Valkurm dunes

[Blackroses]

So im a lvl 14 whm and im traveling into the dunes and get a party invite. I (like all other whitemages) prepare myself to do some healing. I grab some drinks and pies and im off. Upon reaching the party awaiting to heal i see a ...Duh Duh Duuuuuh.. PL'er. Nuuuuuuuuuuuu

So after i disband from that party i join another and run into a Pl'er again. Suddenly i felt disheartened. Two weeks later still every party im in has a PL'er. WTF?!

I admit i like getting a PL every once in a while, but every party? No thanks. If you ever run into this situation like i did, my only advice is to start a party of your own.

[Nobodyreal]

Unfortunately, the PL problem keeps getting worse. I've been in a party in Yuhtunga Jungle with a PL.

There's a link to a soloing guide in the forums here. It's not the final word, but it's better than suffering through valkrum hell.

[angelstar107]

Hate to break it to you, but the PL issue is REALLY BAD on all servers. On Remora, in Valk, 2/3 parties have a PL. Of that, about 9/10 are level 60+ oo; life is great, ain't it?

Valkurm Noobs is a more fitting name than Dunes, just because of the fact that PLs make things WAY to easy. It's one thing for a PL to PL a group for a short time because one member needs X exp (not 5-30 levels >.>), but for so many levels? --; it's no wonder life in FFXI sucks so bad until 40-50 --;; and to think, I got several levels to go before I'm completely DONE with that wretched, horrible, vile place...

[Chaoskitten21]

i personally dont like Pls.if i join a pt and we got a PL that's fine,but i'd rather do w/o it.more fun if ya dont have a pl.that's just my opinion.i was in one pt in crawler's nest as drk one day and we're lvl 39-40 and we have a PL.i'm like WTF!?why the hell is this 70 pld PLing us?we're lvl 40 for christ sake i'm pretty sure we should know how to do our jobs by now.funny thing was tho our whm,who's the 70 pld's sister IRL,told me to STFU noob

[Eviticus]

Not saying I perfer a PL, I don't. But it's the easier way to level Divine Magic as a whm. ^.^

[Sylphine]

Personally, I think PL is good or bad depends on the situation of the party.

I usually go fishing at VK Dunes, and often see an exp pt near where I normally fish. "Most of the time, they have NO PL"

I sometimes was asked by my friends (who are already rank 10) to PL them in the dunes, but what I do as a PL is fishing near where they camp, check the HP of the tanker (cure only when lower than 20% approximately), and haste the NIN if he/she is a tanker. Still, I got no bad words spam on me since half of the pt is a newbie.

I don't know what other PL do, but I'll help only in emergency, that's it.

PS. If everyone in the pt is rank 5 or above, may be it's possible to fully PL them. Draw the hate onto PL, Cure, Stoneskin, etc.

[Kailea]

Some PLs make it to wear the PT learns nothing, they take hate, and tell the tank not to voke off them, so the tank and the healer get not EXP PT wise -.- and all the others learn is hit hit hit

[Yukira]

Personally I don't mind going at it with a PL. Exping is slow enough as it is, even with all updates that have made it easier comparing to way before. Besides most of the parties in the dunes and elsewhere don't have one so it's still kinda of a rare treat; at least on Siren.

So....if I know how to play my job....PL -> Yes, please!

[Shirai]

Not saying I perfer a PL, I don't. But it's the easier way to level Divine Magic as a whm. ^.^

Starting AF levels there is a way better way to skill up your divine magic Evi,
Flash is your biggest friend.
Monster missing pally 3/4 times or missing a TP move is a cure III or IV saved.
(The bark spider uses sickle slash but misses <insert PLD> <3)
Ninja casting Utsu Ichi and shadows are down, guaranteed miss while he's casting.
Also a Cure III or IV saved.

As for PLing,
My view on that is, a PL is a mage outside the party that intervines when things get messy.
Meaning, they only cure tanks when they get low but let the tank tank the mob, not the PL.
White mage inside party keeps being main healer, PL only helps on bigger cures and when the whm inside the party gets low on MP during a fight.
But that's my view.

As for being asked to PL, I kindly refuse to do it even for LS members.
It's super boring to do >.>;

[Sugami]

Flash is bigass hate machine, no? Should be careful when using it

As for this PL issue, if you are the WHM you should just ask them (politely) to let you do the bulk, get them to cure everyone but the tank or to take over whilst you're getting your MP back.

I hate PLing, if a party wants me to PL it'll cost 'em and I'll still make sure the WHM does the most of it

[Shirai]

Flash is bigass hate machine, no? Should be careful when using it

No it isn't.

At AF lvls you get a load of - enmity and tanks are stocking up on + emnity.
If you manage to get hate of a flash it might be because you have done a big cure before that or the tank has actually no clue at all on how to keep hate.

Frankly I pull more hate with a Curaga then with Flash.

[Sugami]

I thought it was the White Magic equivalent of Stun, whichis pretty big on hate, ne?

[Keavy]

This is why I avoid the Dunes and am even looking at ways to avoid Qufim at this point.

Also, a question for Blackroses, why are you using pies? Get Roast Mushrooms. They're way better for a WHM.

[Shirai]

This is why I avoid the Dunes and am even looking at ways to avoid Qufim at this point.

Also, a question for Blackroses, why are you using pies? Get Roast Mushrooms. They're way better for a WHM.

At dunes levels I'd recommend pies still tho.
I'd say MP > mnd in this since being a Mithra mage your MP pool is still quite low at dunes/Qufim level unless you have the luxury of Astral rings.

I'd say go mushrooms when you start hitting Garlaige or Crawler's nest.
Next to that at early levels it's easier to afford pies then the Roast Mushrooms that are 2 to 4 times as expensive on titan at least.

[Tinacat]

I grab some drinks and pies

ummmm, apple pies are BM food


gives MP: 25 AGI: -1 INT: 3

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

hMPs >>> MPs. You also want a Pilgrim's Wand.

[Sylphine]

As a WHM I use roast mushrooms and ginger cookie...

[Keavy]

I'd say go mushrooms when you start hitting Garlaige or Crawler's nest.
Next to that at early levels it's easier to afford pies then the Roast Mushrooms that are 2 to 4 times as expensive on titan at least.

NPC in Kazham sells them for 300 gil each which is roughly the same cost as a pie and it offers +MP, +Mind, along with +hMP which is important for WHM.

[Fiye]

As much of a sin this is, I do LOVE having a PL. Just for the simple fact that my PT can chain and effectively get XP.

It works out for me, since I am a 2½ year old veteran of FFXI, however sometimes it doesn't work out of the end...

Egotisical bastards.

Anyways, I'm going to be stuck doing VD for Samurai, which is currently level 16, and then soon go through the same pprocess for the 4th time with a warrior subjob =X.

Anyways, I love PLs, and I'll always try my best to get into a party with one. Hell, I don't blame the guy that offered me 100k/hr for me to PL him. It was money I needed for my scrolls and I gladly took it. I don't set up any prices or anything.

So, I beleive it's not a problem, nor a solution. It's just a sin, one that some people like and one that other people hate. It's like stealing, lying, or something else not related to murder.

[Shirai]

NPC in Kazham sells them for 300 gil each which is roughly the same cost as a pie and it offers +MP, +Mind, along with +hMP which is important for WHM.

That... I did not know,
If I had I would stop dishing out the 7/10k a stack long ago.
And yes around those levels hMP becomes more important, however at the lower levels I still recommend pies for the MP bonus even if they are actually blm food.
At early levels mnd isn't of that great importance yet imho and your MP pool is too small to really benefit from HMP.
I'd squeeze out the extra MP for that chain#3/4 with proper MP management.
As well as lvl cooking a bit for orange juice, they cap at lvl 8 I believe.
Eat a pie and drink a Juice after each battle will benefit the party.
The oranges can be bought at the Vendor near the saruta zone in Windy waters and you get plenty of water crystals from the crabs and Pugils you fight in the Dunes and Qufim.

[Bitneko]

I just got to Selbina today, maybe we could meet up there. I'm a lvl 11 RDM.

EDIT: This isn't Caitsith, right? Darnit!

[Kintrra]

Um...when he said pies I thought Rolanberry pies...+MND and +MP...I've always used those when leveling my WHM (weak as it is) ^^;;

[Keavy]

Okay, a story from last night:

I was leveling my Summoner when the time came for our Ninja to leave. I was sad because neither I or the RDM (Only healers in the party) had to use a single cure. He was that good! Shock of shocks, in a no WHM party the pseudo WHM's could actually do their jobs!

Anyways, I find a replacement. First complaint it took her 20 minutes and me threatening her with replacement to get her there. Second, it took me and the RDM spamming Cure 2 to keep her alive (Which meant our incredible exp became average exp.) so she brought in a Power leveler. We didn't change mobs, she was the only member who had changed in the party yet how the party functioned had totally changed.

This is what Power leveling does, people.

[Tinacat]

Reminds me how I was in a pt so great, that we didnt have a tank while fighting leviathen, and we even did it on the a hard day to fight him

[Eviticus]

I like playing post 40 with a Bard, Whm, and Blm. Generally, past 40, they aren't dicks and know how to play their job. The other day I went to my first party ever in Kuftal with those 3 jobs, a Nin/war, War/Nin, and me as Drg/war. Level range was 51-53. 3 hours later, we had never taken a {Full Break} once. The only down time for anyone was when the Bard went out to pull a crab.

I'd ws for 500 damage or so(after Wyvern's breath added in.), jump away the hate. Nin would WS for Transfixion, War would then WS for Distortion(I think?) which the Blm would then MB for 500-700 damage. They always had hate, thanks to my jumps. And they always had shadows. Mages were able to do an excellet job with no down time and little hate.

You don't find quality like that in the dunes for 2 reasons. 1: Skills and abilities to enact most of what we did don't exist at those levels. 2: Alot more new people there. But for reason one, I don't think we should view the dunes too harshly.

Yes, from Keavy's story, we know miracles can happen in the Dunes. But I wouldn't call myself a noob, and not even I've had it that good there. Sometimes, luck is just against you in Valkurm.

[Shirai]

Reminds me how I was in a pt so great, that we didnt have a tank while fighting leviathen, and we even did it on the a hard day to fight him

Reminds me of my Shiva fight for my Evoker's ring.

The nin had fallen asleep just before the rdm arrived and we tried to wake him by spamming <call>.

Didn't work, so we gave it a shot without him.
WHM70,RNG/WAR75,RDM/BLM65, and me a SMN70.
It was a blast, I had Ifrit tanking almost throughout the entire battle untill my MP was gone at the last 10%.
Where the rng tanked her for the last part, noone died but we got close when the rng took out Shiva with a Slug shot.
I astral flowed at around 400 MP to have a free avatar for 3/3.5 minutes + refresh and used Flaming Crush whenever I could to keep hate on Ifrit.

[Tianshii]

And now it's time for Tian's 2 cents!
Firstly, hoorah for that post on soloing to lvl 20... I'm going to try that next job I decide to start.
On to the PL~ For people playing for the first time, I think it's better they learn their jobs without a PL. While that may take longer, it absolutly helps make you a better player on that job in the end.
"All the time" PL is okay for people who maybe quit and came back and had to start a whole new character. I know I did that for a friend of mine when he returned (teehee, ma sexeah samurai).
Recently I've started NIN. I also started WAR to compliment my NIN. My main job is 75SMN (w/ a side of 68whm when the spirit moves me), so pounding mobs is something I don't often get to do. I learned that... OMG TANKING IS FUN! So when my party got a PL, I was sad because that meant no more using my lil "Kiss this <t>!!! *moons the <t>*" provoke macro. I gotta say it feels good when the BLM gets too friskey w/ the nukage...mob turns to eat the BLM...me:PROVOKE!...and I stop that bad thing from happening
So...here and there PL is good and fun but... as with anything good and fun~ moderation is key

[Sylphine]

I don't know...but a friend of mine said :

A NIN as main job has 3 shadows. If the mob already hit you twice, be sure to cast Utsusemi since the casting will end right after the mob deliver the third hit to you.

I'm not sure, but that's what my friend said about the NIN.

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btw, about the WHM food when your lv is under 30.

If you need a lot of MP, go for Rolanberry Pies, they have the most MP plus al low lv.

If you need a quick MP when resting, go for ginger cookies. (11g a piece, that makes 1089g a stack)

If you need int, go for melon pies. (But surely...WHM won't need the int)

[Kintrra]

I don't know...but a friend of mine said :

A NIN as main job has 3 shadows. If the mob already hit you twice, be sure to cast Utsusemi since the casting will end right after the mob deliver the third hit to you.

I'm not sure, but that's what my friend said about the NIN.

-----------------------
btw, about the WHM food when your lv is under 30.

If you need a lot of MP, go for Rolanberry Pies, they have the most MP plus al low lv.

If you need a quick MP when resting, go for ginger cookies. (11g a piece, that makes 1089g a stack)

If you need int, go for melon pies. (But surely...WHM won't need the int)

I don't know, I've met some WHMs with rather low INT...and I don't mean their in-game attribute.

As for NIN, the only problem with that is that a lot of times, even with maxed Evasion (like mine is from playing PLD so long) and a lot of Evasion+ (Emp pin, Nomad's Tunic, and a lot of Beetle+1 gear) you still usually take a lot more hits than the 3 shadows inside that 30 seconds before recast. But yeah, Utsu:Ichi = 3 shadows, Utsu:Ni = 4. So tanking as NIN is making sure you can dodge anything thrown at you as much as possible, and keeping track of your shadows. Past that, Provoke like mad, spam Hojo and/or Kurayami, and also your elemental spells if you can. Or at least that's what I've learned leveling it to 27. ^^

[Keavy]

The other things that PLing creates:

You get the BLM who casts Fire. Then Water. Then Stone. Then...you get the idea. Keep in mind there's like a 3 second break between these spells and their MP is drained before the mob has hit the halfway point. This creates massive amounts of hate (Keep in mind that at lower levels hate is hard to keep) and this doesn't do much damage since most of those spells hit for roughly 10-20 damage.

What I do (Which I find works much better) is I use one spell. For crabs, Thunder. I use it, backup heal if needed while waiting for Recast, use it again. Not as much hate is built and with the +INT I get from Equipment and my pies I can do 60-80 damage in the low 20's which balances out to DoT the DD's are doing and at the end of the fight I have a fairly good MP pool.

Then there's our good friend, the Ninja who only uses Utsusemi. I know tools are expensive, but that's the price you pay for doing your job. I'm not asking that you use every spell in your arsenal, just use some. Kuriyami, (Sp?) or as I call it "Ghetto flash," because it blinds the enemy which helps you when it comes to recasting your shadows PLUS since the enemy gets in fewer hits those shadows last longer!

Can't leave out the WHM who tries to play RDM. He starts off the fight with countless enfeebles and divine spells while the tank is massacred leaving the backup healers to do his job. Worst part is the enfeebles are either resisted or run out far too soon and the mob lives longer because the backup healer's can't nuke the mob.

Then we have the DD's who try to tank. You know the ones, with their low DEF high STR, ACC and ATK gear that pull hate then scream at the healers to save them while the tank struggles to regain hate. Yeah, I love them about as much as root canals.

Then there's the "Summoner can main heal" crowd. In their defense, Summoners can replace a WHM at main healing, just doesn't mean that they always should. Why? Basically, if the Summoner is level 36 you have a level 18 WHM with a massive MP pool and while it can work out great, just remember if things go FUBAR a WHM can use a higher tier Cure and Benediction to save the day while a Summoner cannot.

P.S. To the Monk's: If you're not in the Skillchain, please save your TP for Shoulder Tackle to stop AoE moves. As a healer let me tell you: This will make your healers VERY HAPPY.