FFXI: (Insert some title about killing things and exploring here.)

[thistlechaser]

I logged off earlier than usual tonight, mostly because I was feeling really sick. (Go away, viruseses!) The other part of the reason was because I think I need to start partying now. I'm not a warrior, I really need to try to stop pretending to be one. :)

That being said, I had a number of firsts tonight:

My first orc ever killed! (Killed alone, I mean.) And after that one, I killed two or three more! ...which of course made me cocky. Before I logged off, I was casting Cure and Protect on folks around the exit into the city, when someone came running with an orc on their tail. So what did the mighty white mage do? I attacked it so he could get away! Well, the guy being chased must have been running for a long time, because this orc was way, way stronger than any of the ones I had battled before! For the first time in a while, something was hitting me for more than I was hitting it. Even though I came into the battle with it at a half of its HP, it was kicking my ass. I was hemorrhaging HP left and right, and finally it came down to each of us with just a sliver of HP left... then it came down to my attack! If I landed the blow, I would probably live. If I missed, I'd be Orc Chow. And I hit it! Woo! I limped out of the battle with 2 HP left. Gah. (It was about this point I decided I needed to stop acting like a warrior.)

I also killed a sheep alone for the first time! I tell you, the check system must change depending on where you are. It kept rating monsters as easy prey, and they were strong! It was insane. I would have gone after more sheep, but there was a Situation in the direction I was headed. Seems like a group of players somehow had a whole pack of monsters after them, and the cry moved from one person to another: "Monster mob coming!" "Train of monsters coming!" "RUN!" ...and that was coming from warriors and people with giant swords and axes! You know that wussy little me turned tail and ran as fast as my girly legs would go.

After hiding for a half hour or so (with a couple of the fighters), I made the last first of the night: I reached La Theine Plateau! In a less-planned first, earlier in the night I also found the orc camp (but I ran away from that, too). Also, I explored most of Ronfaure Forest (both east and west).

Anyway, the plateau really was pretty... AND I saw rain! Woo! It was very nice. I was only there at night, so these were a little dark. Sorry! The plateau itself. I tried to take a picture of the rain, but since it was dark it's hard to see. But there was lightning, too! It was keen.

Since even things rating as 'easy prey' were close to kicking my butt, and things on the plateau were rated as 'tough', I didn't stay there long. On the way back, I saw the coolest thing! I just wish I could have gotten a better screenshot: Some guy was herding sheep! He had about seven of them, and most of them time he had them walking in a straight line, like a troop of woolly soldiers! I was worried orcs were coming behind me, so I couldn't set up a good screenshot of the herder guy. Oh well.

I haven't shown you non-players a picture of one yet, so here's a funguar! (Another nighttime shot, sorry.)

I spent a good chunk of my money on a cape and some necklace-thing. Sadly, neither showed on me! I can understand the neck thing, but the cape really should have been visible. Oh well...

And lastly, what would a FFXI post be without a beautiful sunset/sunrise? Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morn, sailors be warned.

Comments

[chrysoula.livejournal.com]

The check system doesn't change in locations, but it does change as you level up.

Two things play into this.

1.) the check system at levels below 15 is really aimed at characters with subjobs. Or at least, what it reports is more useful for people with subjobs

2.) As you level up, you become increasingly unable to solo anything better than low easy prey. Even match is exactly that; it's a match for you. Decent challenge is hard enough to get your blood pumping. Easy prey... well... sometimes it is. :-)

Basically, eventually, you'll reach a point where you can't safely solo anything more than 12-15 xp monsters. That's when you get into groups and start fighting toughs, very toughs and incredibly toughs, for 75-200xp per fight.

[isildur.livejournal.com]

Also, what I discovered on my second trip up through the levels: the /check system is much closer to accurate *if* all your skills are at their max for your level. Which, on your first round of leveling, they're not likely to be.

I was getting slapped around by very, very easy prey when I was soloing as a WAR. As a PLD, with all my skills capped at each level, I'm having a much easier time of it.

The herder, by the way, was probably 'farming'. Button does this too: go out to La Theine, or some other zone that's become too easy to really be dangerous. Attack hordes and hordes of monsters. Gather them all up... and then kill them all with an area effect spell. Collect sheep skins, teeth, etc.

You might want to try mid-fight healing, to increase your survivability vs. orcs and goblins and whatnot. (Possibly you're already doing this, in which case ignore me.)

The way to do it is: make a macro to cure yourself, like this:

/ma "Cure"

Then, just as the monster hits you, trigger that macro. If you do it just as you're being hit, you'll have plenty of time to finish the spell before being hit again.

By self-healing, I'm able to effectively double my hp, which is more than enough to take down any easy prey, and most decent challenges.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's farming! I though it was just sticking in an area and plain old killing stuff. (I hadn't thought about area effect attacks.) That must be really handy to do!

And yep, I have nice magic macros, so I can use them easily mid-battle. That's working better now that the amount of HP I can heal has gone up (early on, they'd hit me enough while I was casting to almost cancel out the effect of the healing).

Thanks!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Basically, eventually, you'll reach a point where you can't safely solo anything more than 12-15 xp monsters. That's when you get into groups and start fighting toughs, very toughs and incredibly toughs, for 75-200xp per fight.

Ah, so the game sort of "strongly encourages" forming parties. I was in one today, and while it was fun, I got almost no XP -- about 9 per battle. I think there was too many of us (6 including me), and we weren't going after really strong things (just orcs for the Save the Children thing). Our levels were really close (all 9, one 8), so that shouldn't have effected it, I think. Even without much XP, I still had fun -- I like being able to stay in the back and just heal the fighters!

[isildur.livejournal.com]

In a full group of 6, the right things to fight are anything Very Tough or slightly harder. Massive exp ensues. =)

I was shocked and horrified when I first saw Button in a group in Qufim; these people were killing stuff and getting 200 or more exp per kill. "How is that *possible*?"

But it's not only possible, it's eventually commonplace. I've been in groups getting 100 exp per kill, and people were complaining that it wasn't enough. *boggle*

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I believe that for five of the six of us, that had been our first time in a party. (And not to toot my own horn, but other than me, the other new folks were totally clueless. Two wandered elsewhere before we even got there!)

Wow, 200 XP in one fight! You're making me drool! :)