Icemage.. >30 lvling spot?

[Lily]

Hey, I was just wondenrig where you leveled from 30 upwards. I know I could ask around, and I have a couple of ideas. But really, it'd be nice to hear from another whm where the nice spots were rather than someone else.

If you have a sec, I'd appreciate learning where. And thx in advance.

[Icemage]

Man, talk about asking me for some of my best secrets!

Here's some tips on levelling zones, with my personal grade for each zone:

Rolanberry Fields (28-32): B
Wide open terrain makes Rolanberry relatively safe to level in. Garnet Quadavs are great if you're a WHM, as they drop Reraise as well as Mauls. Only drawback to levelling here is that you have to move around a lot, as spawn times are slow.

Battalia Downs (28-32): B
I'd actually give Battalia Downs a C- rating if it weren't for the presence of the multiple entrances to the Eldieme Necropolis scattered all over this zone, which give you a nice escape option if things get ugly. Drawbacks include high monster difficulty variance, and nasty specials from Tigers (especially Roar when snow is present in Battalia and/or Iceday).

Eastern Altepa (32-35): A+
I can't say enough good things about Eastern Altepa. Open terrain, few aggressives, accessible zone boundaries, high visibility. This is by far my favorite levelling zone in the entire game. Only danger here is the occasional presence of Earth Elementals during dust storms, and the link factor.

Davoi(30-33): B-
You can make a lot of XP as well get some money while XPing in Davoi. Orcs have few truly nasty attacks, but the link rate is high, and the spawns can get ugly.

Yuhtunga Jungle(24-31): A
Dangers are the Tier 5 goblins which roam all through this zone. You MUST have a Kazham Airpass to access this zone.

Western Altepa(41-44): B+
Beetles in West Altepa give great XP, but the Antican Secutors which are all over the area in which they are in are very deadly. Find a good puller, and you're golden.

Garlaige Citadel(32-35): B
Single bats are worth great XP, as long as you can avoid the triple bats (Jet Stream). Main issue here appears to be overcamping.

The Crawler's Nest (32-53): B
The perennial choice for levelling, the Crawler's Nest sports the highest amount of enemy ranges of all zones. Drawbacks are high link rates, tight fighting conditions in the tunnels, significant lag, and player overcrowding.

Quicksand Caves(45-50): A-
Helm Beetles here offer fantastic XP. All enemies in this zone link, so be careful when pulling. Sand Spiders are good too, but only if you have a very very hefty Galka tank (PLD, WAR) with good equipment and food, as their Sickle Scythe attack can hit for 700 damage.

Gustav Tunnel(38-42): A
Another fantastic levelling spot, Hell Bats and Goblins offer excellent XP. Link rates are high, however, so do be careful.

Eldieme Necropolis(35-38): B-
Gazers are really fantastic XP and have decent drops. High link rates, and some very nasty area effect attacks means that you must bring competent mages.

Beadeaux(30-33): B-
If you're willing to invest the time to get to the "upper level", the Tier 4 Quadavs (Silver, Bronze, Zircon, Garnet) offer decent XP and decent drops (Whate mages pay attention: Garnet Quadavs are your best friends - they drop Maul(WHM31 hammer) and Reraise(WHM33), as well as several other lower level spells).


EDIT: Made some updates and additions

Icemage

[bakasan]

Haven't levelled in all the above spots--

but a note on the Kazham jungles..

Yuhtunga jungle is ok for 25-28 or so IMO, as the Yuhtunga mandragoras are still quite viable xp. Once you hit 28 or so, you really need to move forward to Yhoator Jungle (sp) as the xp there from 25/26 through 32 is quite phenomenal. Mid to high 20s party is looking at 150s to 220s on XP depending on difficulty and any chain bonuses. Even as 30/31-32 party, I was seeing 100-180 xp depending on difficulty and xp chain bonuses.

They're tougher fights while still in the mid 20s, but become very manageable at the high 20s to low 30s range, especially for the XP to be had. A bard or dedicated 2nd whm is recommended since they hit deceptively hard and for two striikes in a row--plus area of effect mass sleep spells.

[Calianeri]

I'll second Bakasan on Yuhtunga. The mandragoras would be good xp from 24/25 to 27. At 28 they were easily chainable, no real danger to the party, but pretty low xp. The goblin smithies in the area vary a great deal in level, and can spawn near the primary camping area. Goblins weren't really feasible until 28, and even then a strong IT could wreak havoc. For a WHM, especially a Taru, stoneskin and blink are a must for these gobs. I was in a party that didn't do good hate control (I got aggro after casting Slow once... ) and died a couple times even with those spells up.

I'm 29 now, and I want to try Yoahtor Jungle.

EDIT: The Knight Crabs that used to be in a hidden spot in Jugner Forest have been removed. It's just an empty beach now. So no more trouble-free leveling between 29 and 32.

[Synbios]

Most of the time, after you hit the 32 cap after doing Yhoator Mandragoras, it's the same old thing, waiting for a party, or forming one if you can in Jeuno, and go to Garlaige/Crawler's Nest since they are nearer to Jeuno and does not require any teleport. I woukld prefer Crawler's Nest because there isn't much aggro there until you reach 41. 32-36 > Worker Crawlers near entrance, 36-38 Worker Crawlers deeper in, 38-41 > Nest Beetles, 2nd tunnel from right of drop point IIRC, 41-44 > Soldier Crawlers, beware of the Fungar there, Exoray, they are really really dangerous. After that.. =\ I'm still looking for a place to level after that. The flies near the Soldiers are good xp, but the AE skills they use are terrible. Hope this helps.

[bside]

Originally posted by Icemage
Garlaige Citadel(32-35): C-
I honestly don't know why people come here for XP. Bats are worth decent XP, but I personally despise Jet Stream - it makes the danger factor higher than it really needs to be.

ur party member simply pulled a wrong mob, that's all... once u and ur party members know what to kill and how, this place becomes a paradise.

why do ppl go there for xp? coz it's a good place. simple as that. of course, if the place is over populated, u better look for alternatives.

btw, i'd recommend lvl 33 to hunt in Garlaige. 32 is pushing it.

[Kirara]

33-34 galiage is heaven, 35-36 it's still doable, at later half of 36 i'd go to crawler nest for some ass kicking nest beetle (need redmage with dispel)

[Socrates]

yhoator jungle is great but very difficult to get out of . even if u sneak/invis, the whole subterranean tunnel navigation (not even on map) is confusing and dangerously filled goblin smithies.

if you do go, make sure you have a solid group (BLM is a must) and stay for at least 3 hours.

i lv'ed from 27-30 @ yhoator but died on my way back to kazham and deleveld to 29. >_<

[Meriadoc]

Originally posted by bakasan
Haven't levelled in all the above spots--

but a note on the Kazham jungles..

Yuhtunga jungle is ok for 25-28 or so IMO, as the Yuhtunga mandragoras are still quite viable xp. Once you hit 28 or so, you really need to move forward to Yhoator Jungle (sp) as the xp there from 25/26 through 32 is quite phenomenal. Mid to high 20s party is looking at 150s to 220s on XP depending on difficulty and any chain bonuses. Even as 30/31-32 party, I was seeing 100-180 xp depending on difficulty and xp chain bonuses.

They're tougher fights while still in the mid 20s, but become very manageable at the high 20s to low 30s range, especially for the XP to be had. A bard or dedicated 2nd whm is recommended since they hit deceptively hard and for two striikes in a row--plus area of effect mass sleep spells.

Mandragoras in Yuhtunga for 25-28.. Mandras in Yhoator for 28-30 (this is for parties with one healer) If you have 2 whms... or even 1whm and a rdm dedicated to healing, you can chain smithies in Yuhtunga for some excellent XP from 25-30.. Yhoator offers the same option...note that at level 25, some of the tougher ones WILL kick your ass.
Khazam = rock

[bside]

Originally posted by Synbios
After that.. =\ I'm still looking for a place to level after that. The flies near the Soldiers are good xp, but the AE skills they use are terrible. Hope this helps.

i know their ws' r terrible, but if u have thf and drg (may be war w/ pole arm, too), things become a lot easier. flies r weak to thrusting attacks, meaning pole arms and daggers would do more damage.

also, when u hit 46, i'd recommend quicksand caves, entered from j-7 of e altepa. kill beatles and spiders there. be warned of spiders' strong ws, though, and for that nin's blink ninjutsu comes handy. killing flies along w/ beatles in crawlers' nest at that lvl is also ok. exoray (funger) has a strong ws, but it drops an item needed for the lvl-barrier-breaking quest to level beyond 50, so u might wanna consider killing it once on an occasion.

at 48, u can go back to crawler's nest to kill rumble crawlers and beatles. 49 is garlaige again to kill bats in the underground. jet stream is strong so better have a good tank.

that's about it for 44-50.

[Euphacent]

Sorry for bringing up a slightly old post...

When I was 31, my group (all 30-31) went to Eastern Altepa and hung out near the waypoint and killed beetles for hours on end. We never ONCE got below 140 exp, ocassionally even hitting 240 exp on some fights that were over in 1-2 minutes, until once us hit 33, then the exp dropped just a bit. We still occasionally would get over 200, but usually around 105-190. At 34, exp took a hit and dropped to usually 105-140, with an occasional dip into the 90's. That was the fastest leveling I've ever done and it wasn't very hard at all. We had me, the whm, solely curing, with a rdm picking up the slack with paralyze and regen. Other party members were a warrior, dark knight, dragoon, and then a paladin for the tank. I suggest this area for anyone from 31-34. It's fast, east, and excessive exp.

On a side note, at 33-34 we wandered into Western Altepa and fought a worm there. It was MUCH tougher than the beetles, but we got 200 exp off it. I'm not sure if we just got an insanely strong one or not since it was the only one we could find near the exit back to Eastern.

[Zarrik]

bump....for my own reference

[zaldane]

good post,

any thing change, junt dinged 44 and checking to see if any new spots.

[Icemage]

Just made some new additions, as well as corrections to areas I have newly visited or revisited since making my original response. Enjoy!


Icemage

[Zarrik]

You can actually start in Eastern Altepa at around 30. I was there today for about 5 hours. We had a 29 whm/blm, 31 pld/war, 30 thf/nin, 30 blm/whm, 30 war/drk and me a 30 brd/whm. Over the course of the 5 hours we were able to avg xp chain #4s and walked out of there with just over 8k xp.

We set up right near the entrance to Korrakola Tunnel killing anitcans and beetles.

I've got to agree with Icemage. This zone is hands down better than Yutunga Jungle for this level. No competition on spawns and lots of xp to be gained. I think we were sharing the zone with something like 12 other people.