to leave me a message or send me a /tell and I would be more than happy to help. I am by no means a pro but I do have some experience leveling there.

Char name: Skylar Server: Kujata (Ftw!)

Welcome aboard fellow Kujatan!

Gawd, the Dunes. How many times have I gone through that place? Hmm, let's see...

Warrior
Thief
Dragoon
Blue Mage
Corsair
White Mage
Red Mage
Black Mage
Paladin
Ninja
Bard
Samurai

Yeah, roughly a full 12 times (give or take a few Kor/Maze parties here or there), as quite a few (vastly) different jobs, as you can see. Every single time, I had to make myself doubly aware of two things:

First: I am *not* the top of the food chain in this zone at this time. Yeah, I may be a level 75 Dragoon, yeah, I may be a level 48 Blue Mage or 47 Corsair, but not now, not here. That goblin I walk by countless times without concern in those jobs will now kill me in my current form. Situational Awareness: learn it, love it, live it!

Second: You see that Rank 1~3, no Sub Jobber? Yeah, do you honestly think they know what's up in Valkurm Hell? No, probably not. So could they reasonably be expected to be packing stacks of "cheap" meds that "veteran players" can afford on the fly? Remember, that Adventurer's Coupon everyone started out with is only worth 50 gil. *50*. Five Zero. After that, you were on your own for *everything*, and so too, probably, is that guy/girl. No matter how many times you've gone through the mess, no matter how many times you've seen it happen, if they're "fresh on the sands" (I like that phrase, I shall take it ), cut them some slack!

Besides, save that rage for the slack-jaw dipshits that sport Rank 5+/2~5+ 75 Jobs that can't be bothered to carry a constant supply of powder/oil.

(BTW, and this is just *my* honest opinion, but PLs *ruin* The Dunes. If you honestly can't see why, try keeping your cool when you're experiencing Dunes-level thinking in places such as Boyhada Tree, Garbage Shitadel (upper *and* lower), Cape Terrigan/VoS, Bibiki Bay, Lufaise Meadows, and Mount Caedarva Zayholm Mire. Trust me, you cannot; I don't care who you are, that *will* get to you.)