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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:33 pm
by Erpalacion
Ok, I'm a lvl67 Drg... I've been a Drg for the past 5 years. I know what you're thinking, "Been playing for 5 years and only 67?!? WOW you must suck!" That's not the case at all... I've been using my time wisely soloing a lot and helping others, trying to make a reputation for myself on the server (Asura) but everyone just seems to forget me like always. Anyways... so I've been a Drg for 5 years and I know it inside and out.

As a Mithran Drg what you're really after is Str. Dex and Acc isn't your top priority... that's for ALL the other races. I solo'd 1-20 cuz I didn't want to deal with the hassle of Dunes (Drg/Whm FTW!). I even went 1-50 with gimp gear and still did better than all the other classes at that point on Acc and Dmg.

For soloing /Brd isn't the best choice by far. Yes you don't need to rest but at the lvl he was you don't get healed for a whole lot, can't take any bad status ailments off of you, and you can't heal yourself in a dire situation like say when your Dragon (yes Dragon... SE can't translate from their own workers) dies. /Whm is quite possibly the best choice for those main reasons... and for those you can stay alive. Pre lvl60 your heal limit is at 33% HP meaning anything under that casting a spell will give you a healing breath from your Dragon. Post60 it gets even better considering you have your Drachen Armet equipped since it starts at 50% HP. At 67 I don't have much Dragon HP%+ equip on and it heals for 210 minimum... that's more than enough to keep a lvl75 Pld alive for just a measly 8MP a pop... if you do the math for how much a Cure4 is... we can heal about as many times as they can. Going /mage in parties I wouldn't recommend but the stats don't suffer much except for Acc.

As far as subs go for lvl's here it is:
1-10: /War for the extra HP, Def, and attack for the simple reason... you have no MP

10-20: /Whm for keeping YOURSELF alive in parties... no one else can be expected to do that. As for the lack of Provoke to tank... no one really cares about it, if anything you can solo like I did... not as hard as it seems killing T bats in MoS near Windy (just watch the 3-set bats).

20-30: /Whm or /War Your choice for what you want to do.

30-60: Here's where it really opens up. You can go from /Whm, /War, /Thf, /Drk, /Blu, or even /Mnk. Reason being is that all those classes get extra abilities or spells to do more dmg or keep yourself alive or taking dmg.

60-75: Here is where the infamous /Sam comes into play (what I use). With /Sam you get Meditate and become what's known as a "TP-whore".
Stacking up on "Store TP+" gear adds to the amount of TP you gain per hit. If you play it right you can get in up to 3 WS's per fight (and when you get Wheeling Thrust you can pull Light Skillchains out of your bum). Seigan+Third Eye can let you tank for a few hits for when you DO pull hate (me personally I tank it as much as I can to make the people actually work for their XP and to get extra skill ups), Super Jump can save you from being killed if you get too low. But the other subs are still good as well if you don't want to be a "TP-whore".

For equipment as I said you want Str.
Head: Anything that gives Str or Attk... if you can't get that you're next best option is the Empress (or Emporer) hairpin. At lvl43 try to get a Valkyrie's Mask, but once you get your Drachen Armet that'll be your headpiece of choice till your late 70's.

Body: Again anything that gives Str, but it doesn't really matter till you get to lvl55 and get your Jaridah's Peti which you can use in parties till your late 70's. Do not... I repeat DO NOT BUY a Scorpion Harness (any race) it's not needed for Drg and is a waste of money. Not saying that if someone gives it to you not to take/use it, but do not buy it yourself.

Hands: This is mainly the only place where Acc can take presidance on on armor... so either Battle Gloves or your Drachen F.Gauntlets in this spot.

Pants: This slot doesn't really matter... if you can get a Garrison Hose or Bastokian/Republican subs that's great, don't want to quest/craft it then just get something for Agi or Dex for this spot.

Boots: Here if you can get the Leaping Boots or it significant other perfect! You can use those all the way to your RSE feet and those can go a long... long... long... way. I still use them at 67 in my parties.

Back: Doesn't matter unless you want to use Traveler's mantle for the extra evasion till you get your Amemet Mantle at 61, that's good till even 75 unless you want to use a Forager's Mantle at 71 or Cerberus Mantle at 75.

Waist: Here you can use a Warrior's belt (or +1) till you can get your Life Belt at 48. From there try and get your Potent belt at 60, which is good till 75.

Ranged: Fishing pole... or at 70 get a Trollbane from the same guy you get Sanction from in Whitegate.

Ammo: Lure? At 50 you can try to get a Kakanpu or Optical Needle from the BCNM or also a Tiphia Sting from the HNM bee in Crawler's Nest. At 60 and 61 you can use a Bibiki Shell (me) or Wyvern Feed. But at 75 get the Angon if you're getting the Angon ability.

Earrings: At 21 get Beetle Earring+1 (x2). Never hurts to have a Reraise earring on the offside chance your party gets wiped or you do while soloing. Use the Beetle+1 till you can get Fang or Spike Earrings at lvl55... after that you can get Assault (lvl58) or Merman's Earrings at lvl63. If you're Drg/Sam try to get a Brutal Earring at lvl75 if you can.

Rings: At lvl14 you should get at least 2 a Courage rings if not the +1 versions and hold onto them till about 36 for you Garnet or Puissance Rings or hold onto the Courage rings till about 50 for your Garrulous Ring or at 54 for your Victory Ring. At 72 you can pick up a couple of Triumph Rings or at 74 you can get the Vulcan's Rings.

Neck: lvl7 quest for the Wing Pendant. lvl21 get a Spike Necklace (Tiger Sole if you plan on soloing any as well). At lvl33 if you can get a Peacock Charm... I hate you. :cry: But it is a really good item of choice. You can use that to 75 or pick up a Chivalrous Chain for the extra Str+3. Either the Peacock Charm or Chivalrous Chain are good all the way to 75.

Weapon: Use anything that's Drg only till you can get the next Lance that's Drg only... using another but the Drg only lance once you can start using them will gimp your dmg. At lvl60 you can use either the GKL (Grand Knights Lance) for the +7 Acc or use the Dark Mezraq for the Eva down effect (for mob) which procs often so the whole party can hit the mob easier and it also does slashing dmg so you can use it on bones.

Remember to try to get the +1 version if you can AND if it's within a reasonable price range of the stat difference on the items.

Final notes...
It's not you job to dumb your dmg down just to keep hate on the tank, you're suppose to kill the mob as fast as you can. Yes you will get crappy tanks (mostly Nin's) which you'll steal hate right off the bat, it's not your fault. I even stopped using food so I don't steal it as fast once I hit lvl50.

As a Mithra NEVER EVER use sushi... another thing that's a waste of money, you can stick to Mithkabobs all the way to 75.

With the 20min timer there's no need to ever dismiss it... now that it's not the 2HR now it'll recharge really fast now.

As for parties it varies per person I guess... I get invites rather quick when I'm seeking and pretty often when I'm not seeking and not /anon.

When you're leveling after 50 in KRT fighting bats you have a GREAT chance to pop off Double Thrust for 900+ dmg so be careful and make sure super jump is ready before you throw that out there... the tank wont be able to take hate back when that goes off.

Umm... if there's something I missed or questions you need answering just put them out here. I'll answer them when I get back on here. /goodbye

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:17 pm
by Kintrra
Tell ya what? I'mma just call this post above mine as bullshit right now, that way no one else has to bother.

Vulcan's Rings? Don't exist currently.
Mithkabobs till 75? At the least you would end up switching to Sis Kebabi
No Sushi at all? Hope you've got gil pouring out your ass for Acc+ gear, you'll need it (even as Mithra).
Went 1-50 on gimp gear? You didn't outclass other jobs then, that's a guarantee, unless the rest of the DDs on your server suck a LOT.

~.~

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:19 am
by Alya Mizar (Tsybil)
I have never even unlocked DRG, but I have partied with them. My comments are based on observation.
Erpalacion wrote:20-30: /Whm or /War Your choice for what you want to do.
Until L 30 DRG/BRD just ROCKS in parties. /RNG gets that famous Acc bonus from 20. If you /WAR before 30 someone will say "She has /WAR, she can tank."
Erpalacion wrote:Rings: At lvl14 you should get at least 2 Courage rings if not the +1 versions and hold onto them till about 36 for you Garnet or Puissance Rings or.....
At 14, Mighty and/or Vision Rings.
Erpalacion wrote:Weapon: Use anything that's Drg only till you can get the next Lance that's Drg only... using another but the Drg only lance once you can start using them will gimp your dmg.
At several points in the weapon progression you can use a non exclusive spear which will hardly ever do more damage than the Lance you are replacing, but has almost 100 less delay. It probably will not last for more than two levels, but still....
Erpalacion wrote:Final notes...It's not you job to dumb your dmg down just to keep hate on the tank,.... I even stopped using food so I don't steal it as fast once I hit lvl50.
You just contradicted yourself. And speaking as a healer, it is your job to do as much damage as possible without stealing hate.
Erpalacion wrote:As a Mithra NEVER EVER use sushi... another thing that's a waste of money, you can stick to Mithkabobs all the way to 75.
There is way better Att food than Mithkabobs, I don't care how tasty they are. If you can't eat Att food due to having a NIN tank, that is the time to eat Sushi.

When partying with a BRD, the Melees should all eat the same type of food. If everyone eats Acc, the BRD will sing Att and vice versa. Being the odd kitty out will hurt your damage output in comparison with the other Melees.

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 3:57 am
by Igihstehr
Erpalacion wrote:
Ranged: Fishing pole... or at 70 get a Trollbane from the same guy you get Sanction from in Whitegate.
{Um...} {Hello!} Ever hear of darts? I know they don't do a lot for damage, but I have been in too many parties where no one had a ranged weapon! I got tired of trying to pull using {Jump} and getting smacked three or four times on the way back to camp... It's shocking that in level 45 parties that so few people carry ranged weapons or, barring that, actual ammo for the ranged weapons that they have equipped!

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:56 am
by Dawezy
DRG may not be as beefed up for Attack and such compared to a variety of other melee jobs.. but damn it fares pretty well for itself, which brings me to question your Meat Mithkabobs. I dont mean to bashup DRGs but by the time they ding say ~ 35-40 and maybe a bit higher.. the full benefits of Mithkas really fade off.

Any DRGs please share your thoughts ofcourse, I got a DRK75 (Mithra) and my Attack hovers around the 430-440 numbers varying by Subjob ~ if I was seen eating a Mithkabob outside of say, a BCNM or something alike.. I would either drink a poison potion or be clobbed over the head by some heavy object thrown by a Galka.

Why? Because its not being fully utilized.

Sigh.



Its kind of like, a PLD resorting to using Steamed Crab up to 75 instead of Tav Tacos after they hit 60.

Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 8:42 am
by Shanpu
yeah i agree tbh, attack cap is very low on kabobs, is no harm in using meat of other kinds tho as endgame DRG, in fact im pretty sure maezen swears by it. Cant forget foods like Porcupine Pie either, attack cap is almost as high as red curry, gives 6STR and 5Acc too. ffxi.somepage.com has list of food effects, but i think ull find kabobs cap at like lvl 40 for a DRG or DRK, probably sooner for DRK in fact. another cheap alternative is sis kebabi, 2k each from NPC in whitegate and comparable stats to coeurl subs. I really reccommend the porcupine/hedgehog pies tho for Att+ ^^

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:51 am
by Erpalacion
As my response to Kintrra... it's not complete bullshit.

Got the Vulcan rings off of Alla just looking for different stuff not paying attention to what was actually on or not. Ruby are just as good in that case.

I haven't used Sushi because I found it that I hit the same amount and just did less dmg. Minus my GKL that I just recently got rid I only have like +23 Acc and I don't hit any less than I did when I had no Acc+ equip on except my GKL (when I had it)... guess I'm lucky.

On lvl's 1-50 I didn't have COMPLETELY gimp gear and mind you those lvl's for me were within the first 2 years after the game's release (I had fun soloing a lot)

Now to Tsybil:

Reason I didn't mention /Brd is only because the songs are 1/2 as effective and you don't really get anything till after 25 maybe... not completely sure, never cared to unlock it lol, but yes... /Rnd is good too.

I prefer mostly Str+ gear over Attk+ mainly because you can do more max dmg (Crits and WS's) easier... but you all can use what you want. At early lvl's you don't need Acc that much though, but again... that might be just my luck.

I say the Drg only lances because the others wont last you long periods of time like these Lances of ours... using the others you'll find yourself usually paying more for upgrading every cpl lvl's.

I'm not contradicting myself... just saying that's what your job is. A good tank should be able to keep hate reguardless if you're going all out or not (yes I have some of them). So I stopped using food mainly because I stole hate too early and they couldn't take it back and I don't like using Super Jump unless I absolutely have to.

I'm not saying to stick with Mithkabobs all the way to 75... just giving an example of something you can use to boost attack. Also haveing a Brd in the group made no difference in my dmg from everyone eatting Acc+ and w/e I still stole hate over everyone also. *shrug*

Igihstehr:

I know about darts... didn't mention them because they don't offer much dmg wise. And just looking them up I didn't see that Drg can even use them (another reason I never did).

Dawezy... refer to what I said to Tsybil. Thank you...

Anymore rebuttals? ^-^

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:16 pm
by Eviticus
*Steps in.* Woah, woah, wait a sec. >.> First off. *Baps Erpalacion on the nose.* No. That's a sacred name, what are you doing using it? :p And second, what Kintrra -means- to say is that you have better luck at shitting gold bricks then you do of finding a Vulcan's Ring for sale. It's a HQ of what is normally a Lv 100 Goldsmithing item. Besides, I'd say Str rings are not as important as Acc/Atk(depending on your need) rings for the most part. You can get more Str from other items. Besides, Str is only really useful for WS's.

I'm not saying to not get Str rings, yes, you do need them. Our WS mods are such crap we need to squeeze as much Str into our WS macro as we can.

And as far as you saying you only have +23 acc.... {Hmm...}. I guess if you're fighting VT's and you have a bucket full of good luck, you're all set. But thinking to what I have right off the top of my head I normally dual weild Woodsman's Rings(+5 acc each) and a Life Belt(+10 acc)(And this is until I can get a Potent Belt). That's 20 right there for me. So if I tossed on a GKL, I think I'd still have problems hitting IT's. What food a person eats should really be dependant on their gear, and vice versa.

If you can afford a Colossal Lance, Spiked Finger Gauntlets, and all sorts of other +Str/+Atk gear....then use sushi. If you can afford that SH, those Woodsman's, and P.Charm...by all means, use the best Meat avalible. But don't say sushi is useless, because all food is situational.

Something else. /Brd in my experince is a nice farming sub, and maybe soloing of EP's and DC's...but if you want solo exp Chains, the HP% for Healing Breath for /Brd is just silly.

Other then that, I can say it's a very fun job to play with. I'm fairly sure Threnody's are uninterruptible. (And because of that, I've hear tales of main healer Drg/Brd's for parties that chained VT's into infinity. Problem is, it has to be a mob with no huge TP move.) I remember one time I was playing around in....oh what is it....Buburimu? The area outside of Mhaura? I had at least 20-30 mobs on me. Mostly missing me, but occasionally hitting. I was a walking mass of lag. ^.^ I got a Rarab's Tail and some other 'lucky' item, I forget what. I now have all three and carry them around at all times.

I'm not superstitious, but with all the crazy crap SE does, I don't think 3 inventory slots is a high price to pay for a small piece of mental security.

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:38 am
by Erpalacion
I know it's rare... just saying if you can get it go for it. lol

Atk/Acc is good not saying it isn't... but I'm saying Mithra don't need to be Acc whores. I have items that have Atk+ but they don't contribute to my dmg as much as Str+ since I crit a sh*t load and I barely have any stats that increase my chances to get one. So Str adds in on that thus doing more dmg (for me anyways... again I might be lucky to crit a lot).

As for fighting VT's with only +23 Acc... wrong. I fight IT+ with that much and hit about 90% of the time. I guess it all depends on how you're built and how lucky you are to be able to hit it, guess luck is on my side.

Mithra don't need SH. It's really only good for showing off the amount of money you have (if you claim to have bought it before the price dropped). You don't need to stack up on Acc+ gear like Elvaan, Galka, and Taru's need. We have more Dex for a reason, plus the Acc bonus job trait doesn't hurt us either... we're not Drk's. ^-^

I didn't say /Brd wasn't good for screwing around farming... but for trying to solo lvl it's not the best. In parties it could be good as a healer (post 60) as long as the Drg isn't the tank. lol

But on Asura I say a full Drg party going as Drg/Whm (staff) healer, Drg/Pld (tank), and the others were Drg/Thf, /Sam x2, and /War's in Mamajool Savages Staging Point (again spelling) taking on 3 mobs at once and literally killed EVERYTHING in sight leaving nothing for the other people.

As for me using the name "Erpalacion" it's not as sacred as the name "Kain" as I see a LOT of Drg's using... thanks ;P


NEXT...?! *points up*

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:41 pm
by Tianshii
:D Dragooooon is so fun! Dragooooon is so fun! Now let's take a break and... share what we have done!

*giggle*
Aside from my cute baby wyvrn, jump is probably my fave thing so far with DRG. The breath attacks are neat too.
So far the cutest thing Qiqiru has done is remove poison from me!
I saw the gobbie cast it on me... saw the purple pot of slow death icon appear. I used WS + [Jump] to finish the thing off and when I went to cast poisona on my self, realized it was gone! :shock:
I checked my log and saw Qiqiru had done it!!! <3 best freinds *purrrrrrrrr*

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:32 pm
by Eviticus
Mmmhmm, you were subbing mage. When subbing Rdm, Whm, Blm, Smn, Blu...hmm...maybe that's it, I can't remember....Anyways, when subbing those to Drg, if you have Poison, Paralze, or Blind, the wyvern will remove it if you use a WS. If you have none on you, but a member of your pt does, it will remove it from them instead. Very useful.

Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:42 pm
by Tianshii
Yes, I was subbing WHM to see what sort of breath Qiqiru would do w/ WS. It's fun to play around with that & see the different ones :)
:shock: I did not know that tid-bit about the in-party effect! That is so cool!!! :D

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:49 pm
by Igihstehr
Subbing WHM, BLM, RDM is awesome for DRG... even before you get your AF to make your wyvern's breath attacks more efficient. I cannot even count the number of time that Healing Breath has saved my butt... If you are below (I believe) 33% of your Hit Points and cast a spell, any spell, it will trigger a Healing Breath on you. Or, just like the remove poison and the WS, the Healing Breath will heal a party member.

And here's the sweetest part: in level-capped area the healing breath isn't capped. In prommies or in the Rank 3 dragon fight, Buster still knocks out a Healing Breath III for about 160-180 or higher depending on his TP. That's one of the coolest aspects of playing a DRG/Mage.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:48 am
by Eviticus
Remember, though. Try not to use a curing spell on yourself to trigger unless you're a bit lower then the % activation. If you're at, say, 32% hp and cast cure, it'll probably raise you above 33% and will -not- activate Healing Breath.

Good news is Blu is considered a mage sub too. Sub Blu for Cocoon(+50% defense!!!!) and things like Foot Kick and Sprout Smack for a fast cheap trigger spell! Not a bad sub, if I wasn't totally obsessed with Ice Spikes.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:43 pm
by Tianshii
Hmmmm... okay, maybe I'll go back to messing around with BLU, I think it is... lvl 1 or 2 :lol: , but so far what I have seen from the Blue Mages I know I am imprrressed!
I need to make some more food for my DRG before I expreeee it again. (cooking lvl 60)

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:55 am
by forsakenhope
subbing whm or rdm is pertty much the best you can do for a solo gig. as to where party going you want /sam /war/ or /dnc and if your lucky enough too pull this off /rdm but becareful when you hit higher lv party say like 60+ then things get scary.. >.>; I have ACC, STR, ATK gear and I get out done by a thf just useing trick attack alone.. :(