51-55 - Campaign: Beastmen controlled areas only. You vs. Fortification. Garlaige Citadel [S] | I-8(1st map) for tag. H-8(2nd map) for fighting. 

Campaign, campaign, campaign. In my opinion, if you want to have the full past experience, Campaign will be on the menu. Amberooni had basically summed it up very nicely on a post below, and I'll quote him/her later on. But let me mention my experience on this matter. 

I looked at all the areas and found nothing to EXP on. But this was also during a time I started getting really busy irl with school, and I couldn't give all my attention to BST so I flipped onto a another job in the mean time. Also, Carbuncle had no beast controlled areas at all (at the time I was looking). 

So comes this week. I figured after reading what Amberooni had wrote I'd give this a try. And this was a very great way to fill in the gap where there really is no actual mobs to EXP on (51-56ish). There are camps at 57+...I know the mobs are there and a few people have mentioned camps. But again, to fill in the gap, Campaign is your best option. 

Hopefully if you're lucky, Garliage Citadel [S] will be beast controlled. This clearly varies from server to server. I have not tried the other areas, so I will only comment on GC. I also suggest you bring the cheapest pet you can find, which usually will be CrabFamiliar - Fish Broth lvl 23. Subjob does not matter so much; I tried /nin, /rdm, and now using /thf (which I'll get to in a bit), and EXP difference is very minimal at best. 

Now, there is a leisurely way of doing this, and a efficient way to do this. 

Leisurely will get you roughly 2k/hr. "Leisurely" basically means you get a tag, go to H-8, and do things at home XD. Then rinse repeat. It's the excellent remedy if you have stuff to do irl (like me with school work sometimes). 

Efficiently will get you roughly 4k/hr. Not to say doing it leisurely is not efficient, but if you're looking for the fastest way to rack up EXP, this is how you do it. First, sub /thf. As I mentioned, the difference in SJ is very minimal. It's a long walk from Fortification to NPC C.A. Flee will cut this time a little. You could also bring Sprinter Boots, which would speed up things a little bit. Remember, Flee and Quickening to not stack and will erase each other. Also, the Fortification does have a backside, so SA does work. This side is basically where everyone is standing. 

Essentially, you'll be capping your EXP per tag in roughly 10min of fighting. 10 minutes starting when you and your pet start engaging the Fortification. Every 10min, disengage, and get a new tag. This will net you roughly 4k/hr...little less, little more, depending on how Campaign starts and ends. Be careful! Some campaign mobs tend to spawn in the direction you need to go to the CA. Use widescan to give you a heads up, and if needed invis AND sneak (they aggro to both). If you see Divine Pilgrims, do not worry, they do not aggro. And just a note, Campaign occurs very, very often. 

Now you're probably wondering (or maybe glaring >.>), this has to be too good to be true. Technically, it is. If you are not aware, you cannot skill up while fighting this non-existent, floating name-only objects. You can skill up without a tag, but these Forts are only lvl 50. If BST is your first job you're leveling that is involved with an axe, you may run into some misfortune. 

But look at the bright side, you do have other opportunities to skill up, and the only real important thing you need if you decide to go straight campaign is Rampage. If you're sticking around in Garliage Citadel [S] for a very long time, your axe skill level is not really going to matter. You'll be getting the same EXP no matter what, unless you hit 61, where the cap will increase. Even then you'll probably hit your cap at the same speed. And since BST is really a solo job, no one is going to care if you have an underleveled axe...just leveled it some other area or some other time. 

If skill up is really you're big concern (which is really the only issue you could have with Campaign, besides if the area is not beast controlled), don't worry, I'll help you out. 

One option to skill up is when you hit level 57, when you can wear a Scorpion Harness, then go to a Nation Controlled Campaign (my personal preference is Meriphataud Mountains [S]) and hit normal mobs without a tag. These normal mobs are level 60, and will cap you at around level 60 (which is 200ish skill level). Subbing nin, with SH and 2 viking axes and a whole lot of other acc gear, you should be able to hit fairly decently. To note, unless you personally have hate on these mobs, AoE will not hit you. So as long as a 65+ job is fighting it and had a good chance of living, you can basically skill up without concern. They will also not aggro you. If in the event crap hits the fan and you're running into trouble, pop a pet, snarl, and get a tag ASAP. This'll prevent any EXP lose. 


Another note, I do not suggest leveling in Campaign in these types of areas IF you have the option to go to an area like Garliage Citadel [S], because you Acc and Damage will not be that good, and the amount of EXP you'll get in Nation Controlled Areas will not match the EXP you get in Beast controlled areas. This is especially true if you below 57, because your damage will all the more be pitiful at best. 

Some of you now may saying: "Well Angel I'm poor, I don't have the money for that crap." Don't worry dudes, here is you're 2nd option for skill up. Basically, locate mobs around your level (EM-T) and skill up on those. These you can find in the present. Here is a link you can check for a list of mobs that at between 50-60 from Vana'diel Bestiary. You can also use coffer mobs, as Amberooni had mentioned, if you have not done your AF quests yet. To repeat myself, if you're going exclusively Campaign to at least 57, all you should really care to get Rampage, because at 57 you'll can find mobs to charm/fight once again and finish skill ups on those, or use Campaign, as I mentioned, in nation controlled areas. 

I think I covered the basis on this topic :D. Here is what Amberooni wrote: 

I am now at level 53 and the last 2 levels I've had a difficult time finding a place to exp in the past. I swear I ran around pretty much EVERY zone checking mobs for 2 days straight. 

So anyway, after being a bit burnt out on running and not wanting to deal with CN and Quicksand caves (After the previous places I had camped these places made me sad) or whatever, I went and smacked me a wall! 

Campaign is my new best friend. I've become extremely fond of Garliage Citadel S because it's almost always beastman controlled. Why is this good? Because the exp is so easy it seriously feels like I'm cheating. You hit a "Fortification" aka a wall. It does not hit back. At 50 you can hit it easily while other Campaign battles might still be a bit too tough to fight the mobbies. For 10-20 minutes I'd average about 800-1200 exp. It's not the best exp per hour but it's risk free and I was able to be partially afk doing other things the whole time. 

The major downside is the problem with not getting skillups. I solved this by utilizing my coffer key hunting as skill up time. :) 


Pixie Coverage: No. 

Monster: Fortification 
Level: 50 
Aggressive: It's a wall. 
Link: Again, it's a wall. 
Monsters that might kill you: 2 Yagudo's tend to wander in the area at H-8. Be sure to keep an eye on them or hide behind someone and use them as a shield so they can aggro >.>b (what? their fault XD).