Gotta love FFXIAH.
I'll have part 2 of "the frugal gourmet" up sometime after the holiday.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
A nice Christmas Eve laugh
And this has nothing to do with Christmas whatsoever.
Gotta love FFXIAH.
I'll have part 2 of "the frugal gourmet" up sometime after the holiday.
Merry Christmas!
Gotta love FFXIAH.
I'll have part 2 of "the frugal gourmet" up sometime after the holiday.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Blue Mage - The Frugal Gourmet Part 1
After seeing my share of 70+ blue mages still running around in full AF and MP gear within the past several days, I've decided to make this post on BLU gear that won't break the bank. The idea for this came from Ringthree's "On the Cheap" series and will follow a similar format.
For starters, you can't be dumb, and must be willing to spend a little bit of money. Also you should be able to do some endgame events. This means having sky and sea, preferably having done CoP to the end. You should also obtain all of your spells or be close to getting them all.
BLU is a job that requires a great deal of patience and luck in terms of spell acquisition, which in turn puts many people off from it. However it can prove very enjoyable and rewarding if you stick with it. Its power is derived from its versatility and the fact that it can fill a number of roles on the fly should the situation arise. You won't have the nuking power of a BLM, the muscle of a SAM or the healing prowess of a WHM, but you CAN still assist your party in many ways. However, because of this, I do believe that a number of people try to go for the middle of the road, which hinders their performance significantly in the end. Since we tend to guzzle MP like an old car guzzles gasoline, we need to get all we can from it.
If you happen to be one of those that run around in MP gear and aren't using it for other jobs, just sell it. Or just fucking quit now. Seriously. There are enough bad ones as it is, so stop contributing to the problem. I am merely providing this as a set of suggestions to help get you from where you are to where you should be.
Now, on to the gear.
Weapons
Swords: As a BLU, your primary weapon 99% of the time is going to be a sword of some kind. We have an A- skill level in that weapon just behind PLD. We get off fairly easy in this department. One of the best BLU swords in the game is the Perdu Hanger. While this does not cost any gil, it does require a substantial amount of legwork in terms of assaults as well as the quests involved with ranking up. On top of that, it requires 40,000 Imperial Standing. The latter should not be a problem if you spend a decent amount of time meriting. Another choice is the Koggelmander, which can be obtained by gathering a few friends to blow up Tanihwa in MMM. Next up is the Beast Slayer, which is easily obtained by defeating the ZNM Cheese Hoarder Gigiroon. For the off-hand, there is the Ifrit's Blade. Piece of cake if you can solo Ifrit Prime or have a couple of friends you can team up with. Failing that, you could use a Wing Sword, but that's suited more for Cannonball which I will cover later. Also worth noting is the Erlking's blade from the update this past Summer which has a chance for some solid augments. Like FoV augments, it will require you to get your hands dirty and beat up an NM, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue with any skilled group.
Staves: Now, at some point in time, you will be called upon to assist in healing or sleeping groups of mobs (particularly dynamis or einherjar), so it would behoove you to obtain a Light Staff. You should also have a Dark Staff by now, but really that should go for anyone with an MP pool. It's also nice to have around for casting spells like Eyes on Me. The Fire Staff can be used with Cannonball (coupled with a brave grip) in addition to Heat Breath and Firespit. Also worth note is the Water Staff for regurgitation and corrosive ooze.
Ranged/Ammo: The Jr. Musketeer's Chakram +1 is nice for pulling or if you're /THF in an area such as sea or your home nation doesn't have Tu'Lia. The accuracy from the Tiphia Sting is also a nice option for multi-hit spells.
Now, on to TP. Chances are you will be subbing Ninja, and most likely your accuracy won't be capped. As such, you're likely going to be eating sushi of some kind.
Head: Walahra Turban, plain and simple.
Neck: The Spectacles are a cheap and effective boost in accuracy, and can also be employed for multi-hit spells such as Frenetic Rip. The Chivalrous Chain is a popular choice for all DD's and BLU is no exception.
Earrings: This is a pretty easy slot. The first choice being a Suppanomimi. This reduces the delay of dual wield by 5%. Even if not /NIN, the sword skill is also nice. The Brutal Earring with its 5% double attack will help you gain TP faster. The Ethereal Earring is particularly advantageous in solo situations where you are taking damage and are low on MP.
Body: Here is where things get interesting. Many would argue that this is a toss-up between the Homam Corazza and the Mirage Jubbah. The corazza offers 5 more accuracy than the jubbah and a bit more MP plus some HP as well as triple attack. The big draw of the Mirage Jubbah is the refresh effect. If you don't have either of these, then a Scorpion Harness will do. You really should be aiming for one of the first two, if not both. Any Dynamis shell worth its salt should be able to clear the four cities. If not, you're simply wasting time and experience points.
Hands: As with the other jobs that can use them, the Homam Manopolas are the cream of the crop, followed closely by the Dusk Gloves. Also worth mentioning are the Enkidu's Mittens, which provide a decent amount of accuracy but you give up the haste from the other two.
Rings: If you have other DD jobs, chances are you'll already have a Rajas Ring. If not, then a Blood Ring or an Ulthalam's Ring paired with a Woodsman or Sniper's Ring will work.
Back: The Amemet Mantle +1 and the Mirage Mantle are your best bets given that other options are a bit on the pricey side. The accuracy from the latter will also help with multi-hit spells.
Waist: The Swift Belt, with its mix of haste and accuracy, is tough to beat and worth every bit of effort. If not, there's always the Life Belt or the Potent Belt which is somewhat more balanced.
Legs: The Homam Cosciales are the creme de la creme of this slot, and with good reason. After that would be the Mirage Shalwar. If you lack either of the two, the Prince's Slops will suffice. They offer a nice bit of HP and MP plus some accuracy.
Feet: OK, now for the home stretch. Once again, a piece of the Homam set is on top. The Homam Gambieras provide everything you want in a TP slot - haste, accuracy and a boost to HP and MP. Behind these are the Enkidu's Leggings, but honestly those are more of a THF piece. After that are the Dusk Ledelsens, which have equal haste to the Enkidu boots and some HP. Anything after that is a step down given the lack of haste, but the Tabin Boots +1 could be used until something better comes your way.
Whew... So there you have the basis for a potential BLU TP build. I have chosen to break things off because the casting part is where things start to diverge. This is where the intricacies of the job begin to show. Casting gear is going to depend largely on what you're doing and what spells you have equipped in addition to your blue magic skill merits, if any. Stay tuned! :)
For starters, you can't be dumb, and must be willing to spend a little bit of money. Also you should be able to do some endgame events. This means having sky and sea, preferably having done CoP to the end. You should also obtain all of your spells or be close to getting them all.
BLU is a job that requires a great deal of patience and luck in terms of spell acquisition, which in turn puts many people off from it. However it can prove very enjoyable and rewarding if you stick with it. Its power is derived from its versatility and the fact that it can fill a number of roles on the fly should the situation arise. You won't have the nuking power of a BLM, the muscle of a SAM or the healing prowess of a WHM, but you CAN still assist your party in many ways. However, because of this, I do believe that a number of people try to go for the middle of the road, which hinders their performance significantly in the end. Since we tend to guzzle MP like an old car guzzles gasoline, we need to get all we can from it.
If you happen to be one of those that run around in MP gear and aren't using it for other jobs, just sell it. Or just fucking quit now. Seriously. There are enough bad ones as it is, so stop contributing to the problem. I am merely providing this as a set of suggestions to help get you from where you are to where you should be.
Now, on to the gear.
Weapons
Swords: As a BLU, your primary weapon 99% of the time is going to be a sword of some kind. We have an A- skill level in that weapon just behind PLD. We get off fairly easy in this department. One of the best BLU swords in the game is the Perdu Hanger. While this does not cost any gil, it does require a substantial amount of legwork in terms of assaults as well as the quests involved with ranking up. On top of that, it requires 40,000 Imperial Standing. The latter should not be a problem if you spend a decent amount of time meriting. Another choice is the Koggelmander, which can be obtained by gathering a few friends to blow up Tanihwa in MMM. Next up is the Beast Slayer, which is easily obtained by defeating the ZNM Cheese Hoarder Gigiroon. For the off-hand, there is the Ifrit's Blade. Piece of cake if you can solo Ifrit Prime or have a couple of friends you can team up with. Failing that, you could use a Wing Sword, but that's suited more for Cannonball which I will cover later. Also worth noting is the Erlking's blade from the update this past Summer which has a chance for some solid augments. Like FoV augments, it will require you to get your hands dirty and beat up an NM, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue with any skilled group.
Staves: Now, at some point in time, you will be called upon to assist in healing or sleeping groups of mobs (particularly dynamis or einherjar), so it would behoove you to obtain a Light Staff. You should also have a Dark Staff by now, but really that should go for anyone with an MP pool. It's also nice to have around for casting spells like Eyes on Me. The Fire Staff can be used with Cannonball (coupled with a brave grip) in addition to Heat Breath and Firespit. Also worth note is the Water Staff for regurgitation and corrosive ooze.
Ranged/Ammo: The Jr. Musketeer's Chakram +1 is nice for pulling or if you're /THF in an area such as sea or your home nation doesn't have Tu'Lia. The accuracy from the Tiphia Sting is also a nice option for multi-hit spells.
Now, on to TP. Chances are you will be subbing Ninja, and most likely your accuracy won't be capped. As such, you're likely going to be eating sushi of some kind.
Head: Walahra Turban, plain and simple.
Neck: The Spectacles are a cheap and effective boost in accuracy, and can also be employed for multi-hit spells such as Frenetic Rip. The Chivalrous Chain is a popular choice for all DD's and BLU is no exception.
Earrings: This is a pretty easy slot. The first choice being a Suppanomimi. This reduces the delay of dual wield by 5%. Even if not /NIN, the sword skill is also nice. The Brutal Earring with its 5% double attack will help you gain TP faster. The Ethereal Earring is particularly advantageous in solo situations where you are taking damage and are low on MP.
Body: Here is where things get interesting. Many would argue that this is a toss-up between the Homam Corazza and the Mirage Jubbah. The corazza offers 5 more accuracy than the jubbah and a bit more MP plus some HP as well as triple attack. The big draw of the Mirage Jubbah is the refresh effect. If you don't have either of these, then a Scorpion Harness will do. You really should be aiming for one of the first two, if not both. Any Dynamis shell worth its salt should be able to clear the four cities. If not, you're simply wasting time and experience points.
Hands: As with the other jobs that can use them, the Homam Manopolas are the cream of the crop, followed closely by the Dusk Gloves. Also worth mentioning are the Enkidu's Mittens, which provide a decent amount of accuracy but you give up the haste from the other two.
Rings: If you have other DD jobs, chances are you'll already have a Rajas Ring. If not, then a Blood Ring or an Ulthalam's Ring paired with a Woodsman or Sniper's Ring will work.
Back: The Amemet Mantle +1 and the Mirage Mantle are your best bets given that other options are a bit on the pricey side. The accuracy from the latter will also help with multi-hit spells.
Waist: The Swift Belt, with its mix of haste and accuracy, is tough to beat and worth every bit of effort. If not, there's always the Life Belt or the Potent Belt which is somewhat more balanced.
Legs: The Homam Cosciales are the creme de la creme of this slot, and with good reason. After that would be the Mirage Shalwar. If you lack either of the two, the Prince's Slops will suffice. They offer a nice bit of HP and MP plus some accuracy.
Feet: OK, now for the home stretch. Once again, a piece of the Homam set is on top. The Homam Gambieras provide everything you want in a TP slot - haste, accuracy and a boost to HP and MP. Behind these are the Enkidu's Leggings, but honestly those are more of a THF piece. After that are the Dusk Ledelsens, which have equal haste to the Enkidu boots and some HP. Anything after that is a step down given the lack of haste, but the Tabin Boots +1 could be used until something better comes your way.
Whew... So there you have the basis for a potential BLU TP build. I have chosen to break things off because the casting part is where things start to diverge. This is where the intricacies of the job begin to show. Casting gear is going to depend largely on what you're doing and what spells you have equipped in addition to your blue magic skill merits, if any. Stay tuned! :)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Mission complete.
As of yesterday evening, I am officially DONE with climbing Nyzul Isle! Our group had completed floors 6-100 flawlessly. Of course there were several times where we came stupidly close to losing. One of our final floors yesterday was a lamp floor and were 30 seconds away from timing out, but we pulled it off. When it came to do the last set of floors, I was asked to come on DRG to force a radiant lance to drop. At floor 100, we had Khimaira waiting for us, and it coughed up two radiant lances and a Denali hat for our troubles. Immediately after we finished, I raced back to lower Jeuno to pay a visit to Zalsuum to receive Expiacion and Atonement since I had enough points to break both weapons.
Huge thanks to Leylana and everyone that came and helped along the way each week. It felt great to finally be clear of this hurdle which had been a source of so much trouble the past several months.
Huge thanks to Leylana and everyone that came and helped along the way each week. It felt great to finally be clear of this hurdle which had been a source of so much trouble the past several months.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Yet another milestone
So today was a POL maintenance which also required FFXI itself to go down as well. I log back on to see double earth weather, and KV's up. Uncontested. Ours for the taking! So as people logged in, we begin rallying the troops and proceed to claim him.
More people begin to log in and even a couple of outside people come out to help.
Our strike force is finally assembled, and our bards commence their buffing. We join up with the kite party and proceed to lay waste to the overgrown arthropod. Oh what joy that filled us seeing the loot pool once the smoke had cleared.
The one thing we came for. No more and no less.
There it was.... after several weeks of assisting others with getting this thing. Now it was my turn.
Once the others passed, I became the proud owner of an Ace's Helm. Something that I'd never imagined that I would see.
Many thanks to Devdas, Kaishen and everyone else in Beyond for helping make this dream come to fruition.
More people begin to log in and even a couple of outside people come out to help.
Our strike force is finally assembled, and our bards commence their buffing. We join up with the kite party and proceed to lay waste to the overgrown arthropod. Oh what joy that filled us seeing the loot pool once the smoke had cleared.
The one thing we came for. No more and no less.
There it was.... after several weeks of assisting others with getting this thing. Now it was my turn.
Once the others passed, I became the proud owner of an Ace's Helm. Something that I'd never imagined that I would see.
Many thanks to Devdas, Kaishen and everyone else in Beyond for helping make this dream come to fruition.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The bane of drakes
Well, today it finally happened...
All that "being dirty" and using that radiant lance in merits paid off.
So we did floors 61-80 today and for the most part things had gone smoothly up until arounf floor 78. We had an order lamp floor where we had a flayer and some other annoying mobs that aggroed us and we ultimately wound up killing them. I did get a bit worried when we saw the 10 minute warning on said floor. However, we managed to come out on top. All we got for it was a lousy brave blade. Speaking of which, I think I'll open up Atonement next.
All that "being dirty" and using that radiant lance in merits paid off.
So we did floors 61-80 today and for the most part things had gone smoothly up until arounf floor 78. We had an order lamp floor where we had a flayer and some other annoying mobs that aggroed us and we ultimately wound up killing them. I did get a bit worried when we saw the 10 minute warning on said floor. However, we managed to come out on top. All we got for it was a lousy brave blade. Speaking of which, I think I'll open up Atonement next.
Wyrm kings and scorpions
No, not the really big one in Altepa.
At any rate, this past Thursday, Beyond took on ye olde wyrm king Bahamut for the first time in a couple months. This was my first time doing Bv2 (having cleared Bv1 during our last Bv2 sortie in September) and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, he didn't put out any masks, but we came away with 2 scythes and 2 staves as well as some nice money drops.
As for scorpions, a few of us did some ODS runs last night to try and get Viewpoint (Snk) a Senjuinrikio for his up-and-coming NIN. No serket rings, but at least we got what we came for and came away with a couple of damascus ingots.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, it doesn't look like Beyond will have much going on this coming week outside of the usual einherjar and limbus. So what ever shall I do on those evenings!? Merit like a fiend most likely. I think I'll work toward pushing out DRG merits.
Speaking of DRG, I do believe I'm finally getting close to Drakesbane. After obtaining said WS, I'm debating whether or not to sell off my SAM gear and put it toward a Zahak's mail. Yes, I know, WAR and SAM are the "chosen ones" so to speak. But hey DRG is a lot more fun and you get a cool dragon that can heal you or your party members when their HP gets below a certain point! SAM has a big expensive meat cleaver and um... dancing?
Now, I'm supposedly first in line for the first Hofud that Odin coughs up. However, it's still up in the air as to who gets the first fork. A couple names came up, but they're almost never on DRG and/or have a relic in the works for another job. Given the option, I'd gladly trade off said sword to be able to get my hands on that kick-ass polearm. Not sure I'd call that equitable though. The v-fork is the third best polearm out there. However outside of a handful of situations, the hofud is just a trophy.
I know my DRG is less than "fork-worthy" in its current state, but it should be closer to that after our next couple of Odin fights. After finishing Nyzul, I intend to push out as many 80s as possible until that body drops.
At any rate, this past Thursday, Beyond took on ye olde wyrm king Bahamut for the first time in a couple months. This was my first time doing Bv2 (having cleared Bv1 during our last Bv2 sortie in September) and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, he didn't put out any masks, but we came away with 2 scythes and 2 staves as well as some nice money drops.
As for scorpions, a few of us did some ODS runs last night to try and get Viewpoint (Snk) a Senjuinrikio for his up-and-coming NIN. No serket rings, but at least we got what we came for and came away with a couple of damascus ingots.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, it doesn't look like Beyond will have much going on this coming week outside of the usual einherjar and limbus. So what ever shall I do on those evenings!? Merit like a fiend most likely. I think I'll work toward pushing out DRG merits.
Speaking of DRG, I do believe I'm finally getting close to Drakesbane. After obtaining said WS, I'm debating whether or not to sell off my SAM gear and put it toward a Zahak's mail. Yes, I know, WAR and SAM are the "chosen ones" so to speak. But hey DRG is a lot more fun and you get a cool dragon that can heal you or your party members when their HP gets below a certain point! SAM has a big expensive meat cleaver and um... dancing?
Now, I'm supposedly first in line for the first Hofud that Odin coughs up. However, it's still up in the air as to who gets the first fork. A couple names came up, but they're almost never on DRG and/or have a relic in the works for another job. Given the option, I'd gladly trade off said sword to be able to get my hands on that kick-ass polearm. Not sure I'd call that equitable though. The v-fork is the third best polearm out there. However outside of a handful of situations, the hofud is just a trophy.
I know my DRG is less than "fork-worthy" in its current state, but it should be closer to that after our next couple of Odin fights. After finishing Nyzul, I intend to push out as many 80s as possible until that body drops.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Update time again!
So yesterday we were graced with the first part of the November version update which brought us a host of new items as well as a number of new notorious monsters.
A number of things caught my eye, mainly this.
Concordia
[Sword] All Races
DMG:46 Delay:268
LV 75 WAR PLD DRK SAM BLU
Interesting that SAM is on the list of jobs that can use it. Even more so is that it has the highest damage of any BLU weapon, and second highest delay. Swords of this type have been historically earmarked for WAR/PLD/DRK. Still, why is SAM on this thing? I know that before the 2-handed weapon update some SAMs used swords to do spirits within on HNM's... or something like that. I wasn't around for any of that, but I digress. At any rate, these "aern weapons" as people have been calling them are wielded by five fomor NM's in the past. It's been reported over on BG that the one pictured above is used by the Elvaan. One of the drops is a chipped scimitar, which is a 1DMG, 236 delay sword that happens to have the exact same job distribution.
Is the chipped scimitar a base of sorts? Are these "sealed" weapons similar to the mythic weapons when first obtained? The cogs of speculation turn once more, and with greater fervor!
A number of things caught my eye, mainly this.
Concordia
[Sword] All Races
DMG:46 Delay:268
LV 75 WAR PLD DRK SAM BLU
Interesting that SAM is on the list of jobs that can use it. Even more so is that it has the highest damage of any BLU weapon, and second highest delay. Swords of this type have been historically earmarked for WAR/PLD/DRK. Still, why is SAM on this thing? I know that before the 2-handed weapon update some SAMs used swords to do spirits within on HNM's... or something like that. I wasn't around for any of that, but I digress. At any rate, these "aern weapons" as people have been calling them are wielded by five fomor NM's in the past. It's been reported over on BG that the one pictured above is used by the Elvaan. One of the drops is a chipped scimitar, which is a 1DMG, 236 delay sword that happens to have the exact same job distribution.
Is the chipped scimitar a base of sorts? Are these "sealed" weapons similar to the mythic weapons when first obtained? The cogs of speculation turn once more, and with greater fervor!
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