How to Solo Escort: Windurst

Today's post explores one of the "Escort for Hire" quests that have become a weekly source of exp for my non-BST jobs. Usually, I accept the Windurstian Escort quest because few people try it and because my HP is in Windurst; I also recommend going BST/NIN to solo this quest -- you will need to do some damage and defeat non-charmable enemies.

To flag the quest, head to Port Windurst and to talk the Mithra NPC Dehn Harzhapan, located at G-6. Next, make your way to the Garlaige Citadel (Sauromugue Champaign at G-11) and zone in. Upon entering, you will receive a cutscene from the escort NPC, Wanzo-Unzozo, and unfortunately, you cannot mash enter to speed through this CS. Once the CS is over, talk to Wanzo-Unzozo to start him on his journey.















At the first intersection (point 1), the NPC must make a left turn instead of heading straight. This is crucial; keep resetting the quest until the NPC makes a left turn. Any Borer Beetles that you encounter will attack Wanzo, so "Charm" the Beetles and use "Leave" once he is past them. Make your way to point 2 and stop Wanzo prior to turning left at the intersection. There is usually a Beetle right after the turn, so "Charm" and "Leave" this Beetle to let Wanzo move through safely. Stop Wanzo right before point 3.















Prepare to fight up to six Citadel Bats between points 3 and 4. There is a couple ways to get past them. You could:

1. Summon CC and crush them one by one. Move Wanzo up slowly after each Bat Trio.
2. "Charm" the first Bat Trio you see and attack the rearmost Bat Trio. The idea is to use "Heel" afterward to link all the Bat Trios between you and Wanzo. If done correctly, you should be able to use "Stay" once your Bat Trio reaches you to bypass a mob of angry Bats. "Charm" or kill the rearmost Bat Trio once the mob slays yours. 
3. Use CC instead of a Bat Trio above.

Once you reach point 4 and have disposed of any pursuing Bats, there will be a group of monsters between points 4 and 5. If you are lucky, there might some be some exp PTs slaying monsters, but if not, prepare to clear a path yourself.















You will need to scythe through Citadel Bats and Chamber Beetles if you are alone. Be warned that these monsters agro and link with their respective kind, so you might wish to gather a few together and take them out in groups. Personally, I like to use a jug pet to plow my way through. Halt Wanzo before the tunnel at point 5.















Once you have reached point 5, prepare to engage EP Evil Weapons between points 5 and 6. These monsters are high enough to agro a level 75 BST, so be careful. Normally, there are six Weapons up at any given time, but you will only need to clear the ones in the entry tunnel and those immediately left of it. Once you have cleared a path, move Wanzo to point 6. If Wanzo is low on HP, he will agro a Doomed-type mob resting there, so be prepared to intercept if that is the case.















At point 7, yet another Doomed mob patrols Wanzo's final destination. Have CC stall the monster while moving Wanzo towards it. Once Wanzo reaches his destination, he will stop, and you will be given a minute or two to talk to him for a Completion Certificate. If CC is low on HP, you might wish to equip a Warp Cudgel (I usually use a Tavnazian or Olduum Ring myself) beforehand and "Warp" away once you have your certificate. Return the certificate to the starting NPC in Port Windurst for your reward. Upon completion, you will receive an exp scroll, and if this happens to be your first time, you will receive an additional 10k gil as an added bonus.

Patrolling the Past

Thanks to my LS's current lack of members, I have been off-duty and spending most of my time exploring the new WotG content. Of course, with every new expansion comes new monsters to destroy, so Snippy and I rushed at the chance to solo new quests. As such, I decided to tackle the WotG quest "The Tigress Strikes," and for anyone who is looking for pointers, here is what I suggest:

1. Before you trigger the NM, summon CC and wait for her recast timer to cool down. The NM has a move called "Blink of Peril," which acts exactly like "Throat Stab," so your pets will have a hard time dodging it unless you position them correctly.
2. Melee on the nearby Rafflesia to gain at least 100 TP. Use "Stay" to recover CC's HP before starting.
3. Touch the ??? to spawn the NM. Use "Rampage" on the NM and then follow with "Snarl" to transfer your enmity to CC. Should CC die, resummon her and use "Snarl" again as needed.

In most WotG areas, there are new, Besieged-like battles called Campaign, where the Allied Forces of Altana clash with the Beastmen Confederate. In these battles, multiple players and enemies duke it out, and unfortunately for me, the monsters above managed to cut me down. Thankfully, SE has implemented a reward system based on participation, and you can even receive rewards while incapacitated during the assessment process. All that is required is an Allied Tag during the assessment and that you receive a "Raise" in time. It should be noted that although Campaign NMs do not attack non-participants directly, you can still be hit by AoE moves if you are within range.















In this picture, Snippy and I leap into the fray against a Fomor Confederate leader. Every Campaign battle involves the use of NPC units led by their own unique leaders. Does anyone else believe the NM above is actually one of the witches recruited by the Shadow Lord, who were rumored to be invincible to physical attacks? Unfortunately for this NM, she did not have physical immunity -- all the better for me.

















Meet one of the two Allied BST leaders, and this NPC even has her own Guttler! Apparently, her Guttler talks to her during combat like some blood-crazed maniac with low intelligence. If I ever manage to earn my own Guttler, it better come with half a brain.

Quest rewards worthy of mention:










The latent effects for these items activate when one's respective Crafting skill is less than level 60.







Unlike the other RR earring, you must keep this earring on for the effect to remain active.







There is a hidden effect of Attack +4 on this throwing item. It will be replacing the Olibanum Sachet in my TP set.

Well that is all for now, folks. The Khaki's Status page has finally been updated if anyone wishes for additional readings.

Artifact Revisted

It is really cold out today; snow has kept me in while my midterms continue to keep me busy. Today's update will be a small one concerning events that occurred last week. 







Finally, level 53 Fishing skill. Living off the land, I have netted myself some more gil, and I have been using the fish to fund my DRK's leveling progress. Ideally, I would like to fish some Black Soles soon because they have skyrocketed in price, but I figure I will need level 60+ Fishing skill first.















Remember that good old, BST AF legs NM? Yeah, his name is Sturm (a Hound), and he is assisted by two, weaker, Tiger friends: Taifun and Trombe. Masani had just returned to FFXI, and with my new BST gear, I decided to try duoing the BST AF legs quest for her. We started off with a lucky pull; Sturm stood back while Taifun and Trombe leapt to attack Masani. I immediately charmed Taifun and sent him against Trombe, but Masani pulled hate by healing herself nearby. To speed things along, I sent Taifun against Sturm as well, resulting in a one-on-two fight, and Taifun dropped to the floor dead soon after. I then used "Charm" on Trombe and sent him to attack Sturm, but once again, Sturm crushed his former Tiger comrade with ease.

Once Sturm was alone, I summoned Courier Carrie, and we began to rumble. Naturally, I was pulling hate off CC easily, and with Sturm's fast attack speed, I was taking a few 200 damage hits. The tide turned once I could "Rampage" and transfer my enmity to CC, allowing me to melee freely. It was a close fight, but CC managed to live with ~300 HP remaining. As a result, Sani walked away with a new pair of pants (although she complained that it was previously worn by a Galka).















Afterward, I was in such a nice mood that I decided to swing by Davoi to do Masani's BRD AF body NM as well. It just so happened the NM was in the same spot as the true sight NM, Orcish Warlord, so we had to clear that NM first. I was fairly surprised when an Orcish Dreadnought (WAR) spawned just before we were about to pop the BRD NM, and it fooled me into thinking I had spawned a second NM. After clearing the Orcs, Masani checked the ??? spot, and out popped Bugaboo! This Ghost NM went down pretty fast, so I figure a BST/THF could probably solo him (just "Flee" to the zone after you spawn the NM).

Ischemia XI

It is a depressing time for Ischemia. Our LS events have been canceled left and right due to attendance, and there is been a struggle to get anything going. Today's post highlights our second round versus Genbu, this time with a thirteen-man crew. The giant turtle fell quickly, and we were rewarded with:
















Unfortunately, given the lack of BLMs in our LS, I am now stuck on BLM indefinitely. If you are wondering who was lucky enough to go on BST in the picture above, it was Poodlehat -- the BST I blogged about previously. Hopefully, there will be some more Byakko runs (and the manpower to do it) soon; I have been looking forward to a new pair of shorts for quite some time now. 















In this picture, I am pacing towards my favorite dungeon, the Sacrarium, to tackle a lost cookbook quest between LS events. Unfortunately, some nasty Tauri guard the passageways of the Sacrarium, so I did not want to start a brawl with them. Most of the time, I will wait patiently for them to face a favorable direction and then sneak past them from behind.















However, it should be noted that only the Teratotaurs (IT Tauri) give me trouble; with an EM Hecteyes pet, I can fry the DC Tauri without a hitch. If you do manage to claim an EM (and not DC) Hecteyes, there is a chance it can cast "Freeze," a level 50 BLM spell, for massive damage on your foe.

As for the quest I had mentioned previously, I thought I would share information regarding where one can find the ??? for the lost cookbook. After much experimentation, I have come to conclude that only 3/6 rooms can contain the ??? required, and I have painted red dots on the map below for your viewing pleasure:



















Ideally, just run for the bottom two rooms first before checking the top room. If you happen to find the ??? in a room not listed above, leave a comment because I am really interested in knowing otherwise.

EDIT: There is a fourth room in the top right corner of the map according to FFXIclopedia.com.















Finally, I end this post with a picture of my DRK wearing 4/5 AF pieces. Personally, one of my friends believes Elvaan DRKs only look decent at best, but I think tall, dark, and gruesome suits Elvaans perfectly. I might even get to bring my DRK to LS events soon!

Wings of the Goddess II

Warning: Windurst [S] quest spoilers below!














Before I get started with the Windurst [S] quests, I would like to announce that I just achieved my fourth STR augmentation! This leaves only nine merit points to go for my fifth and final STR merit. Unfortunately, 90,000 limit points does not come by easily when your only merit jobs are BST and BLM, so next on the agenda is...




... Fishing skill ups! Although my Pelican Ring nets me some extra skill-ups per Fishing trip, I am growing somewhat bored of the Buburimu Peninsula and Fishing for Shall Shells. Luckily, the shells cap at level 53, so I will be forced to find something new soon!















The past areas seem rather dull at the moment due to a lack of new items and NMs. Above, I have pit two DC War Lynxes against each other in an attempt to amuse myself. Unfortunately, I was in for a shocker when I discovered Coeurls now have an AoE move called "Charged Whisker," and upon repeated use of the move, I decided to retreat to safety. Since I did not get any drops from killing both lynxes, I continued on my merry way to Windurst [S].















Although few in number, the WotG quest cutscenes (CSs) have been rather hysterical. Apparently, child abuse is quite common in the past, and in this picture, a certain future hero is dragged off, flailing, by his professor.















More child abuse, this time involving a Mithra. Just what does SE have in mind for this new expansion? I hope they add some new merit camps and possibly BST-related items next update.