Conquest Influence

[Nandito]

I'm not sure if this is true, but I heard your nation looses influence of a region upon death. Like, say, if Sandy and Bastok are neck-to-neck on Dunes and a Bastokian keeps dying there, Sandy ends up winning.

True or false? Though I'm thinking it only has to do with the Beastmen's influence...

[Neomage]

Re: Conquest Influence

I think Beastmen just gain, but sandy is more likely to win because they are killing monsters instead of being killed by them.

[KoukiRyu]

Re: Conquest Influence

Dying in a zone does reduce your nation's standing for the region as far as I know. I remember a friend of mine had mules, and when he wanted control for an OP, he would take them to the zones he wanted, save HP at the OP and just die over and over. Now if this actually worked I'm not sure, but that's what he told me at least. >_>

[Humar]

Re: Conquest Influence

Ok, another conquest question while this topic is still new.
When you trade equipment items to the OP warp dude, is the amount of conquest gained by your nation influenced by the price/rarity of the item given?

Would say.. 100 XXXX (something like 200 gil) give more points to your nation than 100 YYYY (something like 300 gil)?
And in general does anyone know if trading items is more points than killing one VT mob. or one IT mob. or an EP mob?

Im a windurstian set on gaining dunes since i have yet to get that OP done since it has not been controlled in many many months(or if it has it may have been on a week in which i for somereason did not play).

[Feenicks]

Re: Conquest Influence

SE put a limit some time ago on the amount of Conquest influence that could be applied by trading gear because it was being abused. This was way back sometime around 2004 if I'm not mistaken.

[Lunaryn]

Re: Conquest Influence

I'm pretty sure that's not the case, seeing how funneling a constant stream of gear to the NPC is pretty much the only way to take a newbie region, and I actually participated in both Windy taking Gustaberg and Bastok taking Sarutabaruta back during inflation. I don't know if the value of an item makes enough difference to matter, though; when we did it, we did it by spamming 1 gil arrows (as much as we could carry). In my case, I'm Bastokan so when Windy was taking Gustaberg I'd fill up on bolts, teleport to the OP, wait for one of the Windy people to finish unloading theirs, and trade to them.

[Neomage]

Re: Conquest Influence

I'm pretty sure that's not the case, seeing how funneling a constant stream of gear to the NPC is pretty much the only way to take a newbie region, and I actually participated in both Windy taking Gustaberg and Bastok taking Sarutabaruta back during inflation. I don't know if the value of an item makes enough difference to matter, though; when we did it, we did it by spamming 1 gil bolts/arrows (as much as we could carry. In my case, I'm Bastokan so when Windy was taking Gustaberg I'd fill up on bolts, teleport to the OP, wait for one of the Windy people to finish unloading theirs, and trade to them.

That value does matter. I would buy around 20 or so cheap AH items with high NPC values, things like Coral Rings or a Brahan's Sword. The NPC at the outpost always gave a bigger reaction to the cheap-high level items.

[Lunaryn]

Re: Conquest Influence

Perhaps; certainly the economy is different now than it was so that might make more difference now, but OTOH I don't know if taking over one of these regions is feasible at current gil values. When we did this, it was in inflation, and even though we were spamming as much of the cheap stuff as we could, each person was probably investing somewhere between 200k and 500k to do this.

Of course, it didn't help that we were opposed by nationalists trying to defend their region by outspending us... I wouldn't count on that not happening now just because gil is tighter, though. And if anything more people hang out in the cities now than did at the time, since the gathering place of choice was Jeuno and airships were the fastest way to get there, as opposed to Whitegate being a 300 gil teleport away. (At the time, there were people shouting in the cities to rally citizens to defend their newbie regions in various ways.)

[Effedup]

Re: Conquest Influence

I hope the OP doesn't mind, but I have a question about conquest myself...

I'm on the Fairy server, and a citizen of San d'Oria, and Sandy is pretty much always dead last in conquest. I've been trying to get as many of the supply runs done as I can to facilitate getting around, but since Sandy is always in the basement it's understandably a little difficult.

I know about the turning in lowbie gear method to increasing reputation in a zone, but is there any kind of research on what is the best/cheapest way to get the most rep? I've been working on getting my fame up with my mules atm, and seeing as how that's been broken down and calculated and such, I figured maybe rep has been, too, in some way.

Other than that, as we're a small LS and they're prolly only be a few of us working to try and influence this, is it even worth it? I mean, I'm not trying to drop 100k on crap to unlock an outpost warp, so if it is truly something that requires lots of people to do cheaply, or tons and tons of trades, obviously we're not going to waste our time. Other than through Region Info/Conquest, there's no way to check conquest tallys is there, to track what impact our efforts are having in real time? Unless the conquest info IS in real time in which case it doesn't matter obviously.

Anyways, so if anyone has any somewhat specific figures if they were able to pull this off let me know.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Conquest Influence

Don't Garrison and Expedition Forces influence Conquest? Could do those if they do.

[Effedup]

Re: Conquest Influence

Don't Garrison and Expedition Forces influence Conquest? Could do those if they do.

My highest job is only 44 WHM, so don't know if I'd be able to realistically do those...can I? ^^ Not familiar with that stuff at all, haven't researched it yet...

[Mhurron]

Re: Conquest Influence

My highest job is only 44 WHM, so don't know if I'd be able to realistically do those...can I? ^^ Not familiar with that stuff at all, haven't researched it yet...

Both are level capped events and have level 20 and 30 capped options. However, like most level capped activities, good luck finding (enough) others to do them with you.

[Armando]

Re: Conquest Influence

I don't think I've ever heard about Garrisons counting towards Conquest.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Conquest Influence

Back in the day, my JP buddy said it did. No idea if he was correct or not.

Here is a great Garrison guide.

http://shirtninjas.deadgamers.org/Taodyn/garrison.pdf

You need Adobe Reader in order to open it. You can download that here Adobe - Adobe Reader Download - All versions .


Here's a little info about EF's Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Guide: Conquering Vana'diel - A Guide to the Conquest and the Expeditionary Force


EDIT: Copied and pasted from FFVault and was done by Hubyduby & Carmen:



What is an Expeditionary Force (EF)?
A group of adventurers who are given permission to help win over lands for their nations based on their performance in defeating beasts spawned at various beastmen Banners found in the targetted region.

Ok, that's all neat but what do I get?
If your effort results in conquest of that region by the conquest tally calculated every Sunday morning, then you will receive 3000 Conquest Points.

Really? That's cute. I got 350k conquest points. What else do I get?

Well, some of the extra bonuses to conquering a region involve the opportunity to do Supply quests to a region's Outpost which allows you to use teleport service to and from that outpost. The use of this service is restricted to those who are high enough level. So, for example, if you wanted to do an XP party in Boyhada but you didnt want to wait for a ship to jeuno and then pay crazy money for choco to Boyhada. You could pay the NPC for a teleport to the Lil'Telor region and walk from the Outpost there in Sanctuary of Zitah to the Boyhada tree. Fees are cheapest when your nation control the region. However, if you were level 30 and wanted to check out the Sanctuary's cool theme music, then run away before that gang of gobbies kill you, then the NPC will not allow you to teleport there because your level is too low.

Ah, that's pretty neat. Ok, what about Loot. That's what i meant when I asked, "What do I get?"

Well, as it is. No one really knows. Or rather, I have not come across a website that has posted what loot you get. The current theory that I'm working on is that one may spawn a chest if an Expeditionary Force were to defeat mobs at all flag points without losing the level cap. The region I'm working on has 5 known flag points. The NPC that gives you permission to do an EF mentions that you may come across some treasure chests. Some thought you had to have dominating influence in a region to get the chests to pop. I have not been able to disprove it. However, Dominating influence in a region means that the influence bar has to be practically FULL which is quite a daunting task! The influence bar shows which nation has the most influence in a region and is based on the number of experience points earned from defeating mobs while having your signet on. It is also based directly on the defeat of mobs spawned in EFs. Influence is reduced by deaths that occured while signet is on. Influence is also reduced by deaths of members participating in the EF mission.

I see! So the 350k of conquest points that I have earned has been used to increase influence in the regions I earned them in?

Yup. Every time you have your signet on and earn experience points from defeating a mob, you earn a little bit of influence for your nation. In fact, if you wanted to do more for your country you should form XP parties with members of your own nation.

HA! Please! Like I have the time to be that picky about my pick-up parties. Ok, how do I start one?

First you must be at least Rank 3 to do an EF mission. Talk to the NPCs that provide signet to you in your Home nation. Only those NPCs will grant permision to do an EF. Not the guys in Jeuno and certainly not the NPCs in your rival nations. If your nation is in first place, then the requirements for your EF party will be that you have no less than 6 members. If you're second, then no less than 5. If you're last, then you can form a party of 4 folks to do EFs. Once you are given permission to do an EF, you must speak to the same NPC again so that he can teleport you to the Outpost in the targetted region.

"Targetted Region"? I can go anywhere right?

Yes, you can do EFs in regions that are not under your nation's control. However, you cannot do an EF in the starter areas like Sarutabaruta, Gustaberg, and Ronfaure. Plus each region has a suggested minimum lvl. However, the maximum level cap is 10 levels higher than the suggested minimum. So If you see lvl ~20, then the level cap for that region is 30.

Addend: Furthermore, you (individually) cannot go to regions that you have not yet been to yourself. This means that if you are the only person in your entire EF that has not been to Norvallen, you will not even see Norvallen as an option. This happened a couple of times to my EF LS with new members, and we had to grab a WHM with port to take them there and bring them back.

But there's this dude in my town complaining that he needs those regions conquered so he can sell stuff from there. If I can't do an EF there, how the heck am I gonna help this guy?!

Well, there was a patch that got rid of EFs for those regions and negated all efforts to affect influence for players who are level 5(?) and under. If you really want to do an outpost supply quest that would allow you teleport access from your home nation to, basically, the front door of your rival nation, then I would suggest forming a party of folks from your home nation and level up in the more difficult regions in the starter areas, like Giddeus, Ghelsba, and Dangruf Wadi. Party there for a week and keep your deaths to a minimum. I'm sure you'll be able to change influence then.

Sweeeeet! But that'll never happen... mebbe. Ok what else happens?

Ok, so make sure you have space in your inventory to receive a teleport scroll from the NPC that's giving you permission to do an EF. This scroll is called a Gate Glyph. They are exactly the same scrolls given away at the Summerfest holiday event we had a while back. This allows you to teleport from anywhere in Vana'Diel to the area designated on the Gate Glyph. It can only be used once as it disappears after use. You can use it whenever you want. It is yours to keep for as long as you like. Note that it is important that all members receive permission to do an EF before you talk to NPC again and ask him to teleport you to the targetted region. This is because, if 5 of you were paying attention and got permission. And then 5 of you spoke to NPC again to teleport out, the 6th guy will not be able to teleport out and he won't be able to get permission to join an EF because the other 5 guys have already teleported out. What normally happens in this scenario is that everyone uses a scroll to get back to their home nation and then all SIX members get permission again and then talk to the NPC AGAIN to teleport out. Remember, the NPC tells you what the minimum number of folks are needed to do an EF.

Dude! Gate Glyphs rock! I'm gonna...

It's rare/ex. You can't sell it or trade it.

Oh, OK, so I teleport out to the region and we got our gate glyphs. Now what?

Well, you fan out. At this point, you are not level capped. So if you're a high level player, you can simply own the mobs. Feel free to build up TP on your way over to the first flag. If you don't know where the flags are, then spend time looking in every nook and cranny for a Beastman's banner. They look like the flag that you would see at Outposts in regions where the Beastmen have control. Once you find it. DO NOT TOUCH IT. Or you will spawn the mobs. Instead, call out the location of the flag to your party members and give them time to gather in front of the beastman banner. Buff up as much as you can. Select one person to touch flag and then start a short countdown when everyone is ready. WHen the flag is touched, the party will be level-capped and about 4-5 mobs will spawn with job names next to their race. For example, there is a Yagudo Summoner and Hobgoblin White mage.

The order of priority for targets is usually Summoner>>>WHM>>>BLM>>Bard and then melee. If I had to prioritize melee, I'd get rid of any DRKs that I'd see. I haven't pinpointed how he does it, but for some reason, when this DRK uses its 2hour our party ends up in a world of poo. The next in line is the BST. WARNING: Kill the BST before you kill its pet. If you kill the pet first, then the BST will charm one of your party members. If you want to see your party go down in record time and if you want to participate in some involuntary PVP (a mini-ballista, shall we say), kill the bst's pet first and watch as he charms a party member. In my case it was the paladin. I can't describe the horror of watching your own paladin taking out your little taru bard and the white mage that had been healing him faithfully. Unfortunately, the BST's pet is so easy to kill. So if there's a BST around, tell the BLM to not use any -aga spells and if anyone has hit the pet when it was not the time, then make sure you tell everyone that the pet is wounded. Sometimes, a member might put a "harmless" DoT on the pet only to have it drop dead in 2 seconds.

After the party defeats all the mobs that spawned. Do not touch the flag again unless you want to prematurely remove the level cap for whatever reason. However, it's best that you start moving out to the next expected spawn points. If, however, you do not know where the flag will spawn next, then feel free to heal up at that same spot until the flag disappears, that way, you know that the flag has now moved to a new spot. It probably is best to just remove the level cap while searching for new spawn spots. Discovering new flag points while level capped is a dangerous activity since the EP mobs that aggro on sight will attack you and just make life hard on ya. Once you do enough EFs to have mapped all possible flag points, try moving from flag to flag while level capped. The level cap seems to have a timer of about 5-10 minutes after the defeat of a mob party. As you defeat mobs, the entire zone will see a system message declaring that an expeditionary force mission has defeated a beastman and there will be talk of "momentum". Some momentum is gained after every defeated mob and after a while, region points are gained and the influence in the region increases. However, there have been reports of other types of momentum gained. For example, you may see that you're "maintaining" momentum. But sometimes, there will be a different adjective describing a significantly larger increase in momentum from defeating the beastman hordes. I believe this type of momentum is gained when you "chain" flags. Meaning that you move from flag to flag without losing the level cap. I haven't been able to test this well since our party is still working out the kinks in defeating these mobs. Although we have been able to chain 2 flags. It's still a very difficult task. I certainly would expect some kind of reward after chaining all flags in a region.


Wow. Ok, if I'm lvl 55 and I do an EF with a lvl 30 cap do i lose experience points as a lvl 30 player?

Yes. You only lose experience points appropriate to the level cap if you are above the lvl cap. And yes, you can still delevel if you happen to lose enough xp to send you below 0 xp.


Can someone outside of an EF heal or Buff me while I'm fighting those mobs in an EF?


Haven't tested that. But I believe the answer is no based on what happens to those level capped individuals on Eco-warrior quests who try to get healed from someone who is not levelcapped.


How long do I do the EF for?


You can do as many flags as you like. You can do a couple flags if you want. Or you can do all the flags. You have, basically, a week to win that region over before the next conquest tally on Sunday morning.
After the the tally, meet with the NPC again to receive your reward of 3k conquest points or to just simply hand in your Key Item if you failed in winning the region over.


Wow, 4-5 mobs? that's just crazy! I think I need 3-party alliance.


No. You don't "need" a 3 party alliance. What you need is a player to handle Mob control. At level 30, it's clear that only the Bard can do this. At higher levels you can try to experiement with 2 BLM with Sleepga, but even that can be messy. Your best bet is to have a bard in your party. Once you've established someone responsible for controlling the mobs. Then set up the rest of the party. Healer, and damage dealers. I haven't made use of the RDM's enfeebling strengths yet so I'll consider using RDM to replace BLM as long as I have melee that can leash out the damage..

In any case, having an alliance is nice as long as folks know what they're doing. So when you first start doing EFs. Feel free to do it as a single party. Once a party knows how to handle itself then it would make sense to form alliances with another party that knows what it's doing.


Ok, but does the difficulty of the mobs change depending on how many folks are in an alliance?


Well, when I initially did a 3 party alliance, it was mayhem. We were able to kill mobs but suffered a lot of casualties in the process. Every death that occurs hurts your progress because you can lose influence in a region. In fact, if you win a flag but suffer tremendous losses, you could end up reducing the winning nation's influence as well as your own influence. Do this enough times and you can end up giving the region to the 3rd nation who may have some influence in the region. OR you could just end up giving the region over to the beastmen. Furthermore, it appears that more progress is made when one party defeats the mobs as opposed to an alliance of players. You also get crystal drops when one party defeats the mobs, provided you have signet on and the region is not under beastmen control. However, no crystals drop when you fight these mobs as an alliance. So, to answer your question, I don't think the mobs are tougher, I think the chaos of having 12-18 people fighting in clusters make it difficult to be successful as part of an alliance. Use of /assist command and /attack <bt> (for battle target) may help in this situation.


Ok, that's a lotta info. What is the best party setup. I know i need a bard, right?


Ya, get a bard with Horde Lullabye. The same party setup may not work for all regions since the higher level mobs and higher level parties have stronger spells and abilities which results in new strategies in defeating the beastmen hordes in those areas. But for lvl cap 30, you NEED a bard. Then you need a tank, healer and Damage Dealers. I prefer to use RNG, SAMs and PLD. But you may not have those folks available. Do what you can with what's available but know that you NEED a bard. Ok I think i emphasized that enough.


Anything else? Do i get like crazy fame or something?


Well, you get the Title of Expeditionary Trooper after participating in an EF. I didn't note when you get that title, but you definitely get that title the day you start doing an EF. As for fame, I already maxed out my fame so i can't assess if any fame is awarded for successful completion of EFs. I would imagine so! But who knows. In the meantime, I will continue to do EFs and update as I see fit.


Ah, that's pretty neat. Ok, what about Loot. That's what i meant when I asked, "What do I get?"


Addend: Treasure chests only pop when a country has full influence in a region, i.e. when the bar is full. Or so I hear. I had never came across this situation, so I cannot prove or disprove it.