Few BST Qs

[ZQM]

Newbie BST here.

1) How well do BST compare in DPS to the main DPSers? (MNKs, DRKs, DRGs....no point in bringing up RNG :p ) Compare it in two sections please, normal hits and weaponskills.

2) Do you get a lot of party invites later in the game and people have a revolation of sorts? By a lot, I mean around the same as other melees. Obviously it won't be something like a BRD.

3) Are BST ever wanted for BCNM, HNM, missions, ect.? Basically late game stuff.

4) Headgear opinion please....I'm soon to hit a level where I have 3 headgear to choose from. Noble Ribbon (CHR +3), Bastokian Cap (DEF: 6, HP+2 MP+2), Silver Hairpin (HP-6 MP+15). All have there ups...Noble Ribbon gives CHR which we need to capture beats (CHR question next), Bastokian Cap gives a nice DEF boost while still helping out MP along with HP, and Silver Hairpin has a big MP boost. BST/WHM btw.

5) Is CHR really that important? When soloing, a mob shouldn't be tamed for long; just long enough to get the monsters HP down a lot. Do fights later last a long time and therefore it is needed? So far I haven't ran into any problems, but this is also early in the game. And if so, is it better to get a +chr weapon then a more damaging axe?

6) Does moving lower the chance of charm? I have only been unsuccessful two times in charming a beast, both times moving. I'm sure it's just a stupid coiencidence, but just want to double check

7) What food is good for a BST? Boiled Crab to help out when we get hit in the end, Meat Mithkabobs to help out our attack to make the fight end quicker, or Roasted Mushrooms to help out with healing?

8) Is the AF like PLDs, wearable all the way up to 75?

Might be more late. I also realize that these questions are better answered by myself ingame, but I'd still like the opinions of veteran BSTs.

[Mikeb]

1. If you're talking just the damage from the BST then it's pretty weak - low STR and no attack bonus from the job... If you include the pet, then it can be very high, and with the right pet you can outdamage all other melees.

2. Few party invites - most people don't understand the job, also not many spots with good EM pets AND good IT mobs to lvl off.

3. From what I hear, kinda, but again most ppl don't know much about the job.

4. Noble's ribbon is nice for the CHR.

5. CHR does NOT affect charm time, it does however affect the probability you will charm something, and it really sucks dying because you couldn't charm something in a bind... So yeah, CHR is important.

6. No.

7. All 3 have their uses - I use mithkabobs myself to end the fight quicker.

8. Most high lvl BST's I've seen wear Hauberk armour/partial AF.

[ZQM]

Thank you.

Just some more questions off of your answers.

1) Is this including weapon skills? Is the Sic ability able to keep up with the Raging Fist, Penta Thrust, ect?

2) Are familiars good to use, or do EM charmed pets perform way better?

And on the topic of familiars, how exactly do they work? Is there a set time limit they're out for, or do they just stay out until they die?

[Aporo]

1) No, no where close. Some are really good like "Screw Driver" but the mob also has a chance to throw up a shield or something else. Since you need to wait 2 minutes between Sics, it's unpredictable at best. When they throw out a high damaging special it's awesome, otherwise you just sort of say "Hmmm", I might need to find a new pet.

2) Familiars are okay. Most seem weaker then you'd want. They behave mostly like EPs.


They stay out I believe 10minutes and then make a noise and dissapear. Or you can release them or get it killed off. You have a 5 minute timer on summoning a new jug pet so you can't go crazy zerg style for the most part.

[Mikeb]

1. Some of the Sic abilities from pets are very strong, others are weak however. Jet Stream, a move done by the 3-bat mobs, was doing 300+ damage to worms in Qufim when I was level 25... Sickle slash, a spider move, did 200-400 damage at level 33 in Altepa. Much more than any weapon skill I've seen a melee do at the same level. Of course, since you can't choose the special the pet does it could also suck.

2. An EM pet is always better, but a Familiar is great for farming, for places there aren't EM pets, or in emergencies.

[sudo]

hehehehe a bit off topic again but as a lv 31 thf I managed to do 471 damage on a sneak attack + trick attack +fast blade... so maybe I can still out damage a pet sometimes

but I've seen a doom scorpion doing some crazy regular melee damage in crawler's nest. I didn't see the AOE attack but I was VERY impressed by bsts after that.

I demand that Square give bst a scorpion summon!!!! they just look so cool!

Wish list also include giant trees and marblos... who's with me?!!

[Mikeb]

I want a 3-bat summon pet... Jet Stream is still the best damage I've seen from a special attack... Although a scorp pet would look sweet. A cactuar summon would also be nice...

[sudo]

Also on the wish list, I want a lv 75 bst ability to charm the other beastmen

It would be absolute pwnage to walk around with my personal goblin servant.

The smn can keep their Ifrits, nothing beats a Demon or golemn or hell, even a dragon for a pet

By the way, why does the chart of opposing creature classes have things like undead and demons when we can't charm them?

Sure I know that arcana fights demons... but what's the point if we can't tame either nor summon their equivilant???:sweat:

[ZQM]

hehehehe a bit off topic again but as a lv 31 thf I managed to do 471 damage on a sneak attack + trick attack +fast blade... so maybe I can still out damage a pet sometimes

My highest as a 39 THF was only around 430 with Viper Bite. I hardly even broke the 400's with Fast Blade.

More questions.

1) I'm confused with level 3 renkeis :sweat: do they have a good WS they can contribute to a level 3 renkei?

2) Is the only thing that effect lenght of charm is the level of the monster?

3) Do monsters have elements? Or is it just a matter of how much resistance it has to an element? (I.E. Water on a crab will do crap damage because it's Water element or because it has a lot of water resistance?). I'm guessing resistance, but I'd just like to double check.

[Turgon]

The 1H axe is horrible for early skillchains, but it does get better as time goes on. Most BSTs dont use 1H axe for party play, UNLESS they are BST/NIN and dual wield. Most BSTs in parties will use scythe for damage output, even though the cap will be lower on it.

1) I do not see a single Axe WS that links to it on my skillchain chart, although I have been known to mis-read it. Someone here can check me on this.

2) Charm duration is based on your level compared to the level mob you have charmed. If I charm an Even Match pet, it will always last 1 complete fight with a Tough mob, as long as the Even was right near the Tough. If I had to run around and look for a mob to fight, then I may have to charm mid-battle.
Some people have said that the AF armor adds to Charm duration, but I cannot confirm or deny this. Lily might be able to provide more insight on this (since she manages to frequent the same 4 message boards I do, I know she will read this sometime soon :sweat: )

3) Monsters have elemental weaknesses. Yes, the Water spell on a crab will be less effective because the crab is based on water. Thunder does more damage to them b/c water is weak to thunder. You can tell easily sometimes that an animal is based on a certain element; most beasts are based on earth, like rabbits, hence why they give earth crystals. Basically, whatever crystal the mob drops is the element they are based on, and ultimately are stong against.
This also holds true when it comes to weapon skills and renkeis with elemental attributes. In Qufim my warrior's Great Axe WS Sturmwind would pulverize bats for 200+ damage, because its a 2-hit Wind element weapon skill, and bats are weak to wind (for some strange reason).


A BSTs strength lies in his or her pets. You can charm pets that would normally take a full party to take down in some cases. A BST doesnt have super devastating weapon skills or specials like Penta, because he/she is normally just finishing off a T mob. With you and your pet in a party, your combined output is very nice, especially with the Sic command AND your weapon skills. Higher up, the Rampage Axe weapon skill is 5-hit I think, at 175 skill level, pretty impressive. If you sub DRK in later levels, you CAN use guillotine, but we are talking about WAY down the road.

If you are looking to make a party Beastmaster, be prepared to do a lot of explaining about your class.

[ZQM]

Originally posted by Turgon
Most BSTs dont use 1H axe for party play, UNLESS they are BST/NIN and dual wield. Most BSTs in parties will use scythe for damage output, even though the cap will be lower on it.

I was planning on going /NIN for parties, but post 30 would berserk be better? Then at 50 you have to decide between double attack and dual wield II....><

And about Guillotine, we get it? According to http://www.ausystem.org/~aushacho/gbox/ff/skill-e.html it's a DRK-main skill only. If we get it then I can't wait. lv62 according to the site

3) Monsters have elemental weaknesses. Yes, the Water spell on a crab will be less effective because the crab is based on water. Thunder does more damage to them b/c water is weak to thunder. You can tell easily sometimes that an animal is based on a certain element; most beasts are based on earth, like rabbits, hence why they give earth crystals. Basically, whatever crystal the mob drops is the element they are based on, and ultimately are stong against.
This also holds true when it comes to weapon skills and renkeis with elemental attributes. In Qufim my warrior's Great Axe WS Sturmwind would pulverize bats for 200+ damage, because its a 2-hit Wind element weapon skill, and bats are weak to wind (for some strange reason).

I said that wrong. ˆˆ;

What I meant was, are monsters an element and therefore there attack is an element? So if you have a crab fighting a leech and cast Katon: Ichi (Lowers water resistance), would the crab do more damage?

Somebody brought up /NIN before on this forums and it looks interesting to me, but I want to see if there's more to the class then just Utsesmi and Dual Wield (plus my NIN is 5 levels higher and I despise leveling WHM :p).

If you are looking to make a party Beastmaster, be prepared to do a lot of explaining about your class.

Yeah. :sweat: I don't plan on being pure party (which is why I'm going BST, so I can solo) but it's still nice to be in a party every now and then, expecially with friends. I'm also used to making my own parties, but I'm starting to worry about getting rejected because of my job.

[Turgon]

I was planning on going /NIN for parties, but post 30 would berserk be better? Then at 50 you have to decide between double attack and dual wield II....><

Berserk rocks, and since BST gets no Attack Up trait, would be a big help. If you dual wield weapons with +attk or +acc, that would also be very handy. It depends on how you plan to play, or I guess how much time you are willing to spend leveling another job.

And about Guillotine, we get it? According to http://www.ausystem.org/~aushacho/gbox/ff/skill-e.html it's a DRK-main skill only. If we get it then I can't wait. lv62 according to the site

You are correct, Guillotine IS a DRK only weapon skill, which is why you HAVE to sub DRK in order to use it. Much like Ranger, you can sub Ranger and still have access to all the neato Archery Weaponskills that only Rangers get.

What I meant was, are monsters an element and therefore there attack is an element? So if you have a crab fighting a leech and cast Katon: Ichi (Lowers water resistance), would the crab do more damage?

A crabs normal attack is just that, a melee hit. Only pet specials would be able to have an elemental attribute, and even then, I am not 100% on that (this is VERY theoretical).

Yeah. I don't plan on being pure party (which is why I'm going BST, so I can solo) but it's still nice to be in a party every now and then, expecially with friends. I'm also used to making my own parties, but I'm starting to worry about getting rejected because of my job.

Usually, people who have partied with BSTs beforehand are eager to get another for party play. If you have a static LS party, you could do it fairly easily. Despite BST being a solo-oriented job, I see BSTs partying all the time. The drudgery of level 15 (shudder) and 30-35 can really compel a BST to party up, and usually with success. My very good RL friend who plays BST says parties loved him when he was 32-35, using a TigerFamiliar. I haven't partied as of yet, because I need to get used to grinding out slow levels on my own. It also teaches you to find better areas, hone your tactics, and learn to exploit weaknesses of certain mobs. Plus my playing schedule sucks.

EDIT: stupid mistakes

[ZQM]

Thanks.

Now just to get through the tough haul of getting to 35.

Though the leveling guides help a lot.