Struggling to do damage in Valkurm.

[JayblahX]

I'm a new player (on Ragnarok), and while not clueless, am still not overly knowledgeable. I know that my low level (I'm LVL 10 Elvaan Monk with no Subjob) is the biggest factor in this, but when I'm fighting the Hill Lizards in Valkurm Dunes, I do pitiful damage.

My equip:
The LVL 8 Monk/Nin/Sam gi set.
White Belt
Cesti
Legionnaire Knuckles
Freesword Knuckles

With the Cesti equipped, I swung faster but only landed damage for 0-1 damage.

With the Freesword equipped, I swung slightly slower but landed poor dmg as well.

With the Legionnaire equipped, I swung pretty slow, misses sucked, and if I hit, it was for 5-7 damage usually.

Saddest was when I used Combo and did a whole 1 point of damage.

I felt like dead weight in the party, and I'm surprised they put up with me. I'm new so I can't afford food or much accessories (spent most of my money upgrading my weapons as a damage dealer should do). At one point the WHM in the party laughed at my pathetic Combo damage.

All this time, a level 12 DRK was doing 30 damage with his Scythe, and an 11 RNG was doing 10-20 damage with his arrows. I know their levels were a big factor, but the Lizards were VT to IT to them too. :sweat:

[DMC]

Yeah i feel, you im also struggling damage, like every time we either fight a lizard or gob i gotta use combo or shoulder tackle all the time, But once you git 20, it wouldnt be a problem, i saw an lv 20 was solo , had no problem

[Toede]

your last sentence explained it all. You are 4 levels below the drk(at your low level probably should solo to 10 at least, much better exp at least) the reason why you are hitting for such low damage is the fact that the mob you are facing is probably a level 14-15 mob. your fighting creatures that a group of 11-13 level groups should kill. the things defense is probably more than your total attack. once you get to level 12 like the dark, you will probably do about 8-15 damage per fist to the thing.

[JayblahX]

Toede, I am level 10 and the DRKwas level 12 and the RNG was level 11. I heard 10 was when melees should head to Valkurm Dunes.

I'm only 1 level below a guy that was hitting for 10-20 damage consistent while I was doing 0-1 damage fast or 5 damage slowly.

Although you are right, they do have subjobs and are thus boosted and I am not. :sweat:

[neighbortaru]

you are still too low for valkurm IMHO. if you are tackling VT/IT lizzards in valk, your lvl 10 mnk will hit air. Especially if your h2h skill is not capped yet.

continue to solo the rock eaters in la thiene or highlands for a couple more lvls (12 ideally, 11 at least) and cap that h2h.

[Netrus]

i believe its lvl 15 when u want to move to dunes. and then stay until 20 then get on to jeuno (with an escort preferrably) to do the chocobo quest. then head to qufim and lvl there. i believe thats right. well when ur 18 make sure u get your sub job support. thats always a plus. anyways that should be all right. i dunno. but gl to ya

[Jizu]

It is very important to eat food when fighting VT's and IT's. If you want to do damage I would suggest meat mithkabobs +5 str, -1 vit, +2 agi, -1 int, + 21.9% att. This will make u look sooo much better then the people that don't use food and 80% of the time no one uses food in VD. Also remember that u hit twice a round so if u are doing 10 dmg every time u hit = 20.

What u really need to do is learn the AH alittle better so that u can get some food. At lv 10 I had a pair of tropical punches (sold them though i don't really care for them as a galka monk 10,000 gil) so I got a set of leg. knuckles, white belt, power gi, monk head gear. Then i got 2 +1 str rings, 2 +1 att ear rings, purple belt. Cuz once u get to VD u don't want to come back till u have to.
I also have 3 stacks of M Mith's.

The best spot to get loot in bastok is the hill right out side of the entrance behive chips , honey, zinc, wild onions all drop there. Along with the goblin armor drops. I don't know San to well and that is probly where u are from.

[neighbortaru]

@netrus:
nah, you can head to dunes at 11-12. just be careful of what you tackle. IT lizzards will be tough, but a good group can handle it.

@jizu:
yes, food is good, but all the food in the world is not going to help him out in valkurm at lvl 10. and he wouldn't be able to use power gi until 13 (which btw, you can quest for).

[Jizu]

@neighbortaru
Yes food will not make him hit like god but will help out his att's. power gi is lvl 13 but a good group in VD can get there in 3-4 hours from lvl 10 @ 0 tnl. Like i said once u get to VD u won't want to come back untill lvl 18 if doing the sub quest or 20 chocobo quest. and by the time u hit 13 u will be fighting crabs and food is a must if u want to be doing any damage as a monk.

[JayblahX]

Sigh,

You guys act as if you were never poor newbies before.

I can't afford Food. I barely can afford anything, especially after my latest neccessary upgrades at level 10. Now I have to farm for hours on end in Windhurst (my hometown) just to buy expendable food (on top of which I also need to buy equip. like jewelry, Tropical Punches, etc.) just so I can START getting XP parties at level 10+ in Valkurm Dunes?

At Valkurm Dunes, the only people I ever see eating food are those with higher level characters that allow their lower level jobs to afford the food cost upkeep.

This game is getting ridiculous.

[neighbortaru]

jizu, i completely agree. however, i don't think that'll help his immediate problem.

jay, heh, we're not putting you down or anything. i certainly didn't mean to if that's the impression you got. again, my recommendation stands tho. Head to la thiene or highlands and solo the rock eaters for a couple more lvls and cap your skills. Come back to valkurm at around 12ish and you'll notice a significant improvement.

edit: btw, tropical punches are highly overrated.

[Jizu]

@JayblahX

The only reason why u don't see all the none sub jub people using food is because they think it is a waste of gil. My highest lvl char is 21 blm / 18 whm on this char. My other char Darkanguish is 18 war / 11 mnk
and when i came back from VD do sub monk i had 250 gil and shiot in my inv. via 8 single fires, 2 stacks of waters, and some other odd drops from VD. It is completly possible to make enough money to have good eq and food it just takes time. And if u want to be a bad azz damage dealer it is going to take time. If u think u can lvl to 50 non stop without taking time to farm to make money and do really good damage u are wrong. Well u can always go and buy the gil online if u really want to but IMO that is just nuts.

Good luck and welcome to the world of FFXI

edit: YES TROPICAL PUNCHES SUCK

And we are only tring to give u tips and or advice.

[JayblahX]

Ok Taru, I suppose I'll endure the hell of soloing to do that. My hand 2 hand is capped at this level, but I know what you mean: 2 levels will make a difference in hitting those Lizards.

I know you aren't putting me down, its just that most of the suggestions are not practical for someone in my position. I will not farm for hours to make lowbie XP in Valkurm Dunes, and even if I did farm for hours to earn some gil, I wouldn't spend it on food, I'd spend it on gear until I have a satisfactory setup and can splurge on food.

[Toede]

yes your right we were all poor newbies at one point. and some of us are still poor =) first time through(as a war) i had no clue what food was, the second time through with monk i didnt use food until i started fighting crabs, and even the i felt weak against them. from then on food is a must.

One suggestion i would make is to level war first and get your subjob quest out of the way(probably heard this a million times, but once more wont hurt) low level monks can be tanks and will be asked to tank often. a monk with no subjob isnt as attractive as a war. at least the war can provoke the mob if something goes wrong(like a over zelous whm casting cures)

later on you will realize how much food helps, the less downtime for the group overall will help you, may not be much help, but in the end it all adds up.

farming sucks, farming sucks especially when farming alone. if possible try to find a friend and farm together, at least it helps pass the time.

[--e]

O~kay.

People who tell you to wait until 15 to go to valk haven't been there lately. LaThiene used to be the de facto leveling zone from 9-15, then valkurm. Now nobody at all pts in la thiene, people go straight to valk. there's no reason a lvl 10 pt can't take rabbits at one zone or lizards at the other. it works fine.

The only food you're ever gonna need as a melee is meat mithkabobs. a stack is ~2200 gil. I understand that that is a small fortune to you, so don't buy a stack. buy 2 of em for 200 gil a piece and see firsthand if they make a difference. 400 gil is like 15 minutes of farming at lvl 10. no problem.

Tropical puches. you're kidding, right? why the hell would you suggest an ultrarare weapon that isn't much better at all than hitting barefisted? their cost is obscene, and they don't add nearly enough to make them worthwhile.

It sounds like your equip is reasonable. for H2H weapons you almost always want to go with the highest damage, regardless of delay. sell the other two for the cash. Hell, I'd sell all 3 and go barefisted until 11 when you can use Brass Baghnahks (+1 if you can manage). Its important to understand (and few do) that mnk's weapon is built in. our H2H skills are already there, and we do perfectly well barefisted. the weapons add some damage to what we already have, and add a ton of delay. we're very unique in that.

Go through your equip slot by slot and make sure they aren't empty if there's something reasonable to put there. the white belt is awesome, use it til the purple at 18. use a pair of amythyst rings. check on the price of legionairre's mitts, I've no idea how much they cost buy they're attx+3. I'm unaware of any earrings, neckwear, or headgear that are gonna help you out.

every job goes through spots where their damage is embarassing, mnk seems to hit these patches hard. Just wait 4 levels when you're fighting crabs... Make sure your skill is capped, make sure your accuracy is as high as can be (combo is 3 hits, if you miss em all you don't do damage. if you miss 2, you don't do damage. etc.), keep your eyes and ears open and learn as much about being a good player as you can. There are many who are willing to teach.

holy crap this is way longer than I intended, shutting up now
--e