independence

[neighbortaru]

Heh, thanks all for replying. I've taken the plunge and gone BRD. Stuck in Valkurm now at 17, but slowly I'm working my way up.

It's hard trying to find the range of instruments when everyone clumps together there, but I suppose at this level, there's no real need to distinguish what songs I play yet.

Made my first snafu at 16 when I left town with no Foe Lullaby. A gob popped and aggro'd and nearly wiped the party. Oh well, live and learn I guess, live and learn...

[Nodachi]

Originally posted by eviee
heh im the opposite, i like my parties to stay the same

minuet
madrigal
prelude if a ranger there
ballad II
ballad
requiem
elegy heheh

Not here to nit pic or critique, just curious why you play elegy last. To me it's the best debuff BRD gets and helps tanks perhaps the most out of all debuffs in the game. I usually tend to put elegy up, then madrigal to get TP going, then minuet for added attack. I guess other than that my play order is identical for traditional setups.

[Vilurum]

I'd tend to agree on that. Move Elegy up in the order (only thing potentially coming before it is a buff timed to land just as the puller arrives). I'd also put Minuet after Madrigal if you have a RNG, because Minuet's effect on their ranged attack damage is way more helpful than the slight TP gain they get from landing a few more of their (far weaker) melee hits. I have yet to meet a decently equipped RNG who had any trouble keeping up with TP anyway, especially with Prelude.

[lufia22]

Where would you put finale in all that? Are there only certain mobs you use finale on?

[Vilurum]

I'd delay whatever I'd be doing next and Finale immediately (it only takes a few seconds). On mobs that come pre-buffed, I start with Elegy, then Finale, then a few buffs, then Finale again when the recast is up, then a few more buffs, then Finale again, and so on until it's either out of buffs or dead.

Only mage-type enemies will pre-buff themselves (and unless they're BLMs, they usually have enough buffs that you won't get rid of them all unless there's a RDM or /RDM along too for Dispel). Crabs, for an example of enemies that buff but don't pre-buff, don't use Scissor Guard or Bubble Curtain unless they get TP, and that doesn't happen if they're standing around not fighting anyone.

[eviee]

i finale every time i catch it buffing itself

[Ashi]

Now in a bad/disorganized party it's a lot more fun because it keeps me on my toes.

Yes, well, fun as screwups can be sometimes, I still prefer to be not surrounded by incompetents, since they're the ones doing all the actual work. =P