How I got my avatars - A helpful guide for those seeking

[Oompa]

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It's the day in which a great group of people took me into their arms and helped me receive all my avatars, minus the obvious Fenrir. Here is a little bit of information on how I did it, from beginning to end in hopes to help those in need of some guidance in this manner.

Beginning about two weeks ago I decided I wanted to start pursuing my career as a summoner in our wonderful game. I've had the job open for quite some time and I've leveled it up to a meager 13 using just Carbuncle and some random spirits. I decided this weren’t enough and I needed to solicit some outside help. Before doing so a good friend of mine on the Lakshmi server, Klumsyboy, guided me with the best way to receive all the fame I've ever needed around the world. It cost a great deal of Gil, but after several BCNMs and some lucky lots in the Boyada Tree (spider webs) I had plenty of money to pursue my fame without a worry of money. Here are the quests I did to boost fame to its max in a minimal amount of time with a minimal amount of Gil:

1) I actually started off with a bit of fame in Bastok and Windurst already. Just barely enough to do the Warp quest and the Aspir quest. Each required fame rank two to complete. I had a long way to go before I was ready to get the avatar quests!

2) Selbina millioncorn quest. This quest is repeatable without the need for zoning so you can fill up your inventory with as many stacks as possible. The stacks run about 1000~ on my server and it'll take about 50-75 stacks to boost fame enough. Once you're done with about 50 (it'd be nice if you had the gobbie bag quests done like I do, just one and two though) check with the fame NPC in Bastok Port. Hopefully you will have fame 6 by this time, which is what's required for the avatar quests. Since you're already here, go talk to the little taru and get your Titan quest. Now is a good time to blow 50K or so, on your Tenshudo fame. Buy as many Zinc Ores as you can and keep buying them all up and give them to the guy in Warehouse II. I think it takes around 100 Zinc ores to get enough fame for Leviathan. I'm not really sure because I lost track after about 15 quests done. This is the blunt of your money for gaining fame, and it's pretty irritating to watch 1200 Gil get turned in to receive 350 back. Ugh.... If you want the serpent, you have to do it though...

3) Run to San d' Oria. Check the fame NPC here as well. If you're not yet to fame 6, buy as many stacks of flint stones as you can hold and turn them in to the guy in the bar, next to the fame NPC guy. Being as he's so close you can check your fame after every couple of stacks, and hopefully you can sell a few back to regain a bit of cash. Once you have the fame needed, run to the Taru and get the Shiva quest...

4) Off to Windurst! Buy as many Beehive chips or Cornettes as you can. I personally liked the Beehive chips because they were stackable letting you store many many more quests worth in your inventory each time. Hand them in until your fame NPC in Waters gives you fame 6 also. You're done here unless you feel eager to have the Fenrir quest, and if so, head on over and pick it up.

5) Head to Rabao and get the Garuda quest. Head to Mharua and get the Ramuh quest. Head to Norg to get the Leviathan quest. Bingo, you have them all, you're ready to rock!


Once my fame was set I contacted the proper people, and got the ball rolling.

The party consisted of the following jobs and approximate levels:

69 NIN/WAR - Tank/skillchain
70+ WHM/BLM - Cure/skillchain (did a remarkable job with hexastrike)
60~ WHM/BLM - Cure
60~ MNK/? - Damage/skillchain
55 BLM/WHM - Damage/Magic bursts (me)
60~ BLM/WHM - Damage/Magic Bursts (only in three fights)
60~ DRK/WAR - Damage/skillchain (replaced BLM/WHM)
60~ NIN/WAR? - Damage/skillchain (replaced DRK/WAR)

Before you go, make sure you have enough silent oil and prism powder for the whole party. At least a stack each. Ifrits Cauldron doesn't take kindly to magic.

First stop, Shiva:

Getting there wasn't too bad. Not a lot of aggro in the glacier or Xarcabard. Once inside Fey'in we sneaked and invisibled at times. Mostly sneak, but once we saw a doll type, we had to throw on invisible too. Still, not very hard at all to get to. Once in battle, it was all pretty standard. The NIN tank, WHM, and MNK had a killer third level skillchain allowing me and the other BLM to drop Magic bursts like crazy. I think my high was 493 with Firaga II, and his was a bit higher. She went down pretty easy and without too much incident. As far as I could tell (busy taking screenshots like crazy) most everyone stayed in the white the entire battle. It could have been great curing, or great tanking, but either way, it was a fairly easy battle. I would recommend with this battle, as with any others, that there be no party members below 55 or so. I only say 55 because that's my best judgment because that's what level I was. Even at 55 it was hard on some of the battles to get any decent damage in. I'll get into that in a minute...

Second stop, Ramuh.

Getting to Ramuh is very easy. Especially for those of you who regularly level in the Boyada tree. Only sneak is needed once you get near the robber crabs and knight crawlers. Took us about 2 minutes to get to him once inside the tree. Simple walk, straightforward. Inside the battle wasn't as easy as Shiva. Same set up of personnel and we all took our places ready for battle. Unknowingly, and like an idiot, I was too busy taking screenshots to miss the fact that once Ramuh was coming down the pathway, I was sitting down. Not a good plan. He hammered me and this ended up getting me a little bit of hate from the get go. The NIN tank was having trouble trying to get him all the way down the pathway the entire battle and being a frail little taru, one shot with his astral flow did 1144 damage to me and I fell to the ground like a rock. Everyone else kept things going and rocked his world. Eventually taking him down with ease. I got my Raise III once outside the battle and moved on to the next fight. The biggest problem I noticed with Ramuh was his shock spikes. I think it was stunning people like crazy and causing a lot of damage, but I'm not sure. Compared to the Shiva fight, the healers had their hands full a lot more in this one trying to keep people alive. They did an outstanding job nonetheless.

[Oompa]

Next stop, Titan.

Getting to Titan wasn't that hard either. Anyone who's leveled in Quicksand caves knows the usual sneak is required. I don't recall using invisible at all getting there. It wasn't a long walk at all. Once in the battle, we took our usual places and began the butt whoopin’. He went down fairly easy as well. I don't recall anyone being too low on HP during the fight, but again, I was knee deep in screen shots and magic bursts the whole time. He seemed to be one of the easier ones.

Next stop, Garuda.

Getting to Garuda sucked. I got beat on hardcore by a Velociraptor. It hit me three times for 250+ and I fell to the ground like a sack of logs. Got my raise III and made our way through to the cloister without any other incidents. Fighting her was fairly easy as well. The biggest problem I noticed was her pain in the butt haste she kept casting on herself. Not to mention the blink that made my magic burst hit for a bit fat goose egg. The one and only magic burst I missed . Again, I don't recall anyone being too low on HP during this fight either. The NIN tank kept great hate. This battle the BLM/WHM left us (I think it was this one, I was too deep into my happy-go-lucky state of mind I may be missing a lot). The DRK came in and whooped some butt...

Next stop, Ifrit.

Ugh. Not much I can say about this one other than...ugh...
Ifrit is a pain in the ass. Getting to him wasn't too easy because of the Bomb types that detect magic at ungodly distances. We had to keep using our silent oil and invisible powers this whole time. Once we got to him and we started to fight, things began to look dismal fairly soon in the battle. From what I could tell, the NIN tanks blink wore off and he got hit with his Astral Flow instantly killing him. At this time I think the MNK fired off her two hour and did a boat load of damage, creating a good bit of hate for her as well. We can all surmise what happened to her next. Next the DRK fired off his two hour, souleater, and last resort and commenced to beat on Ifrit with no mercy. From what I saw in the battle spam, it looked like he hit Ifrit for some ungodly damage and only sucked back like 46ish HP with his two hour. Just as he was about ready to use his Guillotine again, Ifrit had his way with him. By this time the 70+ WHM had died and reraise II'd himself and started to whoop him with his beat-down stick. Ifrit again had his way with him. The second WHM, while trying her hardest and giving her best during the fight to keep people cured, created a load of hate and Ifrit came to visit her next. Guess what that leaves...ME! The little lost Taru of despair was left behind in the ashes of Ifrit's Cloister trying to fight for my life alone... I fired off my two hour and nuked the living piss out of him (this is after a disgusting magic burst with Freeze for 46 damage) and got him down so low on his HP that you couldn't even see the HP in the bar anymore. Three quarters through casting Stone III (which I'm sure he must have only had 50ish HP left) I got hammered to the ground dead. What the heck happened? WE DIED?!?!??! Well, Ifrit retreated to his crystal, the 60~ WHM had reraise on, raised us all, we backed out of the Cloister, regained our composure, and went at it again. This time he was our bitch... Same battle plan, same layout. Everything went as planned and we tore him apart. I hit a magic burst for over 450 with Waterga II (still not great, but much better than the 307MP costing Freeze MB for 46). After a minute or two...DEAD! We got our revenge!!! BOOOYA! The first battle I felt horrible and totally useless. I wasn't doing dick for damage (highest was 46) but the second try at him made me feel useful again ....


Next stop, the dreaded Leviathan.

Let's track backward with this sucker. The fight was simple, to the point, but his Astral flow took out the NIN/WAR? that replaced the DRK and BLM from the previous battles. One shot, one kill, dead. SUCK! I hate seeing people die to help me, but he seemed to have a good heart about it. Other than that the fight was really easy... Getting to him was the NIGHTMARE! Tonberrys can kiss my butt and the Den of Rancor can eat me...lol... As everyone’s heard I'm sure, this is the hardest by far to get to, so I won't bore you with the nitpicky details of our adventure, but I will say it totally sucked butt. We must have killed 15 Tonberrys that kept getting aggroed on everyone. Even the 70+ WHM was getting aggro in this place. Not a level 55 friendly location at all. I would strongly recommend everyone wait until 65+ to even attempt getting there. If you don't have a map it's incredibly confusing and very difficult to navigate. It took us about two hours to get from the Yohotar teleport to Leviathan. Just be careful.

Anyway, not much else can be said other than what most already know, so I won't go into any other details.

I would like to publicly thank those members of Lakshmi Fallen Angels that helped me in the quest for the avatars:
(If I misspell your name, my apologies, I'm terrible with names)
Reaper, NIN Tank
Hightale, WHM master of the Hexastrike
Moroho, WHM, spectacular healer
Weenie, BLM, magic burst expert
Vale, MNK, Skillchain and hundred fist savior!
Aron, NIN, Skillchain extraordinaire
Mon..., DRK Can’t remember your exact name, but you were fantastic, thank you!

These guys are professionals at what they do, and they have earned every bit of respect from me. I thank you again, and it was a pleasure dealing with you all.

'/bow'

[Tomoh]

WARNING TO ALL:
Please stay on the topic with this thread. Any needless personal attacks will result in warning points.

[Oompa]

Thank you...

[Gryff]

I think the best thing about what you said was the Ifrit fight and the Ramuh fight.

It shows how totally random these battles can be.
Sometimes you beat them down so hard they look like a canyon rarab, othertimes you'll get smacked down so hard you think king behemoth met you in a gay bar.


I'd say 60 was the minimum level req to be useful in an avatar battle, if you read what Oompa said, his magic damage was highly variable, maybe whm can do lower, or rdm.

Main point is, if you take someone lower your chances of dying to avatars increases if you get a tough fight.


One thing I have to take issue with is ifrit.
It took us 2 minutes to run there and only one prism and silent oil each.

Its not as hard as everyone makes out.
I think the hardest to travel to in terms of danger of death, is Garuda. The mobs in ifrits cauldron were EP->EM to me, and manticores and sand cockatrice still IT.

[Mask_Of_Death]

Thanks a lot Oompa. That was a really good walkthrough of the battles with the avatars. Definitely gave me some tips to think about.

[L0gik4l]

wow, that was great, when I get the time and when I get to the lvl that I need to be, this page will be a lot of help, I am a low lvl right now, but it won't be to long that I will get there, and I will be just as powerful with all my avatars, I only got tow right now but when I went to go get shiva at the lvl that I am at right now, It was very interesting on how I got shiva! and how I stayed alive! wow! But hey thx it was great what you are doing to help others in this god forsaken game!

[Daggeron]

Just chiming in with my two cents. If you wish todo summons the ideal party will have melee 60+ and the tank 65+. As they need the life etc to survive very long. Mages are slightly different. WHM can squeek by at 55 and Damage dealers honestly need to be 59-60 ish to be of major use. Ideal party is NIN, Melee, melee, BLM, BLM, WHM. However ideal parties rarely happen right? w If you have enough people high enough you can make up for lapses in the pt. If you wish todo summons younger then what I recommened I would say your best bet is to ask some higher lvl friends to help. Anywho just my two cents ^^

[Daggeron]

Oh random but good info, if you have some gil to burn, buy cornettes when bastok is in second place. LOTS of them and you can spam turn them in to Yoran-Oran in Windurst. I went from 0 fame in windurst to lvl7 fame in windurst in under an hour with only loosing like 15k. (You spend 253g per cornette and gain back 200g) Bastok is a pain, when I did fame there I broke down and bought copper ingots and bound at the bastok markets HP stone. I then did the Elvaan Goldsmith quest. This quest requires you to zone after each turn in. Thus the binding at the HP crystal. Turn in warp turn in warp etc. etc. This quest looses you 730g per stack of 12 ingots (1 ingot per turnin) . Oh and sandoria is by far the easier place to get fame. Doesn't even require explaining w.

[Deedlit]

Something that might have contributed to a few of those fights being really hard - did you check the day of the week? Obviously never do the fights on the element they're strong to, but it's even better of you do it on their opposite element.

[Gryff]

Originally posted by Deedlit
Something that might have contributed to a few of those fights being really hard - did you check the day of the week? Obviously never do the fights on the element they're strong to, but it's even better of you do it on their opposite element.

Beat Titan and Ramuh on earth and lightningday respectively, nobody died, we did it for a laugh.

Then again, you go in with a substandard party vs ramuh on lightningday expect to be punished, I used 200mp vs titan being the main healer ( got to love ninjas ) and around 100 vs ramuh ( I really _love_ ninjas ).

It does make it maybe 5-10% harder.

[Daggeron]

Also figure that there is a certain amount of luck. If for example ramuh moves upto the mages and astral flows there is a good chance someone is going to die w. Same with ifrit. He astral flowed and kept doing his flaming crush or what not. He did it about 6 times in a row. Killed me and the drk fast. So I think there is definately that small factor of luck w

[Deedlit]

Well, this is why I say that in the case of bringing a WHM along, it doesn't matter if you're level 30 or level 75. You shouldn't be doing cures greater than Cure 2 cause you WILL get agro.

[Oompa]

Originally posted by Deedlit
Well, this is why I say that in the case of bringing a WHM along, it doesn't matter if you're level 30 or level 75. You shouldn't be doing cures greater than Cure 2 cause you WILL get agro.

I strongly disagree. Several times in the battles our WHMs had to drop Cure IV and Cure V. How can you help someone teetering on death with Cure II? You're not. At a minumum, Cure IV is a MUST.

Day of the week makes a huge difference, at least I would think. Each time we faught, we faught on a day that the avatar was not strong on. So that wasn't an issue.

As Daggeron said, it has a great deal to do with luck. But I believe we make our own luck sometimes.

[Tomoh]

I agree with Oompa. As RDM, I've always casted Cure 3. Usually there is a WHM, BLM or another RDM so usually no problem with getting aggroed with too much Cure. Also, if tanks are doing their job, you should not be aggroed.

If your level is too low to withstand Astro Flow, make sure that you run away from the Avatar when HP is near the half way mark. Mages should be on a lower level to avoid as well. BLM & RDM should only go crazy with nuking towards the end of the battle.

I've had so many easy and quick battles that I got lazy and got too close woithout Blink and Stoneskin. I got pwned.