Hornet Needle NM

[hongman]

I am wanting the Hornet Needle Dagger, for my RDM.

What kind of party am I going to need to take it down comfortably?

Also, since I have been using swords since I could (not used Dagger at all) my Dagger skill is only 16 (!!!)

WHat is the best way to skill this up? If I go for EP's, skillups are rare on Sword... does this mean I have to go back to killing very weak mobs to skill the dagger up? Im not sure how this skillup buisiness works, just got told that you only get skillups on DC upwards.

[Haggai]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

The wiki on Death from Above says 3 people level 60, solo at 70.

See this page to see where to skill up at what level.

[Neomage]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Past level 4, your skill caps at Even Match monsters. Before level 4, It's Decent Challenge. So, if your Dagger Skill is 16, fight monsters in Tahongri Canyon/La Thine/Marshlands. Their way above your cap but your STR and DEX boosts should allow you to get a ton of skillups on them.

[hongman]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Thanks guys

ANd I presume after the skillups slow down, move to Valkrum type areas and then up from there?

[Sabaron]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Yes, when skilling up just pretend you were levelling again. Except this time, you can pick your camp and do odd things. Skilling while hunting an NM is nice. Skilling while acquiring someone's coffer or doing a level cap is fun too. Anything you can combine with it to make it more interesting is worthwhile.

[hongman]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Hmm, shame I cant do this while looking for my Eldieme Coffer

On another note, do you think myself and a 70 SMN could duo this?

[Sabaron]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

A 70th level RDM can solo it (I did). The bee attacks like a MNK in Hundred Fists mode, so Shadows are basically worthless. However, a bee's attacks, while fast, are very weak so Phalanx/Stoneskin destroys their damage. Shock Spikes add to the fun. I got quite a few stuns on the dumb thing. Shock Spikes > Ice Spikes for my money versus a single mob. Versus multiple mobs in quick sequence, Ice Spikes is usually more mp-conservative since it can paralyze 2-3 monsters per application. Kill the Wespes because they'll link (there are two of them). If you are low enough level to get aggro from the doll that lives in there, you'll have to kill it or pull DFA to the far end of the room. No AoE, keep debuffs and buffs up. Don't bother with shadows unless you have Ni (which you don't afaik). Since you're lower level, you'll probably be letting the avatar tank which is not good necessarily because of the hideous speed at which it will kill the avatar. I would recommend taking a tank as opposed to a SMN for this battle. SMN kiting can do a lot, but you don't have too much room (some of the Tons usually Harriers will aggro a 71 if you get a big one). For my money, I'd rather have a tank than a SMN for this. It could be workable though provided the SMN can get enough distance between him and carby before carby dies (and he will die quickly).

[hongman]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Thanks Sab...I will get a proper tank/higher level for this then - lucky as I was going to go for it last night with the summoner, but we both just invites within 10mins of each other and decided we wanted to party more. Phew.

[Murphie]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

I had a 75 WHM/NIN tank it for me. She kicked it's ass and I barely had to do much of anything.

[hongman]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Thanks Murphie

Hows things with you?

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Nice icon Murphie. DfA was probably the easiest NM I ever fought.

I was RDM/WAR, so with Defender, Phalanx and Protect, I didn't even need Stoneskin.

Also, nothing in that room aggroed me at 75. DfA attacks as if it has the stats of the Hornetneedle, meaning fast but slow.

It also has EnPoison.

But all in all, it's a weak monster. In fact, I think Blaze Spikes did most of the damage. Short fight, and it didn't do Final Sting. Pollen cured like 2k or something, so it was just annoying.

Anyway, that's all you need to know. Bees are jokes.

[Murphie]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Thanks. I've got tons of 'em.

And yeah, mine didn't use Final Sting either. Really, the fight was over so fast that it wasn't worth remembering. The hard part was getting the damn larvae to spawn him in the first place. That took weeks for me.

[tdh]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

I was told DfA was highly annoying. That once it got down to 30%HP, it would spam 1500+ Pollens. So the trick was to just destroy it, and destroy it quick!

We had a group down there to do the DRG AF3, so we did DfA for me. With DRG60, DRK65, NIN75, 2 WAR75s, and 2 THF75s, the thing didn't live long enough to have a chance at Pollen. HUGE overkill, but hey, I got my Horny! ^^

[Sabaron]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Yes, the larva, I must say is the hardest part. I would hunt the Wespes on the map where DFA spawns. There are rumors of drops from Wespes on the Coffer map, but if they prove false (or if the drop rate is horribly low) you're going to be wasting time. For me, Shock Spikes did tons of damage. I realize that Blaze Spikes do more damage, but the Stun effect gives you a bit of room and I did this as a 71 RDM/BLU rather than a 75. His damage through Phalanx was low, on the order of 10-15 damage, so not terribly bothersome nor in general enough to interrupt my Stoneskin recast. I only used one Blue Magic spell, Cocoon, and WAR would probably be a better sub but I do not have it and frankly, Blue Mage is my second favorite class after RDM since the two are so similar and I just really enjoy the spells especially the little sound that Wild Carrot makes for some reason. Cocoon is now and always has been my favorite Blue Mage spell especially for sub job. The defensive bonus is simply astounding and so cheap. The short duration doesn't bother me a bit and it casts very quickly.

Other things I like about /BLU:

Tailored Stat bonuses--these can be a bit limited but I've found the ones available fit RDM quite nicely especially for solo.
Clear Mind from Poison Breath/Soporific
Auto-regen from Sheep Song/Healing Breeze
Healing Breeze.
2x Sleepga (Sheep Song/Soporific) and an extra Sleep (Pinecone Bomb): They may be gimped, but so very very nice just the same especially against lower level mobs and shadows.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Hornet Needle NM

Other things I like about /BLU:

Tailored Stat bonuses--these can be a bit limited but I've found the ones available fit RDM quite nicely especially for solo.
Clear Mind from Poison Breath/Soporific
Auto-regen from Sheep Song/Healing Breeze
Healing Breeze.
2x Sleepga (Sheep Song/Soporific) and an extra Sleep (Pinecone Bomb): They may be gimped, but so very very nice just the same especially against lower level mobs and shadows.

RDM has Clear Mind at Lv.31; Auto-Regen is available from /WHM25 (I think), though it is accessible at lower level from /BLU16.

No sure about sleepga from Sheep Song/Soporific, but wouldn't Sandspin be better for for shadow stripping, since it only costs 10 MP? (Why would a RDM using Stoneskin, Phalanx, and Ice Spikes need to sleega lower level monsters, anyway?)