Dynamis shell questions

[Vyuru]

I may be looking at either joining or creating a Dynamis shell within the next 6-12 months, and while I think I have a good idea of what to look for, what are some good indications, or warning signs, to stay away from a particular shell? I am a total newb to the endgame scene and I have no experiance there, so is there anything in particular that I should be looking for? And in general, so I know that I'm not getting ripped off or being used, what kind of rules do you think a good Dynamis shell follows?

[Jei]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Generally, you want a shell with lots of active Blm. Without at least 3 showing up consistantly, every dynamis will be hard to do.

But that alone is not enough tho. In my case, my shell had lots of Blm. For 3 months my shell never did Xacabard. And the fist time we finally scheduled for Xacabard, we didn't even attemp it. We had 30 people showed up, and a few people were bitching that we didn't have enough to "beat" Xacabard and refuse to farm because "it's a waste of sponcer's money."

Seriously... no one aims for win on their first XC run.... and for the most part, farming AF is what most people want from XC.

[Kirsteena]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Agreed! We have been doing Xarc for a while, working on paths while farming. One day DL, but when we are ready.

Oh and lots of blm.

[Seraph-H]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Instead of looking for random shells, try asking friend that have done the end game scene, see what they think of their respective shells, and ask what kind of rules they have (some shells have enough rules and other things to make a small book out of it). One thing you should look at when joining a shell, are probably the leaders/officers, how they run things, treat their regular members, what kind of people are they, and general stuff like that.

Each dynamis shells run on slightly different rules, though in general most go by a point system (attend a run, get a point, use points to lot AF, something like that). Finding a good dynamis shell for yourself, is kind of "hit and miss," either you find one, or you don't. If you ever join a shell, and it becomes a job/drag to go to any of their events, just leave, its not worth it if you aren't having fun.

I don't have much other advice, because I was lucky and joined my social LS leader's dynamis/sky linkshell, and everyone within the shell were good friends, so we really didn't have many of the issues that possibly plague other linkshells. I'm sure others here can elaborate more on what happens in endgame.

[Olorin401]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

As a person who helps manage a Dynamis shell, I personally think the major thing to look for (aside from group experience in Dynamis) is the fairness by which items and coins are distributed.

For AF it's pretty easy. It's either free lot for those who have the job, or it's a point system.

For Synth Materials, it's usually a free lot no matter where you go.

For coins.. now things get complicated. Many shells use the sale of coins to pay for the hourglass. Some (including mine) will ask the members to share the cost of the hourglass, and in return the members get a share of the single value coins. 100-value coins, if they drop, can fund an entire Dynamis run on their own. Some shells will allow members to lot, others (like mine) let members bid points. Also, every shell I know of allows a member to sponsor the run, and in return for fronting a million gil that one member receives all single and 100-value coins.

Make sure the lotting rules are fair. And if you're in a pay-to-play group, make sure you get a return on your investment.

[Icemage]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

I can offer a bit of advice here, as I have many kills on Dynamis Lord at this point (lost count, but I don't attend every Dynamis, and I've taken him down at least 6 times to my recollection).

(1) There's a big learning curve for Dynamis. Study hard and learn the right paths in each zone. Making the wrong decisions, not having people pay attention, or failing to failure to execute correctly can and will produce situations that you cannot recover from, particularly in Dynamis-Jeuno and Dynamis-Windurst. There's more than one way to do each zone correctly, but there are many MANY more ways to do them incorrectly and screw yourself irretrievably.

(2) As Jei said... BLMs. They are key. Without Sleepga II, you cannot win any zone effectively. Non-75 BLMs don't count, either - they'll very likely get resisted. You don't need an army of BLMs, but more than "a few" is good, otherwise even a bad pull will wipe you. With enough BLMs to lock down adds, you can take on a lot of opposition and still come out on top (I've seen my LS take down 20+ adds and still win).

(3) Aside from BLMs, you need WHMs, Tanks, and support jobs to keep them all functional. There's nothing wrong per se with melees, but having too many without at least a dedicated mage to protect them is just asking for downtime.

(4) If you know someone is a dumbass who constantly makes mistakes, DO NOT INVITE THEM. See my above comment about mission-wrecking mistakes. I've seen it happen.

(5) You need to decide ahead of time on every run whether you are simply farming, or going for the win. The two do not necessarily mean the same thing (particularly in the later zones). Don't change your mind mid-run unless it's obvious you cannot win. Don't rush, as that will just cause people to make more mistakes.

(6) Understand the capabilities of your group, and cater to it. Have a gameplan to handle every situation, and make sure everyone knows what to prepare for (Astral Flow, Mijin Gakure, Hundred Fists, Charmga, etc.).


Icemage

[Olorin401]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

(3) Aside from BLMs, you need WHMs, Tanks, and support jobs to keep them all functional. There's nothing wrong per se with melees, but having too many without at least a dedicated mage to protect them is just asking for downtime.

I'm in charge of making parties for our group, and the biggest problem I have is that we're always lacking in one job or another. One week it'll be tanks, the next BLMs, the next refreshers.. And then if you get a huge turnout for a run you can have plenty of everything and it comes up short anyways.

We are NEVER short on White Mages though.. heh

[Hearshot]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Most the shells in Unicorn are 70+ or 73+. Sometimes they are sponsored by one person where they pay for the cost of entering the run but also get all the currency drops while everyone else goes for Relic. The good shells have a lotting system based on attendance, the bad ones are free lot.

Expect to wait till 73 melee for a decent shell.

[Vyuru]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

We had 30 people showed up, and a few people were bitching that we didn't have enough to "beat" Xacabard and refuse to farm because "it's a waste of sponcer's money."

I understand that winning and farming are two different things, but I was under the impression that most LS went into Dynamis to farm, so at what point is it a waste of the sponcer's money?

As Jei said... BLMs. They are key. Without Sleepga II, you cannot win any zone effectively.

What about bards and their Lullaby? Or is Sleepga II just that much more effective?

don't need an army of BLMs, but more than "a few" is good, otherwise even a bad pull will wipe you.

And how many is "more than a few"? I've seen crowd control but I suspect that Dynamis crowd control is a entirely different thing.

If you know someone is a dumbass who constantly makes mistakes, DO NOT INVITE THEM.

Heh, don't need to tell me twice. A friend told me horror stories of a certain whm who died something like 28 times on purpose while they were doing the Aqueducts CoP mission.

That and my LS leader told me a few stories about rdm who like to diaga sleeping mobs in dynamis >.>

Thanks for all the replies ^^

[Icemage]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

I understand that winning and farming are two different things, but I was under the impression that most LS went into Dynamis to farm, so at what point is it a waste of the sponcer's money?

Should be up to the sponsor. If the LS is going into a low-return zone like Xarcabard or Beaucedine as far as currency, the risk is up to the sponsor to assume.

What about bards and their Lullaby? Or is Sleepga II just that much more effective?

I'm a 75 Bard with good gear. Lullaby is not very reliable in Dynamis. It usually lands, but gets partial resisted a LOT since Dynamis is perpetually in 2xDark weather.

And how many is "more than a few"? I've seen crowd control but I suspect that Dynamis crowd control is a entirely different thing.

My LS usually runs with at least 5-6 BLMs, sometimes much more. We're a lot more flexible than most though, since virtually all of our membership has at least 2-3 level 75 jobs and can shuffle to meet whatever our requirements are.

Heh, don't need to tell me twice. A friend told me horror stories of a certain whm who died something like 28 times on purpose while they were doing the Aqueducts CoP mission.

Ask anyone you know who has done Dynamis-Windurst about the "death house."

If they've been there, they'll know what you're talking about.

And if you're wondering what pertinence this has to the discussion at hand, the answer you get to that question will enlighten you.


Icemage

[Tirrock]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Don't be that guy that goes to 3 or 4 runs, gets the AF2 you were eyeing, then leaves the LS without a word. People don't like that guy.

Type: /autotarget off
Otherwise you'll just wake up random monsters when your current target dies. It's a pretty good way to get a RDM or BLM killed.

Get an /assist macro. When the melee assist calls out "Melee attack Vanguard Hitman" and there's two of them, don't just pick one at random and start hitting it. You risk hitting the wrong one, waking it up, and risking the life of the person that slept it.
(It seems kind of obvious, but I've seen people that have helped get a relic weapon, which means many months of dynamis experience, not get this. Even when they're soloing a monster that's running around and killing every RDM that's trying to sleep it.)

This doesn't really effect you, since you're not a mage, but I'll say it anyway:
Don't use Dia/Poison/Bio in dynamis.

Get comfortable with the rules of the linkshell, and the members. If they treat you like crap, why stay?

Be prepaired. Some linkshells will have you use reraise gorgets/hairpins to save time. Every dynamis linkshell I've heard of requires echo drops for anybody that casts spells. Poison pots may be used too (although usually they'll let you know before the dynamis that you should bring them).

If you want to start a dynamis shell, you'd better have a good source of income. 1m is nothing to scoff at. You can't get people to pay for your dynamis run and still get currency needed to upgrade a weapon.

Starting a dynamis shell can be really rough. My friend's shell has had some bad problems with it's members. Some weren't prepaired at all, some go afk in a really bad spot without a word, and more than a few have been that guy that gets the AF they were looking at then never goes to another dynamis run.

[Necropolis]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

I been doing dynamis for about 2 months now and enjoy it very much. Before trying to run your own Dyna shell I would recommend going with a number of different groups to help you get familier with the zones as well get a feel for what jobs help where the most.

www.dynamiscalendar.com has schedules up for most of the shells that run. Just click on your server and check out the calendar. I usually ask the leader of the shell if they mind me coming along (I don't get to lot generally, some are sponsered, some are pay-to-go)

I had been running with a group on fridays that normally had 4 to 5 blms attend. But this last week I went with a group that had 12 and had a much easier time. But both my shells that I attend have cleared zones with as few as 12 people, and as many as 30. I find dynamis fun, but it is not something I would ever try to lead. The headache of having people you can count on to show, how to fund it, setting lot rules, and having everyone on the same page for 2+ hours seems more hassle than fun.

But what ever you do in Dyna I hope you have fun ^^

Oh, and to your question about bard sleeping, it's always double dark weather in dyna, so I believe thats why blm have an easier time sleeping mobs than bards. Also the Statues that gain TP at an extreme rate are generally left to the blm party to deal with.

[Aksannyi]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

This thread has been very helpful. I'm also considering joining in on the Dynamis {fun}, and a lot of the things I've read are things I've never heard of before. I have a good LS friend who has a Dynamis shell and he said he'll let me try it with his group, so we'll see how it goes.

[Olorin401]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

And please... Don't rest when there's a train of mobs going by your group!

[Tirrock]

Re: Dynamis shell questions

Oh yeah, statues. Don't melee statues. They have nasty TP moves and they have crazy physical damage resist anyway. If for some reason one is smacking you (and they hit hard) then run, but not too far away or into unaggroed monsters.

Speaking of running... If your group is wiping, don't run away. The dynamis monsters will hunt you down, and then people have to wait even longer for the monsters to go back to their homes so they can reraise.