Dispel/Drain Questions

[Gwynn]

Hey, I just reached level 30 Rdm/Blm, and I was really spazzing about not being able to afford Dispel, because I knew it was one of the definitive Rdm spells, and I'd be nerfed without it. But luckily after two nights of farming lizzy with some friends, the boots dropped and I was able to afford Dispel along with the rest of my (I was missing Fire, Stone, Aero, and Water). I now have all my spells except for some of the bar-status spells (one or two I think), all of the bar-element spells, and Drain. Now to my questions:

How did other Red Mages afford Dispel, as it is the first expensive necessary spell?
Are we considered totally gimped without it?
Should I have even spent the gil on then En-spells? Are they worth having?
Should I build up fame to do the Drain quest, or is it even necessary?

Thank you in advance!

[Zempten]

I farmed crawlers for my Dispel

Yes, there are many monsters that need to be Dispel on your leveling way. A few that comes in mind are Crawler's Defense Boost, Crab's Defense Boost, Beetle's Evasion Boost

A single Enspell will suffice for now. They don't really make that big of a difference for you at your current level. Unless your fighting elementals.

Yes, Drain and Aspir are necessary. Althought Aspir is more PT friendly and Drain is more of a solo thing to use usally. Anyways, both are still good in PTs and also a good way to raise Dark Magic

[Sepukku]

Yes, you need Dispel. Dont give our job a bad name and go without it. If you accept a PT invite without it, youre all the more reason BRDs are taken over RDMs (theres other reasons too, but, my point is, dont give them another reason).

I would just buy drain. Bastok fame is stupid to raise. You dont need Bastok fame until you want Titan.

Im level 55 and I only have 1 en-spell. So dont be too concerned about them. Besides, you bought them all anyways? Better now than me and still whining about having to farm 30k for the other 5.

[falloutboy14]

Small correction: Drain is san doria fame, not bastok.

Here's a link with more info, and the quest to do it:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?fitem=2015

The site has all sorts of wonderful info also, so look around.

As far as money, you should be high enough to farm lizard skins in valkrum. If you do, try to do so in the Upper left corner, so you don't interfere with people xping. A stack should go for 7-8k.

[Kafeen]

>How did other Red Mages afford Dispel, as it is the first expensive necessary spell?
I'd already levelled another job to the 50's. I was a little short when it came to buying it but only by a few K. A little farming sorted that in no time.

>Are we considered totally gimped without it?
Yes, you will be expected to use it.

>Should I have even spent the gil on then En-spells? Are they worth having?
I got them all but there's no real difference in the damage they do. Just will do to give that damage boost.

>Should I build up fame to do the Drain quest, or is it even necessary?
San d'oria fame is easy to build up and can be quite profitable. No harm in doing a few quests. When it comes to doing the drain quest you're probably best off just buying the blood. Its not too expecnive and will save alot of time.

As for those bar- spells I wouldn't worry too much. I never use mine. In a party they're useless, they only affect you anyway, a WHM should get the bar-ra spells to help the party, you can just get in on that. I think the only one I've ever used was barsleep when fighting those Mandies in Yuhtunga and Yhoator jungle. I don't even have 2 of the status bar=s yet.

[Sepukku]

As far as money, you should be high enough to farm lizard skins in valkrum. If you do, try to do so in the Upper left corner, so you don't interfere with people xping. A stack should go for 7-8k.

15k/stack on Shiva. Just had to suffer through them for the Iron Sword/ Bee Spatha stage of Blacksmithing where every synthesis requires one.

[WishMaster3K]

Well, until we can farm at Castle Zvah, a good place to get EASY money is in Promyvion - Mea. There are empty that are sans EP-DC there at lvl 30 and the Empty with Green Cores drop memory that goes for 20k a piece.

(note: Only experienced Red Mages apply- those that know how and what to solo and when to do stuff. Also, at lvl 30, we have to solo the OLD OLD fashion way w/o Phalanx and Dispel. Hence, Shade +1 is a must. It gives Evasion and Empty Killer.

Also, I use a NIN sub for Utsusemi, and I Dual Wield the lvl 30 Centurion Sword and the lvl 25 +2 Republic Dagger in the off hand. Eva gear is nice, as are those lvl 14 +AGI rings and the Mythril Earrings.

Well, it actually requires money to start farming there, so nvm, but once there, you can easily make it all back.)

[Petrifyus]

Originally posted by WishMaster3K
Well, until we can farm at Castle Zvah, a good place to get EASY money is in Promyvion - Mea.

What do you farm at Castle Zvah? I'm lvl 61 RDM now, and i don't really have a reliable farming area anymore. Lately i've been killing Shadows in Fei'yin for the chest key and hoping for life belts lol... as crazy as it sounds i've actually found about 5 belts so far.

[WishMaster3K]

Ok, firstly, I forgot to mention that you MUST get Dispel, Gwynn. Its like a special hug only a Red Mage can give ^_^

Secondly, here is the post where Apple Pie revealed where we can farm at 73+

Fan Farming


- Kaze-dono

[Gwynn]

Heh, thanks for all your responses everyone!

Yeah, the first thing I did after I got my gil for the boots was buy Dispel. I was just interested in how gimped we're considered without it at this stage, and also how other Rdms afforded it (I'm interested in buying a few pieces of new gear, and I wanted some tips on good gil-farming spots) again, thank you everyone!

[Lightseeker]

When I've been on other jobs, I've refused to party with red mages who don't have it. Yes, it's that important. Drain and Aspir are a big help -- a couple of drains after a convert is more efficient than cure spells, and Aspir can help a lot if you're a race that is lower MP (elvaan or galka). I farmed beehive chips and silk for dispel, and already had my sandy and windy fame up for the drain and aspir quests. Don't worry about en-spells as they're really only useful against elementals.

[Gwynn]

Okay, so I quested Drain, so I have that now (I had to turn in about 6 or 7 stacks of Rabbit hides, as well as doing various small around town quests to build up enough fame, but it didn't take that much gil or effort.) Now my only problem is that my Dark Magic skill is in the nether regions (currently at 8, I believe, since Bio isn't generally used that much). Would casting Drain once or twice an exp fight be enough to boost up my Dark skill, or should I do something else? Are there any tips or tricks that other Rdms have?

I am currently lvl 33 and am exping in the citadel.

[WishMaster3K]

heh heh, oh dont worry about that. At lvl 33, you'll be seeing Dark go up by .4 or .5 for a looooong time. I remember just last night, with Dark skill at... um, 80 i think, I got an unresisted 116 HP back right after I converted and still got .5 for it. So yeah.

Oh, and btw, even without SS and PH, you can solo the mandies in the first Jungle. I know I did. once i got the spells however, it was childs play. You can cap enfeebling, elemental, evasion (!), sword(!) and once you get to the point where fighting them is no fun, just spam Bio on em.

Its what i do with Dia 1 if my enfeebles arent sticking after I level and i need to skill up in exp pt.

[Evelyn]

Just keep spamming drain once or twice a fight, should be leveled quickly. If you're that worried about it, grab Dia II, stick it, then spam Bio on the mob in your free time. It won't overwrite the Dia effect, will still do a pittanence damage, and doesn't have the ~1 min wait time Drain does.