Punch Drunk Love

Yesterday

I'd forgotten good xp parties existed.

was my birthday, and the gaming gods decided to bestow me with the greatest gift of all: a good experience party. We hit the Crawler's Nest and started ripping through Rumble Crawlers for constant Chain 5s. I was overjoyed. It was bittersweet, as the party didn't last 90 minutes. I shouldn't expect everything.

I went seeking again today and got another good party. We hit the same camp and did even better... right up until a second party decided to camp on top of us and break the chains. It was very annoying, but there's not much you can do about it. Our Japanese White Mage announced he needed to leave. I was very close to getting my level, but he took off with me only 500xp away.

We got a Summoner to replace him and decided to move camp to Garlaige Citadel, but I wheedled and cajoled them into getting my level first. The last thing I wanted was for us to get there and suddenly find a dozen reasons to disband. I dinged 48 and we moved to the citadel basement, where I got a nice buffer and encountered some hideous beetle evasion.

I had to haul ass from there to Bastok for the night's Dynamis run. Several pieces dropped, and I got a pair of Melee Gaiters because we had finally reached the "You can lot it if you plan to level the job" stage on Monk relic from Bastok. I also asked Ikari about Guard skillups, and he said it would be a complete waste of time for me because A) I'll be subbing Ninja at the higher levels for damage mitigation and B) all of my soloing is done on Beastmaster anyway.

UFOs 3, Halifirien 0

Quieren

I hate this place so much...

recruited me and Apu to help him finish farming shark organs for his Breeze Gorget. It didn't take me long to get very tired of being there. I kept getting UFO aggro and dying. I'd scan the skies to make sure it was safe, and then BAM! It was like something out of an old Roadrunner cartoon. It happened repeatedly, but we managed to get the stuff he needed. We also learned that some of the Aerns link and get very cranky.

I need to spend some quality farming time over there to work on my Soil Gorget. Celvantes suggested during Limbus (we did the first floor of Temenos Central today) that we set up an organ-farming day independent of Limbus, and I think that's a good idea. I've tried soloing Xomits as Beastmaster and it didn't work out, so I'd certainly be up for it.

I spent my post-Limbus time trying to work on Guard skillups. I'd been reading some threads in assorted Monk boards, and to say the debate is heated is an understatement. Some say it's an important skill and many more say it's not worth it. The only thing they all agree on is that it's agonizingly slow.

I fall into the "I'll cap it if I have it" camp, which is one of the reasons I skill up scythe on Beastmaster even though I'd only ever use an axe. Still, I saw Bajaratt was online and asked if he thought it was worth doing. He said it was. His own Guard skill is very low.

Mandies

This works better than expected.

are great for skillups because they attack fast but are weak. One strategy I read was to grab several mandies -- a task made difficult by a Black Mage train-farming the zone -- and have all of them attacking you from one side. Then you get another mandy and engage him, but turn away from him and face the horde. This way you're in your battle stance and can get guard skillups, but you never actually attack your target because he's behind you. Eventually you'll counter enough that the mandy throng dies, but it takes a long time.

It took me a few minutes to work out the logistics and I got some puzzled looks from people passing through Buburimu on their way to the docks, but I managed to get two guard levels in about 90 minutes. I plan to buy a few things to lower my evasion, since the Sylvestres had a hard time hitting me. Still, it beats being Lv. 75 and trying to do the same thing.

While all this was going on, Neyla was leveling Bard in the jungle and got to 27 main healing a party with a Dragoon tank. He said it worked surprisingly well.

Parting Gifts

Magix,

How does Quieren manage these things?

one of Neyla's taru adoptees who became a member of WickedWayz, quit the game recently. He left me a voicemail message on Xbox Live saying he'd sent me and Neyla a few things. Neyla is now the proud owner of an Apollo's Staff. I found a Skulker's Cape, Austere Hat, Austere Robe and gil in my box when I checked. I passed the cape to Neyla -- I already have one and love it too much to just sell it -- and will eventually get around to converting the Summoner gear into a Sniper Ring since I have no plans to take SMN beyond 37.

I was surprised to find the stuff in my box, to be honest. I'd been helping Quieren farm shark organs, but like a complete idiot noob I'd forgotten to restock Echo Drops and we died. I teleported to Xarcabard and bought some from the outpost; I'd had some fish returned from the auction house and figured I'd put them back up for sale while I was in the Safehold. When I went to grab the fish from the delivery box, I found the Magix stuff.

The shark farming was slow and kind of annoying. I died to UFO aggro at one point, and later on we found ourselves sandwiched between two UFOs. Naturally, Queiren managed to aggro one. He ran for it and died with both hovering over his broken body, with me standing off to the side and waiting for them to move away.

When

Dynamis runs smoothly.

it was over, I killed some time checking on Paprika and doing guild points until time for Dynamis. It was a smooth run through Xarcabard for the most part. Ajs got disconnected early and kept in touch through AOL Instant Messenger. Celvantes couldn't be there, but Gregedor did the run using Celvantes' character and did a decent job. I managed to keep Tormknight alive (mostly) despite his kiting in far off and unexpected places.

We got one piece of relic, the Black Mage piece. Not too bad, I guess.

At the Corner of Morgenstern and Vine

Neyla

Quieren prepares for his first death to Evil Oscar.

and I were up late Saturday night playing co-op Gears of War, so I was tired and didn't really plan to do much when I logged on this morning. I figured I'd check my bird and garden, then log out until time for Limbus. Instead, I joined the linkshell for a few rounds of "Contaminated Colosseum," a KS30 fight. Zaria and Quieren needed the Sinjuinrikio katana. I offered to grab an orb to help out. I was overjoyed to see the possible drops included the Morbolger Vine and Morganstern.

The fight itself is easy once you get the hang of it. You fight a morbol named Evil Oscar, and his trick is a move called Extremely Bad Breath. If you get caught in it, you die instantly. You get two warnings about him taking deep breaths before he unleashes the attack, so a Ninja tank can get out of the way. Ideally, the Ninja teases him by kiting just out of reach so that Oscar starts to use the attack but fails.

I'd never done the fight before, but it was a lot of fun. I was the only person with Erase, which led to some deaths because he does a move that Binds and Gravities his victim. I could remove one, but not always get the second off before Oscar would blow his fetid air into Quieren's face and drop him like a rock. In the future, I'll keep myself Hasted.

The Morganstern dropped on the first fight, and they let me have it. Like the Destroyers, I'll have to work off 500 WS points to unlock its latent ability. It does slightly more base damage than my Darksteel Maul, has a shorter delay, and has Critical Hit +6%. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in the Boyahda Tree getting it going.

We did four orbs, but only got one katana. Zaria won the lot for it. I also got my Morbolger Vine, which was the part of the Brown Belt quest I'd dreaded because I hate camping NMs. We had some minor drama when Quieren popped the chest on Wulfgar's orb -- Wulf had wanted to pop it himself -- but otherwise it was a smooth run. I'll help Quieren get his katana if he organizes another run at it.

Limbus

I have a shiny new Morgenstern to crush monsters.

was pretty easy, too. We'd planned to do another split run, but attendance was so low from the holiday weekend we didn't even manage to scrape together a full alliance. We hit the first floor of Temenos Central and worked our way through waves of beastmen. We got five coins each, so I'll have my Brutal Earring debt paid off when I give Quieren the two coins gathering dust in my moghouse.

I farmed my Florid Stone when it was over, but we called off "Test Your Mite" because Apu and Hadafal weren't online. Instead, Neyla and I went partying on our respective Bard and Monk jobs. I wasn't sure I wanted to level. I put up my flag, took it down again, put it back up a second time and was about to drop it altogether and play something else when I got an invitation to the Crawler's Nest. Not bad for five minutes of seeking.

It wasn't the greatest party, but it certainly beat the craptacular ones I've been getting lately. We had a White Mage and a Warrior tank, as well as a Beastmaster and Puppetmaster. It took awhile to find a sixth person, so we spent a lot of time killing Soldier Crawlers which rated Tough and Very Tough. In fact, the entire evening was largely a five-person effort. We'd get a sixth and do flies, and then lose someone else and go back to crawlers. It was bizarre, but still better xp than I've been getting.

The Beastmaster made me feel a little awkward. I tried to be polite and show the proper respect for the job, but and the same time Neyla and I have made the "lolParty BST" comment more than a few times. I tried not to scream "GIMP! GIMP! GIMP! YOU'RE GIMP, MOTHERFUCKER!" seeing her in action. I literally could not relate, as much as I tried.

To be fair, she was a good puller and did fine damage. She'd run out with her antlion familiar and keep us supplied with prey. She asked me for Beastmaster advice, but I didn't have much to say because she doesn't solo. The best I could do was to tell her "You're a WAR with a jug pet. Dress accordingly."

We

There's something you don't see every day...

lost our tank at one point and he never came back, so they asked me if I could tank while we looked for a replacement. I wasn't keen on it, but then I discovered I'd obtained Counterstance when I dinged 45. Holy hell, that's some sweet stuff. I was countering like crazy, deflecting crawler attacks and smacking them back. Normally I'm an MP sponge when I tank, but Counterstance softened that particular blow. We got two Warrior replacements and I managed to reach 46 with a decent little buffer.

Before we disbanded, the Beastmaster asked the party if she could try something. She wanted to charm a crawler. I'm assuming it was because I was there, and I was mentally picturing a two-year-old looking up and saying "Look, Daddy! I'm BSTing all by myself!" I didn't really see why she wanted us as a safety net to kill it if she mischarmed -- we have Tame for a reason -- but then again I know what a Beastmaster can and can't do reliably because I've, y'know, actually done the job.