Faluzure's Hi-Res Shots (NOT BANDWIDTH FRIENDLY)

[Marvul]

Wow, how do you get into so many JP parties then? When I try to speak romanji to them most of them act like they can't understand it, which I know they can.

[Sindinista]

Hey Faluzure, great screenshots once again. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your RDM.
First: What do you do in HNM fights? Refresh and Cure? ;p
Second: What elemental staves do you have (besides Dark) that you think are worth it for a RDM to get? (provided your cash is not overfollowing)

[Lasareth]

I'd hope we get to do more than be Refresh whores. I'd settle for a SW at least once a battle :D

[Faluzure]

To Marvul: Edited because the response was more than necessary... People come here to enjoy pictures and get tips, not hear lectures from some old guy playing FFXI. This is a shortened version of what I wrote.
My ability to get full Japanese parties is based on my reputation. Back in the beginning, I had a slightly higher success rate than most, but it was still low. I got a lot of "No thanks" responses. Now, being affiliated with one of the most popular Japanese HNM LShells on my server is reason for my success. So getting PTs is quite easy now. Some actively request me even though I'm leveling another job. However, yes there are some Japanese players that won't given a foreigner a chance at all and that's unfortunate. There's a lot of talented players out there. My LSmate and I had a chat the other day on why some Japanese players refuse foreigners (but I'll not get into that debate here). So to those of you who are quite serious in this game, just a few words of advice: Perform your job well, act maturely, be polite. If you do those things, your name will spread. There's nothing more rewarding to hear while you're busting your ass in a PT and hearing a popular Japanese player say that you're a great <insert job here> and then hearing the other Japanese players agree simultaneously. I've been extremely lucky in this game to all that has happened to me. I can't say that it was "being in the right place at the right time." I busted my ass in PTs, I worked for what got me where I am today.

Now for the romaji part... Yes you're right, most Japanese people can understand romaji but there's an exception to this rule. That rule is *if* they choose to read it. Romaji is basically using our alphabet spelling Japanese words. With that said, our alphabet is not their primary alphabet. It is something that was taught in school but not necessarily learned. (Note I said that in past tense. Unlike American FFXI community, a lot of the Japanese players are indeed adults. My Linkshell consists of more adults from ages 24+ than young adolescent teens. So with that said, the Japanese player you are probably asking to join your PT has been out of school for a *long* time.) Just as with any student, the amount they are willing to learn is up to them. English is just another class they have to take while in school. Take for example students here. Every student regardless of where they are from has a curriculum that they must take year after year. You are forced to take history, math, P.E., health, science courses. Just because you take them doesn't mean you know them well or like the subject. I'm sure you know that one kid in class who loves the subject and does well. Then you have other kids who really hate the subject and won't really pay attention. To that person, getting just a passing grade is enough for him/her. You can't expect every Japanese person to have loved English class.

So look at this sentence: ç§?ã?«ã?“ã?®ã‚¢ã‚¤ãƒ†ãƒŸã‚’å?—ã?‘å?–る機会を与ã?ˆã?¦ã??ã‚Œã?¦é?žå¸¸ã?«ã?‚ã‚Šã?Œã?¨ã?†ã€‚
Now look at this one: watashi ni kono aitemu wo uketoru kikai wo ataetekurete hijyou ni arigatou.

Both sentences say the same thing. Those of us that can read hiragana/katakana/kanji at an experienced level can read both fairly fast. What about those of us just learning Japanese? Obviously it's not our primary language so it will take a bit of time to decipher those characters. Now reverse the roles of a Japanese person. Obviously he can read his own ethnic language well & fast because it is his primary language. Now he reads the 2nd sentence in romaji. What if he was a student that never took English seriously? Of course at first glance, he can recognize that it is indeed romaji, but it may take him twice as long or longer to read that sentence. I'll admit, despite the fact that I can read most Japanese, it's a work on the brain. Sometimes I just don't feel like looking at it.




To Sindinista & Lasareth: In HNM fights, I am a black mage. That job is the reason I was recruited into the linkshell. As for other RDMs in our LS, they have 3 functions in general.
1) Refresh
2) Heal
3) Spirits Within <-- (Lasareth :D)
As sad as you are to hear that, that's what they're there for. Now for specifics, there are additional functions for the Red Mage.
4) For certain mobs, Gravity is required.
5) For even more specific mobs, a DRK sub is requested, putting Chainspell - Stun at #5.

Staves... I personally would say get them all. They are really cheap because everyone and their grandmother is planting the ores. Staves are really cheap on our server. Ice staves are about 75K (compared to the 750,000 I paid for mine back in March ). But since you asked which ones, I'll break it down for you.

If you had to pick and were low on money, I would choose Dark Staff first. Then Light Staff and Ice Staff are about equal in need, depending on your job.
1) All Red Mages should have a Dark Staff period. There are times when you already used our convert but you need to get as much mana as possible. This helps.
2) RDM/BLM: Obviously you went this route because you hate the healing function of RDM/WHM. With this route, you're best off with all the staves for nuking purposes. However, again you may not be able to afford everything. So you should at least get an Ice Staff since you like nuking so much. This should help in the effectiveness of your spells.
3) RDM/WHM: Since nuking is a lot less of a priority, pick up a Light Staff. The Cure potentcy +10% really does its job nicely.

Of course, that's just my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. I have all the staves though, so I may be a bit biased.



Finally, I leave you with an image of my "speed PT" with the uber Japanese players that I mentioned earlier in the post to Marvul. Yes folks, this PT was uber. We were getting these kind of results nearly every chain (until there was not enough mobs to grab). Average XP per hour? ~8000+

[dreadlord]

Congratulations Falu, seems to be a very nice PT and a very nice Chain of course too. It's the highest chain I ever saw.

[Faluzure]

Originally posted by dreadlord
Congratulations Falu, seems to be a very nice PT and a very nice Chain of course too. It's the highest chain I every saw.

Thanks! It really was nice. I thought XP chains ended at 10. It was crazy to see 11. The most XP I ever got per hour was 6500 before this one in another speed PT.

[Ivadell]

Hey thanks for the pics Fal. I finally goto to see it for myself this weekend doing Genkei 3, I think it's one of the creepiest looking places in game. Anyway thanks a bunch for doing that have fun being Uber!

[Faluzure]

Originally posted by Ivadell
Hey thanks for the pics Fal. I finally goto to see it for myself this weekend doing Genkei 3, I think it's one of the creepiest looking places in game. Anyway thanks a bunch for doing that have fun being Uber!

Ivadell! You're welcome. Again, I'm really sorry that it took so long to get those. My apologies... I thought maybe you were mad or something and quit reading this thread because it took so long.

[Kyrial Arthian]

Wow.... chain 11. I had a pretty nice PT last night. ^^ Didn't notice how long it lasted, but I made about 10k experience. Real close to 43 now.

And hey, just cuz I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't happen to like girls better than guys. ^_~

[JP_Ikari]

Originally posted by Kyrial Arthian
Wow.... chain 11. I had a pretty nice PT last night. ^^ Didn't notice how long it lasted, but I made about 10k experience. Real close to 43 now.

And hey, just cuz I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't happen to like girls better than guys. ^_~

See now, that's ok for a girl to say to another girl, but if another dude says that about another, some doesn't see it fit.

Ikari

P.S. Fal, awesome pics as always, and you have made me realize the power of chains and speed parties. Now if you don't mind me asking, what was the party make up, and how fast were the mobs dropping when you got to that point. I can see that at 168, the mob probably check'd VT to you guys ( at chain 5 and up (exp x 1.5)). Anyways, hehe thanks in advance man, and I can understand how you feel towards JPN's and with them reading romaji. I talk to my JPN's friend (at least try too talk to him) through romaji, he's saying I'm getting better at it, even though it's small, but I'm improving.

With your explanation, I hope people would realize how big the language barrier is, regardless whether or not we will accept it, there's always that part. Communicating with the auto-trans is still as tough since you really can't get your point across for the most part (least i think so). Well enough for me babbling, and props again to Fal for giving us these great pics and what not :D (especially the spoilers).

[Ivadell]

vadell! You're welcome. Again, I'm really sorry that it took so long to get those. My apologies... I thought maybe you were mad or something and quit reading this thread because it took so long.

nope I check your thread at least 2 times a day :p

[Roulette]

Hi Fal Ive been reading your thread for a while now and the pics are great!

Hmm I have been wondering though what is the desirability of Summoners at higher levels? I know ive seen at least in few in some of your screens so they cant be all that bad but..... how do they fare in comparison to other jobs?

Also can I through in a small request? A taru summoner whit any one of the summons out.....

Thanks

[Faluzure]

Originally posted by Roulette
Hi Fal Ive been reading your thread for a while now and the pics are great!

Hmm I have been wondering though what is the desirability of Summoners at higher levels? I know ive seen at least in few in some of your screens so they cant be all that bad but..... how do they fare in comparison to other jobs?

Also can I through in a small request? A taru summoner whit any one of the summons out.....

Thanks

Hmm. Summoner question. I have a lot to say about Summoner not only to you, but to others as well. I think it will benefit everyone but it isn't necessary to read. So I put the "unnecessary" parts in small text.

What you see in my pictures are SMNs for HNM fights. Any level 75 can go Summoner subjob to do Aerial Armor, but it's extremely
important for a pure summoner to participate in certain HNM battles. In HNM fights, SMNs are used for the typical Earthen Ward/Aerial Armor buff. In addition, they are also used (if the situation is right) for the level 70 attack ability (especially Leviathan's Spinning Dive). As I said in the past, mage jobs are extremely important in HNM battles, but you only really need 1 summoner per tanking/melee PT.

Before I answer your question, I need to clarify the job of Summoner. Most people, (especially non-summoners) think that all you do is Earthen Ward & Aerial Armor until level 70. This is totally *not* true. If you see a Summoner only use these abilities, then that Summoner has a lot to learn. Just like any job, the abilities you choose to use during battles is purely conditional. You have to adapt to what is going on in battle. It is much more critical for a Summoner to make the right decisions because you only have access to Blood Pact (the Avatar's abilities) once a minute. Choosing the wrong ability can truly make an impact on your party. There are times when you need to use the other Blood Pacts of an avatar.

Regardless of the "coolness" of your Blood Pact, the role of a summoner's job will be healer. Unless S-E does a makeover on the Summoner job, that is what we will always be, Healing & Defense. Thus, a white mage subjob is the most logical and effective choice for a subjob as it gives you access to a lot of the status-curing spells. I've seen Summoners who have gone Red Mage sub. I guess it is "ok" since you have access to Cure I to Cure III but what else are you good for? Why not just go WHM and gain access to Divine Seal and status-curing spells? There's also a dumb SMN on my server that is a Bard sub. They put in their 'Search Comment' that they will not be anything but Bard sub. (I guess that's why I blew past her about 10 levels.) Anyway, if you're a Summoner, you can be whatever subjob you want. So many NA BLMs are choosing RDM subjob and so many RDMs are choosing BLM subjob nowadays, who else will cure the party? The Bard? Not enough mana bud. Just note that you'll be a more effective if you choose WHM. I've seen it too many times in NA parties where the PLD gets paralyzed or silenced and he asks for that status to be removed and nobody can help him because they all want to be "different". It's fine to be different, but when it comes down to the "cookie-cutter" jobs in FFXI (especially for parties), they are cookie-cutter jobs because they have been proven to be effective and efficient time and time again. Again, take what I said about subjobs with a grain of salt. If you want to be different, fine. It's your money. Just don't be mad when things aren't going your way. Getting parties as a Summoner is bad enough already...

As now a summoner, I already knew most of my job based on the Japanese players that I've played with since my first job (Black Mage). Watching them as I leveled both Black Mage and Redmage to 75 (as well as learning from those in my LS), I got a pretty good grasp of the role seeing it progress from low level to 75. However, you learn best when actually performing the job. So as a level 54 Summoner, I have a pretty good grasp of the role as well as seen it played flawlessly.

In parties, I think most Summoners will agree that levels 69 and under you only get to see half of what Summoners are capable of. So from levels 1 through 69, you can notice that the SMN is strictly healer and battle support (whether you do Aerial Armor, Earthen Ward, Ecliptic Howl, Lunar Cry, etc.) Right now, Red Mages and White Mages usually get picked before I do in terms of party healing. Stoneskin, Blink, & Fenrir's battle abilities are an incentive to pick me, but if a party needs a primary healer and a White Mage is available, I might as well keep waiting. I'll never be as good as a pure healer. I've waited hours for a party and never got one. SMN truly requires a lot of patience when LFG. If you don't have patience, take matters into your own hands. Create parties yourself.

Some might say that you see change in roles of SMN at level 60 when you have access to level IV magics. I would agree but unless you have a bard that can cast threnody, expect those IV spells to get resisted by a lot. If it does get resisted, you just lost 1 minute of a Blood Pact.

The next turning point is if you have Fenrir. You will gain access to the first major attack of a Summoner at level 65. Eclipse Bite
is the turning point to where you will see your first Avatar pump out heavy damage. (;°Д°) Eclipse Bite is not as good as the level 70 attacks of the normal Avatars, but it is close. When you hit level 70, that's when you see the other half of the Summoner as a true damage dealing job. This is where you can even solo as a Summoner. What makes Summoner potentially great is the ability to have Avatars tank for you. As you level up, your Avatars get pretty hefty in power. What's cooler is that they have no "ceiling" in terms of damage. So your potential for damage is incredible. It is important to note though, that just because you have no capped damage, you can also be resisted. I've seen Garuda to 1400 damage with Predator Claws on a VT mob. This should tell you something on how strong the level 70 abilities are. I've even seen Predator Claws do 100 damage on the same mob, so that should also tell you how much damage can vary.

So Summoner does has its advantages, but you likely won't see them until later on. I know being a primary healer is boring and that's not why you wanted to be a Summoner. I can't stand being a White mage. I can't stand the repetitiveness. However I do like RDM/WHM and SMN/WHM. I have acted as primary healer in both jobs, but I think the ability to be able to do something other than healing (even if its just once a minute) allows enough flavor to keep me interested. So until S-E does a drastic makeover, that's pretty much the SMN's job until at least level 65 (for Fenrir) or level 70 (everyone else but Carbuncle).

Side note for those of you that are interested in Fenrir: I know you dream of having Fenrir and having his abilities. I know you say you would be a better summoner if you had Fenrir. Fenrir is nice, but he can be totally wasteful if you do not know how he functions. It is *extremely* important to note that Fenrir's Acc/Eva & Stat Boost Bloodpacts are based on Moon Phase. I've been in parties where they wanted me to use the stat boosting Ecliptic Growl but it just wasn't the right time. I've been in parties where they demand I use Ecliptic Howl or Lunar Cry to help them hit better and again, it just wasn't the right time.
Fenrir's abilities work with each % of the moon's visibility to give you a different degree of effectiveness. Traditionally in real life, each phase of the moon from New Moon to Full Moon are designated by a fixed %. However in Vana'diel, the % can vary. So for example on Earth, when the moon is anywhere from 26% to 50%, you know that the moon is either a Waning Crescent or a Waxing Crescent. In Vana'diel, the Crescents can start as soon 7% or end as early as 42%. The next upcoming Crescent starts at 12% and ends at 40%.
Thus there are 7 steps from New Moon to Full Moon on FFXI. Each "step" will give you a specific effect. So take for instance, Lunar Cry (Enemy's Evasion & Accuracy Reduced):
Lunar Cry on New Moon: Accuracy -1 / Evasion -31
Lunar Cry on Full Moon: Accuracy -31 / Evasion -1
As you can see, if someone asks you to use Lunar Cry to help them hit the monster you're fighting, you would then type /clock on. If the moon shows Full Moon or near it, then you would know that your Lunar Cry would be least effective in party accuracy. You're better off using another ability instead. Again, many people were not aware of this. So if you do have Fenrir and your melees are bitching at you for not using the abilities, you can now give them a reason why.

[Vanalesca]

First time posting in this thread and I'd like to say Hello! Nice pic's Fal. :O. Interesting tips on the SMN job. I'd have to say you are 100% right. My only gripe with the job is the lack of equip I can wear ><.

[Fire]

Originally posted by Faluzure


So many NA BLMs are choosing RDM subjob and so many RDMs are choosing BLM subjob nowadays, who else will cure the party? The Bard? Not enough mana bud. Just note that you'll be a more effective if you choose WHM.

Shrug, I would personally choose a rdm/blm for my party over a rdm/whm. If I'm looking for a rdm to be in my party it's to
A.) debuff (elemental seal is very usefull)
B.) be able to save the party if things go bad (chainspell escape / ele seal + sleepga)
C.) refreash / dispel

Status cures are done by the whm, smn/whm, brd/whm, or blm/whm. Granted brd's dont have much MP but status cures are like 9-20mp?

Also, BLM/RDM isnt all that bad if you not able to get a rdm or brd for dispel.... but I won't try to justify that because rdm sub for dispel/gravity isnt as great as /whm.

These are just my opinions though. see you^^