Time For Some Campaignin'

Today

Neyla and I fight in the mountains.

was all about Campaign, but I'm honestly not sure if we'll be able to hold Fort Karugo-Narugo after Sunday's tally. We started out easy enough, with decent battles where we managed to repel the invasion. I even managed to survive an assult by the hated Shadoweye Gnats.

It was the finaly battle of the day that completely routed us. Wave after wave after wave of mobs, culminating in an appearance by Shadowhorn and Kaiser Behemoth. I earned a lot of merit points from it and can't complain too much, but Neyla's convinced the fort is going to fall.

The only real aggravation was a mage named Plamentia who liked to nuke and then run like hell when the mobs invariably shifted their focus. There's nothing more infuriating entertaining than punching a mob and then having to chase it all over the area because a mage refuses to stand still and take their beating.

We hit our goals, though. Neyla capped Chivlary and I capped my Hand-to-Hand skill (which will also benefit my Puppetmaster job). Now I get the dubious honor of working on my Strength merits, which should easily keep me occupied through twelve months of Campaign battles. /sigh

Gimped Magic

Acquring

Bishop and I make quite a pair.

the Stormwaker frame for my automaton has changed the way I solo on Puppetmaster. Before, with Valoredge, I'd been letting him tank by using Flash and Provoke while I fought alongside him. Now that he's a mage, it's up to me to tank for him. I removed the provoke attachment to keep him alive.

The only problem was his gimped magic skill. The cap was 60+, and he was still down there at Lv. 12. He was getting a hell of a workout by using Dia and spamming me with Cures. I'd originally planned to simply "try him out" before moving on to Campaign, but I figured I'd ding 21 so I could swap in some new gear.

I stayed in West Sarutabaruta [S] and focused on the rarabs at first. The mandies were nice, but some of them were too week to give experience points. I eventually moved closer to the outpost and fought bees. I also fought a few crawlers, taking down an Even Match. One of those eventually killed me and I mostly avoided them after that. I also did a few Campaign Ops to set bombs at the West Sarutabaruta tower and impede the yagudo's progress.

As Bishop's magic skill level improved, he gained new spells. I tracked down a list of spells he can learn and was impressed. I never would've guessed these clockwork warriors could learn Regen III or Cure V, but it's possibile. The top-tier nukes are also nice, but mostly I want a mechanical White Mage to keep me alive while I solo. I can focus on crawlers again when he learns Cure II.

After

The battle for Fort Karugo-Narugo was intense.

reaching my goal, I switched over to Monk/Dancer and joined Neyla for some Campaign action. He was defending Fort Karugo-Narugo from endless hordes of yagudo. The fight in progress when I arrived lasted at least an hour, and I think he got 6,000xp from it by cashing in between waves. It was insane, especially when the yags would set up a Belfry in the corner to churn out ninja mobs.

I was just thrilled to finally have temporary items again, since Windurst controlled the fort. Hello, Reraise scrolls!

We were about 7k from reaching our meriting goals when we finished up, so we'll complete them tomorrow. He'll finally have Chivalry maxed out to a 10-minute timer, and I'll have capped my Hand-to-Hand skill.

Another Upgrade

I've

The goblin readies a bomb toss.

been getting antsy to hit Lv. 20 on Puppetmaster and go back to Campaign awhile. I'd hoped Shakrami would be viable at 18, and I could've made more of an effort since the Stink Bats were usually Decent; unfortunately, I linked a Combat and had to run for the zone with Bishop clanking along behind me and fending them off. It kinda sucked.

I returned to Tahrongi Canyon and started fighting the birds near the zone. I should've healed Bishop more fully, but I was cocky and he managed to get killed by the first goblin I attacked. It almost killed me, and the only thing saving me was a last-second use of my Signal Pearl to get Gauldeval to patch me up.

I focused on Akbabas until I could use Activate again, which didn't take long. Smaller mobs die quickly with Bishop and Gauldeval helping. I roamed all over the map in search of dhalmels and higher-level yagudo, clawing my way to 19.

When I left the canyon, it was with the intent of doing a few Campaign battles. I got distracted because the little mandies roaming outside Windurst Waters [S] were so squishy and easy to kill that Bishop and I ripped through them like they were nothing. The xp numbers per kill were low, but they practically line up and wait for the slaughter. I even popped a charge off the Anniversary Ring.

It didn't take long to hit Lv. 20.

I

The mandragoras aren't so tough now.

returned to Windurst and had myself teleported to Al Zahbi for a visit to the Puppetmaster Shop and a new automaton frame. I requested the Stormwaker frame this time. Ghatsad requested a Gold Thread, Velvet Cloth, Womoura Cloth and Brass Ring this time. None of the items were very expensive. The only difficult one was the Brass Ring, which is normally sold by a Bastok NPC for about 200 gil. Unfortunately, Bastok is in last place this week and none were available. I managed to find one on sale at the San d'Orian auction house for 1,000 gil.

I grumbled, but I paid it. When they get your balls in a vise, they know how to squeeze.

The next time I log on, I'll get the frame and try it out. Stormwaker is the mage-class frame, but Bishop's magic skill is so gimped he probably won't be able to do much more than cast Dia and Cure. After a few fights, I can quietly take a break and go back to Campaign awhile.

In other news, Dalamar is leveling Paladin. Neyla went to the Dunes to watch over him awhile. Neyla said he was doing a pretty good job, although the inevitable Screwdriver attack from the Pugils were nasty. While it's true that anything can kill a tarutaru, pugils seem to revel in it.

Automaton Antics

I

Bishop and I fight a dhalmel in Tahrongi Canyon.

logged on to burn an Empress Band charge on Puppetmaster, and the first thing I noticed is Windurst actually managed to take back Fort Karugo-Narugo. San d'Oria managed to hold on to Batallia Downs the first week Campaign went all screwy, but this is the first time a nation on our server has undone the damage. Here's hoping it bodes well for the future; I'm just happy because it means I can get the Allied Sigil without having a Campaign battle break out in Windurst.

I'd hoped to do my fighting in the Maze of Shakrami, but my levels were still too low for comfort. Instead, I roamed Tahrongi Canyon in search of prey. Most of the dhalmels were in the Decent-to-Even range, so it wasn't bad. I killed stuff until I dinged 18 and then logged out to catch up on Doctor Who episodes.