I'll Take the Big Box

I was lucky enough to win two (of four) rounds of the BCNM "Treasure and Tribulations" a while ago, and for those who have not played it before, the BCNM compels you to pick one of three different-sized chests. If you pick the correct chest, you will automatically win a prize, but if you pick the wrong chest, an angry Mimic attacks you. Lo and behold, one of my chests contained...







I was pretty eager to buy a Juggernaut after selling the items above, so I even sold my Haubergeon to pay the difference.







I decided to test the Axe immediately (it deprived me of 1.8M gil after all), and the tests are good. However, I still need a lot more Attack because I will be sacrificing "Berserk" to equip this Axe as an offhand.

I also managed to pick up two merit points today, so I am off to do some more Sky gods later. Our LS leaders changed the scheduled Byakko/Seiryu to Suzaku, so there will not be any chance at earning a Byakko's Haidate for now.















A snapshot of the Juggernaut tests I have been performing in the Boyahda Tree. For the most part, I have noticed that Goobbues are really easy to slice up with an additional +30 Attack.















Welcome to the Hall of the Gods, a zone that is just prior to reaching Tu'Lia and Suzaku. Behind me and to the left is a statue of Promathia, a god who bound himself in chains to limit his power -- definitely an odd fetish.
















I achieved my second merit point in Tu'Lia while fighting Sprinklers. Again, with much better gear comes a much better "Rampage," and I simply tore through this poor Magic Pot.



Notes:
a) Magic Pots are animated beings that float and hover through the air. Normally, they are non-aggressive; however, they will attack anyone foolish enough to cast magic near them.
b) Promathia, the Twilight God, is the major antagonist of the CoP storyline. Without spoiling too much more, he is at odds with the Dawn goddess, Altana, and the Moblins worship him as "the destroyer."

Ischemia IV

Today's post comes live between fights as my LS takes on its very first Sky god. Like most starting LSs, we began at the easiest of the four NMs: Genbu.

Genbu (in order killed)






































Sadly, only one pair of Zenith Mitts dropped, and I did not want any of Genbu's other drops aside from the money items that were not available to lot. Next week, my LS will either attempt Seiryu or Byakko, so hopefully we do the latter because I could really use some Byakko pants.



Notes:
a) Genbu, the Divine Guardian of the North, is one of the four Sky gods in Tu'Lia. Like the other three gods (Seiryu, Byakko, and Suzaku) that reside in Tu'Lia, each god has a stone that corresponds with one of the four seasons and a gem representing a cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west). In Genbu's case, a Gem of the North and a Winterstone are required to summon the god.

Warrior vs. Beastmaster

A heated argument nowadays is whether BSTs should stray away from soloing and partying exclusively with other BSTs, and instead, gear themselves to parody their WAR counterparts as Damage Dealers (DDs). This post examines some of the arguments for and against the idea:

Why you should:

1. Being able to party for experience points is more efficient than soloing.
2. You have two options for earning experience points rather than just one.
3. Strong pets are not abundant in many lvl 75 areas, leaving BSTs to be reliant on weak jug pets. A BST that has access to DD equipment can help alleviate his or her pet's shortcomings.
 

Why you should not:

1. Effective BST DD equipment is very, very expensive.
2. BSTs lack the job abilities that allows a WAR to hit faster, more accurately, or harder over time. It is commonly thought a BST DD is far less efficient than a WAR DD.
   
3. Outperforming your pet in damage can lead to your own demise.

As one might have guessed, most BSTs do not gear themselves to melee, and I have had many players scoff at my "attempts" to do just that. Phrases such as "[q]uit trying" and "[s]eriously, why bother?" are just some of the comments that I have received regarding my BST melee optimism. Apart from my reasons above, there is one additional reason as to why I want to deal damage on BST: I am tired of leveling only with other BSTs. While some might point out that I lack the ability to group with other BSTs, I will counter with the fact that I have leveled my BST to 75 otherwise solo, and soloing on BST is not very different than the mechanics of a BST duo.

While other BSTs find their challenges in conquering NMs, exp mobs, or events that require them to band together, mine lie in testing my combat abilities against other melee jobs. Both challenges are respectable in their own rights, and whether or not I will be able to parody a WAR DD is still a big question. Either way, I have decided to continue improving my BST DD even if that limits how strong my DRK can become.



Notes:
a) Soloists can level-up independently of other jobs. Generally BST, BLM, SMN, BLU, and PUP are considered soloists, but the efficiency of each varies on the situation. In addition, non-soloists can gain better soloing capabilities when subbing that job as a sub-job.

Ischemia III

More LS events with me on BLM.

Operation Desert Swarm


















This ODS run was originally in hopes of funding a new Juggernaut (valued at 1.8M gil); however, I was quite disappointed at the sheer amount of garbage that was inside my treasure chest. My ODS run was easily the worst of of the batch, sigh.

Limbus - Apollyon SW














Luckily, an almost canceled Limbus run helped make up for the poor drops above as I netted four more ABCs towards earning my Brutal Earring (putting me at 17/75 ABCs total). Hopefully, I will be getting closer to purchasing a Juggernaut by my next post, and I should have more pictures of my BST soon. Stay tuned for a possible Boyahda Tree raid.



Notes:
a) My KSNM run could not have been much worse drop-wise. In total, all six items netted me approximately 10k, and that is approximately the price of the food I used.

Ischemia II

What has Khaki been up to lately? Has he done anything new, daring, or exciting to captivate fans with his blog? Unfortunately, I have not done anything of the sort, but here is what I have been doing besides referring to myself in third person.

Leveling DRK on the side














Finally, a picture of my new DRK, and he happens to be pacing up jagged hills in the Buburimu Peninsula. Although my DRK reached level 55 today, my party invite rate seems to be on the decline; however, I am still optimistic about reaching level 75.

Zilart Mission 4: The Temple of Uggalepih














After my LS proposed that Sky should be a priority for all members, a bunch of us gathered in the Sacrificial Chamber to help our less fortunate members out. As you can tell, Snippy grew impatient waiting for the others and even impaled me with one of her claws! The fight itself was rather easy for a group of 75s, but keeping myself awake was another story. 

Dynamis - San d'Oria














Another visit to San d'Oria, and another perilous experience for my BLM. Luckily, we managed to clear the zone this time, and six AFv2 dropped compared to only one last time. Although several BST AFv2 legs dropped in this run, I have zero interest in AFv2 at this time, so I passed them once again. 

Limbus - NW Apollyon














Unfortunately, another BLM event; I hope to visit this place on my BST soon. However, the good news is that I gained five more ABCs on this run, and I am now 13/75 ABCs towards earning my Brutal Earring for BST.



Notes:
a) "AFv2" refers to the rare/ex armor dropped in Dynamis only. Since there is no way to guarantee a specific armor piece from any Dynamis zone, competition for AFv2 remains rather fierce.
b) FFXI models can overlap one another at times; this can lead to one model being impaled, engulfed, or assimilated into another.