So, ffxiapp and NASA met the hammer of justice from SE. This news would have been a glorious revelation in times past, but it seems like a hollow victory now.
There are many other bots. People will simply move on to them... and it's sad because most people who play FFXI bot. Most people don't care at all; simply an accepted reality.
Why do we play this game? Endgame is a bloated joke of its former self; an RMT/botting joke. A lot of people buy/sell accounts... botting is the name of the game, and people will quit only to come back on new characters to re-acquire the same gear they did... then lose interest and sell again.
What is the point? The whole experience feels hollow these days. The adventure is gone, and all that is left are the stark realities of botting, RMT, huge timesinks, forced grouping and pathetically low drop rates.
HNM is a huge botting/RMT hellhole without skill, with only the certainties of wasted hours to come. My LS splinters and crumbles with lack of attendance and so my time ingame is spent doing nothing but waiting on the whims of other players, hoping to be allowed to play. And if I do get to play? What is the point in the end.
Final Fantasy XI is Botting RMT Fantasy XI.
Showing posts with label FFXI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FFXI. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Burning out
Burning out on FFXI at the moment, if you wondering about the somewhat melancholy posts.
I don't know what it is... part of me has finally snapped I guess. I don't hate the game. I am very disillusioned though...
Issue #1: Exclusion
I already went over this in my last post so no need, but the playerbase is extremely annoying. Forced grouping is a horrible, horrible idea... it's not that I'm antisocial. I enjoy playing with people, I honestly do... but it's at the stage where you have to ask permission from people to play and it's simply ridiculous.
Issue #2: Frustration
Here's a big one. HNMs are frankly absolutely terribly designed. Any HNM camper will tell you that the HNM lifestyle comes with great "high"s and great "low"s. The "high"s feel so cheap because of the horribly designed system, and the "low"s make me question why I even bother logging on honestly.
HNMs consume a ridiculous amount of time for no reason. Some people find them relaxing, I find them horribly tedious. I play this game to play it, not sit around for three hours a day. It's not always that bad but regardless. And what happens when you claim said HNM? Your chances of claim are fractional and on top of that, your chances of getting desired drops even more fractional (looking at you, Aspidchelone and/or King Behemoth). Nobody wants to waste all of those hours trying to claim a monster which only drops something valuable 25% of the time or far less. It's stupid!
Three hour king windows are stupidity themselves, but what about REALLY long ones, like Tiamat/Khimaira etc. Does anyone really enjoy them being this long? Would anyone care if they were shorter? The time requirements for HNM are truly sickening... not to mention realistically, most of the time, you are getting one or two drops a week. If that. When you abandon traditional events like dynamis/limbus/sky/sea etc which typically have 5x or above that output, it's just all incredibly demoralising.
No, this isn't about greed.
I genuinelly enjoy getting other people drops... but the time/reward ratio (something which is horribly done in most of FFXI) is absolutely dire here. Aspidchelone I keep bringing up because it is a joke of an HNM. Dfeet/Mfeet - does anyone really want to camp for these? W Body - enjoy your 40MP over Errant. Dalmy - the treasure of the pool and even so outshadowed by other pieces nowadays. You have a 25% chance of not hideously wasting your time.
Which brings me to my next point;
Issue #3: Randomness
The game is far too random! The difference between rich and poor can simply be luck and often is - drop rates across the board are incredibly low and SE seem determined to make you bleed to get most of the stuff you want in this game. Claiming an HNM is (supposed to be) random. Getting the drop you desire is then random. Salvage... epitome of random. Limbus, drops are random. Dynamis; random. One shell can go years without seeing a Duelist's Chapeau whereas another can get four in a run. It's dumb! Einherjar, random in terms of what mobs you get (not a bad thing in my opinion) but random in the annoying sense with regards to what drops you get.
SE seem determined that the drops you get are determined solely by how lucky you are at rolling the dice. Would it really hurt if drop rates were higher? I personally wouldn't care if more people had Adaman Hauberks, or Hecatomb Subligar, or other drops. If you invest time, you deserve reward - the reward should not come from luck itself.
Of course a lot of people will disagree on this point because some people enjoy rarity... which brings me on to my next point;
Issue #4 - Emptiness
Does this game really have much content?
Rhetorical question I know, but think about it. We have been and will be grinding Dynamis... forever. Likewise HNM, likewise Limbus and nearly all of the other events.
This is because drop rates are random and low in most cases and the output is incredibly small compared to the number of participants. The grind becomes the focus, items become the focus... these events are generally not fun due to the sheer endless repetition involved... a sheer endless repetition due to lack of content.
Think about this: imagine all drop rates were 100% (in the case of Dynamis, presume each participating member receives one piece of AF2 per run and in the case of Limbus, that each member selects one piece of the Homam/Nashira set per run). How long would these events last? Salvage in particular is a very small, shallow event with intensely low drop rates just to perpetuate the grind.
There really isn't much content, is there?
Now eliminate all content which involves forced grouping.
It's a bit empty in here, isn't it?
The grind is all that remains. Why do so many people quit after receiving items? It is because the grind removes all fun, and just burns you out severely over time. Once you receive the item, you realise it is a relief rather than a joy... I speak from personal experience here. Adaman Hauberk did not make me that excited. I tried to be. I really did... it just felt so hollow compared to my old triumphs like Homam Cosciales. My dominant emotion was relief, not joy. That's not to say I didn't appreciate getting it and love it -- because I do. It just doesn't feel all that amazing and that's probably because I'm burned out... I will appreciate it evermore.
Issue #5 - Hatred
People hate me, I am fairly certain. I cannot blame them for I have become bitter and cynical since the grind has completely burned me out. There is a faction in my very linkshell who hate me and I generally don't enjoy logging in to that animosity.
I am a very opinionated individual. I speak my intents and my meanings clearly... and earn enemies for it. I never wanted this hatred.
The most painful part of it all is with a good friend with whom a rift has been developing and is very wide... I feel used. A placeholder until other friends arrive. I am only talked to when I am the only one or when she needs something, and I wish it wasn't that way. Very occasionally attempts will be made to reconcile but I feel like I should distance myself to prevent feeling like a placeholder once again.
Well, if you survived that wall of text of a post you deserve congratulations. I am aware it is incredibly boring and I apologise. I just need somewhere to pool my thoughts and my blog seems somewhat appropriate.
I currently have no plans to quit, but I may severely cut back my playtime. I do enjoy this game when not burned out, but I really am not particularly at the moment.
I don't know what it is... part of me has finally snapped I guess. I don't hate the game. I am very disillusioned though...
Issue #1: Exclusion
I already went over this in my last post so no need, but the playerbase is extremely annoying. Forced grouping is a horrible, horrible idea... it's not that I'm antisocial. I enjoy playing with people, I honestly do... but it's at the stage where you have to ask permission from people to play and it's simply ridiculous.
Issue #2: Frustration
Here's a big one. HNMs are frankly absolutely terribly designed. Any HNM camper will tell you that the HNM lifestyle comes with great "high"s and great "low"s. The "high"s feel so cheap because of the horribly designed system, and the "low"s make me question why I even bother logging on honestly.
HNMs consume a ridiculous amount of time for no reason. Some people find them relaxing, I find them horribly tedious. I play this game to play it, not sit around for three hours a day. It's not always that bad but regardless. And what happens when you claim said HNM? Your chances of claim are fractional and on top of that, your chances of getting desired drops even more fractional (looking at you, Aspidchelone and/or King Behemoth). Nobody wants to waste all of those hours trying to claim a monster which only drops something valuable 25% of the time or far less. It's stupid!
Three hour king windows are stupidity themselves, but what about REALLY long ones, like Tiamat/Khimaira etc. Does anyone really enjoy them being this long? Would anyone care if they were shorter? The time requirements for HNM are truly sickening... not to mention realistically, most of the time, you are getting one or two drops a week. If that. When you abandon traditional events like dynamis/limbus/sky/sea etc which typically have 5x or above that output, it's just all incredibly demoralising.
No, this isn't about greed.
I genuinelly enjoy getting other people drops... but the time/reward ratio (something which is horribly done in most of FFXI) is absolutely dire here. Aspidchelone I keep bringing up because it is a joke of an HNM. Dfeet/Mfeet - does anyone really want to camp for these? W Body - enjoy your 40MP over Errant. Dalmy - the treasure of the pool and even so outshadowed by other pieces nowadays. You have a 25% chance of not hideously wasting your time.
Which brings me to my next point;
Issue #3: Randomness
The game is far too random! The difference between rich and poor can simply be luck and often is - drop rates across the board are incredibly low and SE seem determined to make you bleed to get most of the stuff you want in this game. Claiming an HNM is (supposed to be) random. Getting the drop you desire is then random. Salvage... epitome of random. Limbus, drops are random. Dynamis; random. One shell can go years without seeing a Duelist's Chapeau whereas another can get four in a run. It's dumb! Einherjar, random in terms of what mobs you get (not a bad thing in my opinion) but random in the annoying sense with regards to what drops you get.
SE seem determined that the drops you get are determined solely by how lucky you are at rolling the dice. Would it really hurt if drop rates were higher? I personally wouldn't care if more people had Adaman Hauberks, or Hecatomb Subligar, or other drops. If you invest time, you deserve reward - the reward should not come from luck itself.
Of course a lot of people will disagree on this point because some people enjoy rarity... which brings me on to my next point;
Issue #4 - Emptiness
Does this game really have much content?
Rhetorical question I know, but think about it. We have been and will be grinding Dynamis... forever. Likewise HNM, likewise Limbus and nearly all of the other events.
This is because drop rates are random and low in most cases and the output is incredibly small compared to the number of participants. The grind becomes the focus, items become the focus... these events are generally not fun due to the sheer endless repetition involved... a sheer endless repetition due to lack of content.
Think about this: imagine all drop rates were 100% (in the case of Dynamis, presume each participating member receives one piece of AF2 per run and in the case of Limbus, that each member selects one piece of the Homam/Nashira set per run). How long would these events last? Salvage in particular is a very small, shallow event with intensely low drop rates just to perpetuate the grind.
There really isn't much content, is there?
Now eliminate all content which involves forced grouping.
It's a bit empty in here, isn't it?
The grind is all that remains. Why do so many people quit after receiving items? It is because the grind removes all fun, and just burns you out severely over time. Once you receive the item, you realise it is a relief rather than a joy... I speak from personal experience here. Adaman Hauberk did not make me that excited. I tried to be. I really did... it just felt so hollow compared to my old triumphs like Homam Cosciales. My dominant emotion was relief, not joy. That's not to say I didn't appreciate getting it and love it -- because I do. It just doesn't feel all that amazing and that's probably because I'm burned out... I will appreciate it evermore.
Issue #5 - Hatred
People hate me, I am fairly certain. I cannot blame them for I have become bitter and cynical since the grind has completely burned me out. There is a faction in my very linkshell who hate me and I generally don't enjoy logging in to that animosity.
I am a very opinionated individual. I speak my intents and my meanings clearly... and earn enemies for it. I never wanted this hatred.
The most painful part of it all is with a good friend with whom a rift has been developing and is very wide... I feel used. A placeholder until other friends arrive. I am only talked to when I am the only one or when she needs something, and I wish it wasn't that way. Very occasionally attempts will be made to reconcile but I feel like I should distance myself to prevent feeling like a placeholder once again.
Well, if you survived that wall of text of a post you deserve congratulations. I am aware it is incredibly boring and I apologise. I just need somewhere to pool my thoughts and my blog seems somewhat appropriate.
I currently have no plans to quit, but I may severely cut back my playtime. I do enjoy this game when not burned out, but I really am not particularly at the moment.
Monday, 31 August 2009
Exclusion
FFXI is dying.
Maybe it's been dead for a long time now... and it's because of the people. Allow me to elaborate.
FFXI enforces grouping for most activities... twenty jobs and you have to select six to make a party with. Let's list the jobs.
Bard
Beastmaster
Corsair
Dancer
Dark Knight
Dragoon
Monk
Ninja
Paladin
Puppetmaster
Ranger
Red Mage
Samurai
Scholar
Summoner
Thief
Warrior
White Mage
Colour coded;
Green = allowed to play
Orange = sometimes allowed to play
Purple = rarely allowed to play
You see, the main flaw in a game where grouping is ENFORCED is that some jobs can be completely cut out of the loop. That's not too awful right, 16/20 jobs can still play?! Only lost 20% of the jobs there. Well, let's examine closer:
Bard - Universally accepted
Corsair - Universally accepted
Dark Knight - Zerging only
Dragoon - Zerging only
Monk - Salvage only
Paladin - Accepted into endgame tanking situations
Ranger - Zerging/ranged fight only
Red Mage - Universally accepted
Samurai - Universally accepted
Scholar - Universally accepted
Summoner - Poor man's Ranger, good for astralburns though
Thief - Treasure Hunter only
Warrior - Universally accepted
White Mage - Universally accepted
So only eight out of twenty jobs get any real playtime and attention... 40%. Now, let's look at the original list and I will colour which jobs are ACTUALLY weak.
Bard
Beastmaster
Corsair
Dancer
Dark Knight
Dragoon
Monk
Ninja
Paladin
Puppetmaster
Ranger
Red Mage
Samurai
Scholar
Summoner
Thief
Warrior
White Mage
So where only eight jobs are allowed to play, sixteen are actually very capable. 100% more! The problems with those in red are simply mechanic problems created by SE; pet jobs as a whole do not function well and Dancer relies too much on TP to be -that- effective on anything strong.
This is the problem though: for DDs, it's WAR or SAM only. People will not accept anything else. My Adaman Hauberk is towngear since it's DRK only; I'll never get to play it properly. Worked so hard for Towngear Hauberk; it's all so ... wrong.
DRK is a very powerful DD with considerable utility. Hugely underestimated... there really isn't much of a difference between it and SAM. People are blind however...
DRG... there was recently drama on BG about someone's Valkyrie's Fork being ninja-lotted and people responded "who cares?" since it's "only a DRG weapon", which made me disgusted. If this was some Samurai's Hagun everyone would be up in arms, but because it's not Warrior or Samurai, it's perfectly fine? Ridiculous.
MNK has intense DoT and can keep up even with superbuffed 2handers; it shouldn't be relegated to Salvage only. This is a sad, sad view.
NIN is a perfectly capable tank. It should not be excluded; a capable Ninja is still and will still always be a very strong tank. This is another sad thing.
RNG is also fairly strong. People don't like them for meleeburn events like Einherjar yet these same people bring BLMs to deal damage in these events? Do they realise that a RNG's method of damage is essentially that of a BLM's, except they will easily surpass the Black Mage's damage over time?
THF is relegated to "Treasure Hunter whore", where none of your gear is considered in the least and nobody cares as long as you're using the knife and the hands; two symbols of the playerbase's pathetic hatred and scorching uncaring attitude toward you. YOU ARE JUST A WHORE. If that's why you play, have fun; I prefer to play my THF as the capable DD it is, against the whims of the playerbase... but they'll never let you play it for that, never.
Simply put, there are too many conceited Samurais and Warriors who think they are god because they play an incredibly easy to play job and get results out of it. The blind playerbase follow these idiots and so the problem perpetuates, until the game loses all fun and becomes a case of "play these eight jobs or quit".
FFXI is dying.
It is the playerbase's fault.
I only hope FF14 eliminates forced grouping and in FFXI that they nerf Samurai or Warrior, just to destroy these idiots.
I am SICK of all of my efforts becoming naught because people would rather have an AF feet WAR or a Domaru SAM over an Ebody DRK, great THF, strong DRG, awesome MNK etc etc.
This is what will happen to even the top drops in the game if you are not WAR or SAM.
Maybe it's been dead for a long time now... and it's because of the people. Allow me to elaborate.
FFXI enforces grouping for most activities... twenty jobs and you have to select six to make a party with. Let's list the jobs.
Bard
Beastmaster
Corsair
Dancer
Dark Knight
Dragoon
Monk
Ninja
Paladin
Puppetmaster
Ranger
Red Mage
Samurai
Scholar
Summoner
Thief
Warrior
White Mage
Colour coded;
Green = allowed to play
Orange = sometimes allowed to play
Purple = rarely allowed to play
You see, the main flaw in a game where grouping is ENFORCED is that some jobs can be completely cut out of the loop. That's not too awful right, 16/20 jobs can still play?! Only lost 20% of the jobs there. Well, let's examine closer:
Bard - Universally accepted
Corsair - Universally accepted
Dark Knight - Zerging only
Dragoon - Zerging only
Monk - Salvage only
Paladin - Accepted into endgame tanking situations
Ranger - Zerging/ranged fight only
Red Mage - Universally accepted
Samurai - Universally accepted
Scholar - Universally accepted
Summoner - Poor man's Ranger, good for astralburns though
Thief - Treasure Hunter only
Warrior - Universally accepted
White Mage - Universally accepted
So only eight out of twenty jobs get any real playtime and attention... 40%. Now, let's look at the original list and I will colour which jobs are ACTUALLY weak.
Bard
Beastmaster
Corsair
Dancer
Dark Knight
Dragoon
Monk
Ninja
Paladin
Puppetmaster
Ranger
Red Mage
Samurai
Scholar
Summoner
Thief
Warrior
White Mage
So where only eight jobs are allowed to play, sixteen are actually very capable. 100% more! The problems with those in red are simply mechanic problems created by SE; pet jobs as a whole do not function well and Dancer relies too much on TP to be -that- effective on anything strong.
This is the problem though: for DDs, it's WAR or SAM only. People will not accept anything else. My Adaman Hauberk is towngear since it's DRK only; I'll never get to play it properly. Worked so hard for Towngear Hauberk; it's all so ... wrong.
DRK is a very powerful DD with considerable utility. Hugely underestimated... there really isn't much of a difference between it and SAM. People are blind however...
DRG... there was recently drama on BG about someone's Valkyrie's Fork being ninja-lotted and people responded "who cares?" since it's "only a DRG weapon", which made me disgusted. If this was some Samurai's Hagun everyone would be up in arms, but because it's not Warrior or Samurai, it's perfectly fine? Ridiculous.
MNK has intense DoT and can keep up even with superbuffed 2handers; it shouldn't be relegated to Salvage only. This is a sad, sad view.
NIN is a perfectly capable tank. It should not be excluded; a capable Ninja is still and will still always be a very strong tank. This is another sad thing.
RNG is also fairly strong. People don't like them for meleeburn events like Einherjar yet these same people bring BLMs to deal damage in these events? Do they realise that a RNG's method of damage is essentially that of a BLM's, except they will easily surpass the Black Mage's damage over time?
THF is relegated to "Treasure Hunter whore", where none of your gear is considered in the least and nobody cares as long as you're using the knife and the hands; two symbols of the playerbase's pathetic hatred and scorching uncaring attitude toward you. YOU ARE JUST A WHORE. If that's why you play, have fun; I prefer to play my THF as the capable DD it is, against the whims of the playerbase... but they'll never let you play it for that, never.
Simply put, there are too many conceited Samurais and Warriors who think they are god because they play an incredibly easy to play job and get results out of it. The blind playerbase follow these idiots and so the problem perpetuates, until the game loses all fun and becomes a case of "play these eight jobs or quit".
FFXI is dying.
It is the playerbase's fault.
I only hope FF14 eliminates forced grouping and in FFXI that they nerf Samurai or Warrior, just to destroy these idiots.
I am SICK of all of my efforts becoming naught because people would rather have an AF feet WAR or a Domaru SAM over an Ebody DRK, great THF, strong DRG, awesome MNK etc etc.
This is what will happen to even the top drops in the game if you are not WAR or SAM.Thursday, 27 August 2009
Armageddon
I cannot believe that this is a reality, that the dream itself has come true.I thank all of my friends and comrades who have assisted me in getting this far. I have progressed far in this game, and although people can sometimes be a hindrance, in the end it is only possible due to their unfailing aid.
Sometimes I can be hotheaded and hard to get on with, and I apologise for that.
I have come far since my first days in Sarutabaruta, and the screenshot above is to reflect this. I first walked the path of the warrior, unsure of the adventure to come. Now, I am a knight of armageddon. May my enemies be cleansed with dark fire.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Wrath of the Skies
Dragoon 75.
Render of the skies, maelstrom in the shadow of the storm.
As my fifth 75, it's already well geared when it hit here. DRK zerg gear greatly helped my Breath set and Homam/Ace's Helm etc obviously helps a fair bit. Below is my gear and I know it's not optimal. In fact, because of this, I am welcoming criticism. Be as critical as you wish! It will only help me.
Rose Strap is used to facilitate 6hit.
TP
Jump (that backpiece should be Forager's, screenshot messed up)
High Jump
Penta Thrust (no Drakesbane yet)
BreathSo yeah, needs a LOT of work. I've basically geared Jump as a WS and High Jump as a "TP-giver" since it is essentially a normal hit. I could use Spike Necklace or something on Jump but -7.75acc for +3str seems VERY meh on a non-100% accurate move. Yes, I know I need Gorget for Penta but I'll have Drakes soon which I do have the Gorget for and 2x Yovra Organ SUCKS to farm. In terms of DRG's potential as a DD, I'd say it's high. A lot higher than people say ... while it's not as flashy as SAM or WAR in terms of the huge damages (unless you're fighting pink birds), I think Angon speaks for itself. Accuracy Bonus II is also very sexy... a shame body pieces are so limited. I'll write more soon, am just tired after "binge exping" for this sexy 75 :D
Small update! Drakes setup and Wheeling Thrust setup respectively. Ecphoria in Wheeling Thrust setup to maintain 6hit (will also have to TP in it afterwards); I have a Triumph Ring to swap in if necessary. My Drakes set needs more DEX :(
Small update! Drakes setup and Wheeling Thrust setup respectively. Ecphoria in Wheeling Thrust setup to maintain 6hit (will also have to TP in it afterwards); I have a Triumph Ring to swap in if necessary. My Drakes set needs more DEX :(
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
New Dawn
So I haven't posted here in about six months. Why? Well, a combination of many issues.
Firstly those pages to the side which you may or may not have noticed have disappeared were annoying because I always had to update them whenever I got gear and such and just ugh, no. Too much of a pain in the ass, so I've deleted them... should increase motivation to post.
Also, I've been busy with a variety of things both ingame and out and completely forgot about this blog to be honest. However, due to many people asking for an update I guess I should get around to it at some point!
So what has happened since 2008...?
Well, I left Wish shortly after finishing my Homam set as I told Cyr when I joined. Why did I leave? I applied to the most powerful and prestigious endgame linkshell on the server, ApkalluVendetta. I didn't expect to get in, especially since I had no mage 75. However ...
This was after my trial period which lasted about two weeks. I haven't been kicked yet :)
And other experiences, truly a great linkshell. During my course in AV I obtained many prestigious items, such as...
(I'm not a cat, I just adore plasticsurgeon. Mithra is too sexy not to play).
Ace's Helm and Hecatomb Cap in particular, two drops which I have desired forever. Amazing to finally have them, although both were painful to get.
ApkalluVendetta broke and reformed as Repentance which I am currently in now after a lot of members server transferred, but we're still incredibly strong. Did an eight-man KB today; quick kill, 0 deaths, 0 meteors, which led onto...
I've wanted Pixie for a long time so I was very happy to get it (also Koenig Diechlings which are actually good if used properly)!
I also got my fourth 75~
Red Mage, an amazing job. So versatile and so powerful, definitely one of my favourites. Speaking of which, I am steadily developing my solo talents as it is my favourite part of the job and game, so I might write up some basic guides for this and specific mob strategies later. I'm far from an adept, but I'm working on it and would welcome input.
Hmm, this is a messy entry structurally but oh well!
Did Hagun ENM for a bit, had good luck with it. YES GALATEIA DID IN FACT DROP. Still can't get over that either.
Also since my last post I've been duoing a lot with my favourite RDM partner, Rienea :O she's not too bad a friend either. Dualboxing her makes her a cat too :D
Everyone should level RDM, seriously. Immense job.
Anyway, very messy and extremely late post I know :( hopefully I'll update again soon. There were loads more screenshots but they'd be boring to go through... I'll just leave you with this.
Firstly those pages to the side which you may or may not have noticed have disappeared were annoying because I always had to update them whenever I got gear and such and just ugh, no. Too much of a pain in the ass, so I've deleted them... should increase motivation to post.
Also, I've been busy with a variety of things both ingame and out and completely forgot about this blog to be honest. However, due to many people asking for an update I guess I should get around to it at some point!
So what has happened since 2008...?
Well, I left Wish shortly after finishing my Homam set as I told Cyr when I joined. Why did I leave? I applied to the most powerful and prestigious endgame linkshell on the server, ApkalluVendetta. I didn't expect to get in, especially since I had no mage 75. However ...
This was after my trial period which lasted about two weeks. I haven't been kicked yet :)
And other experiences, truly a great linkshell. During my course in AV I obtained many prestigious items, such as...
(I'm not a cat, I just adore plasticsurgeon. Mithra is too sexy not to play).
Ace's Helm and Hecatomb Cap in particular, two drops which I have desired forever. Amazing to finally have them, although both were painful to get.
ApkalluVendetta broke and reformed as Repentance which I am currently in now after a lot of members server transferred, but we're still incredibly strong. Did an eight-man KB today; quick kill, 0 deaths, 0 meteors, which led onto...
I've wanted Pixie for a long time so I was very happy to get it (also Koenig Diechlings which are actually good if used properly)!I also got my fourth 75~
Red Mage, an amazing job. So versatile and so powerful, definitely one of my favourites. Speaking of which, I am steadily developing my solo talents as it is my favourite part of the job and game, so I might write up some basic guides for this and specific mob strategies later. I'm far from an adept, but I'm working on it and would welcome input.Hmm, this is a messy entry structurally but oh well!
Did Hagun ENM for a bit, had good luck with it. YES GALATEIA DID IN FACT DROP. Still can't get over that either.Also since my last post I've been duoing a lot with my favourite RDM partner, Rienea :O she's not too bad a friend either. Dualboxing her makes her a cat too :D
Everyone should level RDM, seriously. Immense job.Anyway, very messy and extremely late post I know :( hopefully I'll update again soon. There were loads more screenshots but they'd be boring to go through... I'll just leave you with this.
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Unquenchable Light
After months, and months of waiting...
Hard work, twice a week every week. Great drama and frustration.
Achievement, reaching up to the lofty heavens. One by one, the five pieces fell.
Until the last. It ended this week.
After months. The full set was mine. My glorious dream since I had started doing endgame, roughly 14 months ago, finally achieved. Suffice to say I was absolutely ecstatic at having received my full set.
Ignore the random gear in that screenshot; Paladin looks set. Full Homam (head not pictured due to it being pretty crappy)! In other FF news, I've been levelling BLU lately and this may just be my next to 75... though learning spells can either suck or be fine. Very mixed; sometimes I spend 5 minutes, sometimes 5 hours. Oh well, it's a nice diversion and unique to the job at least. Need a Voyager Sallet now but nobody to camp it with sadly, but I can hardly be unhappy with 5/5 Homam (and by extension, the prospect of dinging into full Homam at 75)!
I'll likely write more later! Just had to relate this monumental occasion.
Hard work, twice a week every week. Great drama and frustration.
Achievement, reaching up to the lofty heavens. One by one, the five pieces fell.
Until the last. It ended this week.
After months. The full set was mine. My glorious dream since I had started doing endgame, roughly 14 months ago, finally achieved. Suffice to say I was absolutely ecstatic at having received my full set.
Ignore the random gear in that screenshot; Paladin looks set. Full Homam (head not pictured due to it being pretty crappy)! In other FF news, I've been levelling BLU lately and this may just be my next to 75... though learning spells can either suck or be fine. Very mixed; sometimes I spend 5 minutes, sometimes 5 hours. Oh well, it's a nice diversion and unique to the job at least. Need a Voyager Sallet now but nobody to camp it with sadly, but I can hardly be unhappy with 5/5 Homam (and by extension, the prospect of dinging into full Homam at 75)!
I'll likely write more later! Just had to relate this monumental occasion.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Dagger in the Dark
Hey, I know this update is late in coming but I've been so busy both in real life and ingame, and just haven't had the time to update this. Plus I keep forgetting to take screenshots as I'm playing which is annoying! There'll be some detailed THF stuff later in this post, but I'll save it until near the end since it's a very niche interest.
So what have I been up to? A lot of things. I've forgotten to screenshot most of it so it'll be very boring. Suffice to say, WHM is 42, RDM is 37 and BLM is 22 and going up to 37. Also levelling BLU at least as a subjob now, and it's a lot of fun; my spell-learning luck is terrible though. Took a mob a good 30+ TP moves before it used Queasyshroom on me for instance (luckily I went 1/1 on it).
Been meritting a lot too, in an attempt to cap out some merits (aiming for Feint 5/5 right now, currently 4/5 with 3/5 merits). Now, THF is largely melee DoT damage in merit parties and it's inefficient to combine SA and TA, but it makes for fun epeen damage shots!
My WS set is rather meh as well; still no Hecatomb Mittens! I've been approaching many LSs to buy them (hopefully for in the range of 300-400k) and no real success so far. Unlikely to see X's Knife/Love Torque/Hecatomb Cap and Hecatomb Subligar either. It's a shame.Mandalic Stab is also hugely underrated; I love the ability to almost ignore accuracy on it and stack DEX, as well as having an Attack bonus -- basically a later game Viper Bite. Excellent for situations where you cannot trust your accuracy/attack, or opponent defence is so high you really need to pierce it; just beware that it is VERY weak unstacked. Hey, like I said -- think Viper Bite in terms of how to use it.
I also meritted on mamools recently on THF! I was a bit pessimistic about my accuracy at the start, but I managed ~85% accuracy using a single madrigal and meat and that I am happy with. After I get Homam Hands and 5/5 Feint, it will be a bit higher. Meat is always an option for your good and well-geared THF in merit parties!
In order to revamp some of my sets and get a WS gorget for Insurgency and Mandalic Stab, I went out and farmed Sea a LOT earlier this month. Almost solo'd the entirety of two gorgets until people came to help, minus the UFOs. Treasure Hunter really does help a great deal on the drop rates, and contrary to popular belief THF can solo Om'Phuabos quite easily! Just bring echoes. Always carry echoes on THF solo unless you're 100% sure it can't silence you.
The result~!
3/8 of the elemental gorgets! Need to get a Soil Gorget sometime for Evisceration but not too bothered about that right now; barely use the WS anyway. Maybe if I got an X's Knife I'd mess around with it more but... 0/10 on that thing so far and I don't see it dropping anytime soon. Dying for that knife. Wish SE would fix that damn ENM.
I levelled /RDM for my PLD and tried it in campaign. It was wonderful. Stoneskin, Blink and Phalanx are great defensive tools and it doesn't require you to use Shihei! Atonement is also wonderfully broken; contrast normal hit damage and Atonement damage (yes I know how it works but it is SO good for holding hate);
Yeah, I've decided I like pld/rdm in campaign. Was a 20~25 minute battle for that much exp.Also did UO recently and got fantastically lucky; PCC and Ni! I was however splitting drops and nobody else got anything so I only got 1/3 of the money; still good though! Nice to see this too;
Okay, on to THFy stuff; I'll try to take more pictures for next time, I just completely forgot as I said.Thief playstyle varies a lot from person to person; some people insist only on WSing with SA or TA, some people use SA and TA alone and WS alone in a burn situation to create a larger maximum damage; some people swear by sushi and some use meat, etc. There are many different ways to play THF. One thing I notice is a lot of people don't use dedicated soloSA and soloTA sets, which makes me sad. You can do some fantastic damage this way, bearing in mind I have no X's Knife;
First one is a soloTA, second is a soloSA, third is a soloTA. It's like mini WSs, and I don't even have an X's! Imagine that damage when the critical hit is amplified even more. Serious THFs, investing in a SA/TA set will not leave you disappointed.Daggers
Let's talk about the daggers in detail. Damage on THF is split into two scenarios:
1. Your attack/accuracy are high. Your melee DoT soars ahead of WS damage. Typically in merit parties. We will call this scenario "speedburn".
2. Doing damage with melee is very challenging. SA/TA and WS tend to be the largest source of your damage; typically high-end endgame fights. We will call this scenario "sustained battle".
What are good daggers for one scenario are often not so good for others! Let's examine the top daggers.
S > A > B > C > D
In reality, S is much greater than A, A is greater than B, B is greater than C, C is much greater than D. If you see what I mean;
S >> A > B > C >> D
Mandau
DMG:39 Delay:176 Attack+20
Speedburn rating: S
Sustained Battle rating: S
Would you expect anything less from the relic dagger? Mercy Stroke is a huge benefit particularly to "Sustained Battle" situations.
X's Knife
DMG:34 Delay:201 Enhances Critical Hit damage
Speedburn rating: B or A
Sustained Battle rating: S or A
X's Knife is a mythical but incredibly potent weapon. I have not got one so I cannot comment, but it's hard to tell in a true speedburn situation whether the greater WS damage and SA/TA damage will overcome the slight melee DoT deficiency. I may give a definite rating to this when I get one, but for now it's either A or B at Speedburn. Exceptional dagger.
Blau Dolch
DMG:26/33 Delay:178 Acc+5/Atk+18 when TP <100% style="font-size:130%;">SA and TA's respective impacts on WS.
The formula for a SA(TA) WS's first SA(TA)-enhanced hit is;
[(D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + DEX (+ AGI)] * Pdif
What does this mean? Adding one to D, fSTR or WSC increases damage by (fTP * Pdif) and adding one to DEX or AGI, ignoring WSC benefits, increases damage by (Pdif). Does that then mean SA/TA isn't as strong as you'd expect? Yes, in some ways. Relative impact on each WS compared to D, fSTR and WSC varies though.
Let's consider fTP modifiers of the first, modified hit.
Dancing Edge: 1.1875
Shark Bite: 2.0 / 2.5 / 3.0
Evisceration: 1.0
Mandalic Stab: 2.0 / 2.125 / 2.5
Mercy Stroke: 3.0
Normally, 4str = 1d = 1dex/agi for normal hits, right? (4str being very slightly better there). Well that's not necessarily true in this case. Let's look at Shark Bite at 100% TP vs Evisceration. 2.0 fTP vs 1.0 fTP. D, fSTR and WSC damage benefits from fTP and Pdif, whereas SA/TA additional damage benefits from Pdif only. Therefore; D, fSTR and WSC are TWICE as effective as increasing damage on this first hit on Shark Bite comparatively! 2.5x as effective at 200% TP, 3x as effective at 300% TP etc.
Increase in damage by D, fSTR, WSC = (fTP * Pdif)
Increase in damage by DEX/AGI bonus = (Pdif)
If fTP = 2 in Shark Bite;
Increase in damage by D, fSTR, WSC = (2 * Pdif) = 2Pdif
Increase in damage by DEX/AGI bonus = Pdif
If fTP = 1 in Evisceration;
Increase in damage by D, fSTR, WSC = (1 * Pdif) = Pdif
Increase in damage by DEX/AGI bonus = Pdif
So increasing damage by D, fSTR and WSC in Shark Bite on the first hit is 2x as effective as on Evisceration, if you can see what I mean.
What does this mean?
It has a few implications.
- Do not sacrifice too much to boost AGI in a TAWS because you will do better boosting fSTR or WSC, especially since the AGI bonus only applies to the first hit in a multihitter!
- If you look at that with Mercy Stroke, with fTP 3, where it will be 3x as effective adding fSTR and WSC (and D but this is constant), with a 60% STR mod -- you can see very clearly why STR is superior to everything for that WS.
- The lower the fTP on the WSC, the more that SA/TA bonus damage affects overall damage with emphasis on the damage on the first hit relatively speaking.
If you've read this far, you're a Thief. You're used to having to make intelligent decisions. Read this information carefully and use it relevantly. Thief is a complicated job and SA and TA mechanics are no exception. Whether this information helps you or not, thanks for reading~
Monday, 24 November 2008
I'm not dead!
Just horribly busy.
So much stuff both ingame and real life to do at the moment that I haven't got around to making a new blog post. It'll come soon. Sorry for the readers who don't care about THF but it'll be fairly THF-heavy again. Not too bad though. Coming soon!
=== WATCH THIS SPACE ===
So much stuff both ingame and real life to do at the moment that I haven't got around to making a new blog post. It'll come soon. Sorry for the readers who don't care about THF but it'll be fairly THF-heavy again. Not too bad though. Coming soon!
=== WATCH THIS SPACE ===
Monday, 20 October 2008
Thief's Evolution
Just making a quick post since I've posted enough text for one week. THF has jumped forward a GREAT deal this week...
This lootpool must be symbolic in some way. It was the last Omega lootpool I ever saw in Cetra ... signifying the end of that era, but also the beginning of another. Why? Read on...
Wish is a fun LS to be in because everything is much more lowman than what I'm used to in Cetra and from a lootwhoring perspective, it uses a points system and so is very fair in that you WILL get a return on your hard work.
By some miracle... my points were high enough to lot the body!!
It's like a dream come true to be honest, never thought I'd get that dream body... so insanely good for THF and I'm debating TPing in it on mobs I have no trouble hitting for damage (since triple attack +2.5% should outdo the str and atk thing in a TP build sense over time)... however, info on BG contradicts 2.5% TA and says it may only be 1% TA, though people aren't sure yet. I'd like to see some conclusive proof.
Seku, Shanian and me from Wish there in order. Congrats on your err Homam Heads guys! I would've brought mine along for 4/5 Homam but Bahamut's Mask looks better and is actually useful. SO! Yeah.
The second part of the THF upgrade involves perseverance and an annoying bird.
4-boxed kill, I was controlling everyone involved at that time so it was a VERY rough fight. Also notice my fail lot. Before I get people wishing me to die etc, that puts me at 1/33 so I'm hardly that lucky with it! So happy... Thief is getting so pimped. Now if only X's Knife would drop, hint hint!
Trotter Boots: most appreciative thanks to Miah (as always), Jexen, Tenbroya, Sakurawr, Muramasamune, Cipura, Klown, Bautier, Bigjon, Nemises, Ginge and Rienea who all helped for certain kills along the road. I appreciate it, guys! If I've missed anyone poke me ingame or something and I'll add your name here too!
Oh, and if you read this blog and/or can somehow tolerate me writing too much, gimme some comments! I always like to hear input and that. I realise nobody will read my huge Thief rant last post but still! It feels good to write it down.
Oh, and for the record, Homam Corazza is as freaking amazing as hoped.
Laters~
Raen Ryong
This lootpool must be symbolic in some way. It was the last Omega lootpool I ever saw in Cetra ... signifying the end of that era, but also the beginning of another. Why? Read on...
Wish is a fun LS to be in because everything is much more lowman than what I'm used to in Cetra and from a lootwhoring perspective, it uses a points system and so is very fair in that you WILL get a return on your hard work.By some miracle... my points were high enough to lot the body!!
It's like a dream come true to be honest, never thought I'd get that dream body... so insanely good for THF and I'm debating TPing in it on mobs I have no trouble hitting for damage (since triple attack +2.5% should outdo the str and atk thing in a TP build sense over time)... however, info on BG contradicts 2.5% TA and says it may only be 1% TA, though people aren't sure yet. I'd like to see some conclusive proof.
Seku, Shanian and me from Wish there in order. Congrats on your err Homam Heads guys! I would've brought mine along for 4/5 Homam but Bahamut's Mask looks better and is actually useful. SO! Yeah.The second part of the THF upgrade involves perseverance and an annoying bird.
4-boxed kill, I was controlling everyone involved at that time so it was a VERY rough fight. Also notice my fail lot. Before I get people wishing me to die etc, that puts me at 1/33 so I'm hardly that lucky with it! So happy... Thief is getting so pimped. Now if only X's Knife would drop, hint hint!Trotter Boots: most appreciative thanks to Miah (as always), Jexen, Tenbroya, Sakurawr, Muramasamune, Cipura, Klown, Bautier, Bigjon, Nemises, Ginge and Rienea who all helped for certain kills along the road. I appreciate it, guys! If I've missed anyone poke me ingame or something and I'll add your name here too!
Oh, and if you read this blog and/or can somehow tolerate me writing too much, gimme some comments! I always like to hear input and that. I realise nobody will read my huge Thief rant last post but still! It feels good to write it down.
Oh, and for the record, Homam Corazza is as freaking amazing as hoped.
Laters~
Raen Ryong
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Eternity's End
I haven't updated in awhile but that's because I don't do much in the way of fillers! Today the blog will be victim to me ranting about many different things, not only restricted to FF.
However I did forget to take that many screenshots so there will be a lot of text this time around. My apologies~
First of all, I've been burning to write something comprehensive about THF for a while now, since there are so many misconceptions about the job going around. So here goes.
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The Thief Codex
Okay, first of all I have conducted testing on the Sneak Attack and Trick Attack damage formulae since they are so important to Thief as a job and understanding them is crucial. The following is what I have deduced;
SoloSA: (D + fSTR + DEX) * (critical) Pdif
SoloTA: (D + fSTR + AGI) * (critical) Pdif
SoloSATA: (D + fSTR + DEX + AGI) * (critical) Pdif
SAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} * {(critical)} Pdif
TAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif
SATAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif
Key:
D = Base DMG on weapon
fSTR = STR-VIT function
Pdif = ATK/DEF function
fTP = TP modifier of that hit
DEX = Total DEX
AGI = Total AGI
{} = First hit only
The issue with ffwiki's formulae has been resolved; they were correct as are mine, just written differently.
From my formulae, you are able to deduce that
During Sneak Attack or Trick Attack, 1 DEX or AGI = 1 fSTR = 1 weapon D. It follows that 1 fSTR = 4 STR for melee hits in most cases, so;
1 DEX = 4 STR = 1 DMG.
(note that 4STR is in fact slightly better than 1dex/1d because you also add 2atk -- minor, but it's there).
Further testing shows that each point of dex/agi is worth "pdif" and each point of d/fstr/wsc is worth "pdif * ftp", meaning the bonus is weaker than d/fstr/wsc on its own -- but remember that dex also gives wsc; agi does not. See "Dagger in the Dark" for more information.
Attack is also not as valuable as it would otherwise be during soloSA/soloTA/soloSATA because you are criticalling it anyway, which reduces the impact of adding further attack. During multihit WSs, Attack still helps subsequent hits a great deal so it becomes a balancing act of sorts.
Tests were performed on THF/SAM onehanding a Sirocco Kukri and using the weaponskill Wasp Sting (previously tested -- it indeed has 1.0 fTP and no WSC). Test mob was Savanna Rarab in West Sarutabaruta.
Basically, to sum up:
What type of DD is THF?
Thief is largely melee DoT-based on anything without a huge amount of defence, otherwise you are largely spike-based (by virtue of SA/TA and WS). In THF's early levels, it is mainly spike based for this reason but as soon as your attack and haste become decent, your melee DoT really pick up.
For stacking WSs (ie SAWS TAWS etc)... the lower your attack is compared to your opponent's defence and the difference between your levels, the more stacking it helps. Basically, the more buffed you are relatively, the less useful stacking becomes in terms of overall damage, and vice versa. Stacking is ALWAYS stronger of course, but in areas you are largely buffed, it is often more beneficial to do soloSA, soloTA and bareWS for more overall damage. All very situational! Think intelligently -- as you have to do on THF.
Shark Bite vs Dancing Edge is largely the same issue. If your acc/atk is reliable, go Dancing Edge. If not, Shark Bite. This is looking at it purely from a damage point of view of course, skillchain properties aside.
Meat vs sushi is a similar issue; Meat will almost always outdamage sushi as long as you can maintain respectable accuracy (usually using an accuracy body over Rapparee Harness etc). The Thief Paradox on gods and high level mobs is thus;
Thief is a low accuracy DD, and so needs sushi to hit. However, you need meat to damage respectably.
How to solve this paradox? I just stack accuracy and build for meat, and end up parsing very respectably (see a recent Proto-Ultima where I parsed above all of the other DDs and BLMs, using an acc/slight haste build + meat). This becomes a LOT more possible with Homam of course, and I have 2/4 useful Homam (Feet/Legs as of this moment)... Body would be a HUGE upgrade for this kind of thing, obviously.
Since you are largely DoT based, you want to emphasise this in your build. Ie, don't use Daggers like Stylet/Garuda's Dagger which only emphasise damage during WS or once every 50s-1min in the case of SA/TA. Focus on the DoT inbetween. Low delay IS important but I see so many Thiefs using trash daggers like Hornetneedle at 75 just because they have low delay. It is the delay/damage ratio that is most important! Sirocco Kukri and Blau Dolch are exceptionally strong in this respect, as is Mandau obviously. The only other obvious amazing endgame Dagger for THF is the X's Knife... an incredibly rare (0/4 at the moment and not expecting one until the /50 mark) and incredibly powerful dagger. It increases the power of criticals, including those forced by SA and TA and it has a high base D. I shouldn't have to tell you why this is so broken for THF. Shame it's so damn rare!
Mandau/X's Knife > Mandau/Blau Dolch > X's Knife/Blau Dolch > Blau Dolch/Sirocco Kukri > Else in my opinion.
Thief myths and the essential Thief problems
Myth #1
Starting with the myths. Haste is an incredibly good stat, but it is not incredibly good to the exclusion of all other stats, especially on Thief -- low accuracy (a problem covered later in this section)! A lot of Thiefs use a certain body piece thinking it will always trump accuracy. It won't.
Let's examine the prime symbol of this myth, the RAPPAREE HARNESS.
DEF:32 Racc+2 Haste+4%
0 Accuracy. On a low accuracy DD. Not so good. As accuracy is low, adding more accuracy is comparatively better than adding it at high accuracy. There are five situations Rapparee Harness is better than a 10acc+ body;
Myth #2
Another myth, and a very prevailant one. "Thief is not a DD". Not true at all -- it requires a lot more intelligence and initiative than most DDs and requires you to be far more adaptable, but it is very powerful when played properly. Of course it's not going to be amazing in every possible situation, but what DD is?
Thief has low accuracy and low attack and low base DMG and low STR. This means you must REALLY know what you are doing and not be lazy to make it work. Since this is not achievable without a huge amount of effort, most Thiefs do fail to damage. If you are a dedicated THF, you WILL do damage. A large fear of mine when I started this job was that it would be as second-rate as people say, but it simply isn't.
That means using a Fire Bomblet > Bomb Core for when you are not having to use bolts and having both SA and TA sets! Thief uses a lot of inventory space and requires a lot of micromanagement; deal with it! If this doesn't sound appealing to you, then Thief is not the job for you!
Myth #3
"Thief can only eat sushi". Not true, it just requires a lot of effort on the user to build for a meat build. On things like Kirin/Jailer of Love etc I can see it being ridiculously difficult to eat meat. This would come under the type of fights where Thief isn't very good, I guess. Still working on that.
Myth #4
"Don't give a Thief Haste, it'll mess up his SA and TA timing". I had to contend with this so many times when levelling. Learn to time your SA or TA. Activate your macro the second you've started the previous attack round (despite the attacks not happening simultaneously on your screen, they're processed simultaneously on the server so after you've seen the first hit the others won't take the SA or TA). Learn to time it.
Problem #1
Low accuracy, low attack, low DMG, low STR. Due to this as well as the pivotal role of DEX and AGI in dealing damage during SA and TA related things, Thief is VERY sensitive to gear choices. Think VERY carefully about what gear you are choosing for any situation; that AGI may be enhancing that first hit of your Dancing Edges wonderfully during TAWS, but what about the others? Is it better using War Brais +1 for 5AGI for the first hit or Dusk Trousers for +14atk over the rest? This is all situational but THINK about it and make different builds for different situations. Thief is far too sensitive not to do so. This leads on to problem #2...
Problem #2
Thief gear experiences a huge gulf. Let's examine good TP pieces for instance.
Body: Homam Corazza >> Enkidu Harness > Skadi's Cuirie > Pahluwan Body > Antares Harness = Scorpion Harness +1 > Scorpion Harness... and Rapparee Harness in there situationally.
Hands: Homam Manopolas ~= Dusk Gloves +1 (on Thief the accuracy on Homam Manopolas can equate with Dusk Gloves +1 for overall DD potential) > Enkidu's Mittens =~ Dusk Gloves...
Legs: Homam Cosciales > ... getting the point yet?
All of the top tier stuff is rare/ex, hard to get, expensive etc. And this is only looking at TP build! Check out all of that Hecatomb in WS build... then look at the next best alternatives. Yeah, not pretty. Thief requires prohibitively expensive and/or hard to obtain gear, and this gear is MILES above the alternatives. Heck, look at your top daggers.
Mandau: Relic
X's Knife: Insanely rare and hard to get
Blau Dolch: Very costly
Sirocco Kukri: Depending on your playtime etc, can be very hard to get
Thief has a very hard time with gear with little feasible alternatives. This is quite the problem. Get used to dealing with it, but look forward that due to Thief's gear sensitivity, getting these pieces will lead to a dramatic increase in damage potential!
Problem #3
Otherwise known as Dancing Edge. Multihits become exponentially stronger with acc/atk, more hits = more of an exponential increase. So let's give Thief, very low acc/atk, a 5(6 when Dual Wielding) hit WS. Yeah, it's a problem. This is why bodies like Hecatomb Harness are -generally- superior to Dragon Harness... despite the fact Dragon Harness will do a lot more a lot of the time, you NEED that accuracy on this WS. No way around it. It's good to have a separate WS macro for during Feint/low eva mobs though!
To summarise, Thief is a very powerful and fun DD, but also a very challenging one to play. It will take a lot of effort, intelligence, and micromanagement to bring out the best of this DD. Good luck!
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In other FF-related news...
After 14 months, I am no longer with CetraSanctuary LS. More accurately, I was kicked after a dispute with one of the sackholders (you can guess which). It is a testimony to the favouritism within the LS that one member who shall remain unnamed MPK'd the LS once during Dynamis-Xarcabard (Diaga on slept mobs for fun) and received a slap on the wrist whereas I received a full kick for a dispute with a sackholder. At any rate, it turns out the drops I thought were not counting against me were and the attendance records they kept of me was much lower than I had recorded, so my future was limited anyway.
Bitterness aside, I am very thankful to CetraSanctuary for the drops I did receive and regret it had to end this way. But meh, new starts. I am now in Wish LS and have already finished my Valor Paladin
AF2 set!!
Better screenshot coming when I can be bothered! Sexy anyway, I know.
Wish does things with a lot less members than I am used to, though this is not a bad thing at all! The group is more focussed due to less people and events like dynamis are more entertaining when you feel like you are contributing rather than monsters dying the second they are targetted.
I've also been levelling mage jobs recently! Yes, me as a mage. Who would've thought it? My BLM sucks but I'm okay with WHM and RDM I think! Except I forgot I didn't have Silena in Qufim against worms which was kinda embarrassing.
Getting there! And yes I know I need /rdm for my PLD really.. working on it!
Look at that hardcore white mage warcry. Feet are now Garrison Boots for the record, just were none up!
So what else has been happening. Oh yeah, Nyzul Isle; my static which I lead has hit a few problems with conflicting times and so we are being forced to do a lot less than usual. Still got to floor 40 this weekend though, with the following results;
My sister the Sakurawr wanted Askar Dirs sadly, though I got a nice new situational legpiece (isn't everything?) for THF! Tenbroya got a Radiant Lance for his level ... 30ish? Maybe? DRG. Not even a 75 job yet either, but he performed quite well as 60RDM~
Also have been focussing on my NPC a lot lately, level 61 now and nearly 62! Love my Sahyu despite her lack of an MP pool. Did the Vassago LB fight recently...
Something messed up the image quality there, but whatever. Redhead Mithra (so hot), sword/shield, Soothing Healer, heavy armour look. The fight itself was quite easy as a level sync'd 50thf/nin; only got hit by attacks which bypassed shadows.
Rushed out to Kreutzet after maintenance to assist an LS member...
Grats to Amrik on your new dagger~ hellish NM but a great drop.
Finally did the COR AF3 fight with THF/NIN THF/NIN BRD/WHM as the setup, Requiem of Sin style. Get one THF to kite around the big deck on your left (around the stairs) while you pull the other and kill. Very easy win.
It's actually snowing there but you can't really see it Pretty dramatic. Realised afterwords how much cooler that would be if I had turned the names off!
Other than that, nothing too exciting. Sorry about not so many screenshots this week, I'll try to take more. Gonna try my luck with Simurgh... Trotter's please!!
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Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
Been playing the Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion, Mask of the Betrayer recently and I finally understand the game mechanics and battle engine (impressive I know)! It actually had a really good storyline unlike the pre-expansion campaign which I did not like so much... time to finish that original campaign now. Basically... and spoilers ahead so be warned.
When you die, if you are atheist, ie one of the "Faithless", your soul becomes imprisoned within the Wall of the Faithless until it is eventually consumed and becomes nothingness. Akachi, a high priest of sorts serving Myrkul, God of the Dead at that time. However, when his lover died, he was aghast, knowing her faith as an atheist. He pleaded with his God but Myrkul refused to make an exception for her. So he cast off his faith and gathered an army consisting of undead, celestials, dragons and other races, and led an assault on the City of Judgment to save his lover's soul... hence how he came to be known as the "Betrayer". He successfully freed her soul but his crusade was lost and he was imprisoned within the City of Judgment and tortured horribly, until all that remained was a spirit hunger, a spirit desire...
... a spirit hunger that becomes imprisoned within your character at the start of the campaign, which you can either choose to feed or suppress, giving you different powers either way. I suppressed it and fought against it, and gained incredibly powerful healing abilities as a result. You have to actually feed it to stop yourself from dying though. Eventually, it turns out that the one who basically exposed you to the spirit eater contagion was the incarnation of Akachi's past lover, seeking you to lead a second crusade against the City of Judgment and free his soul...
The climax of the game has you leading said crusade into the City of Judgment, into the Bascilia of Lost Hope and Eternity's End, the real name of the City... and finishing at the Wall of the Faithless and in your own soul. The final battle is against all that remains of Akachi's hunger and its different aspects (appearing as different opponents periodically throughout the battle), Remorseless Instinct, Infinite Despair, Unrelenting Fury and Insatiable Hunger. After defeating him, you can choose to destroy him or reform the Mask of the Betrayer (you are his Mask basically -- a Mask for the hunger that lies within and should eventually consume you) and so finally end the curse and set things right... however this "good" ending is rather bittersweet because it is noted that Akachi and his love are doomed never to see each other again. This crusade was to be their last act of love~ bittersweet.
Great game though.
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Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Also been playing another game recently which is quite old, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. I used to play it so much with one of my good friends, though we've drifted apart much to my dismay though he doesn't seem to care at all. Looking back at some of the dates of the saved games of the matches we played against/with each other (it's a TBS -- turn-based strategy), it stretches back as far as 2003~2005. Scary stuff... really scary.
But yeah, I've digressed enough about stuff most people won't even care about, especially given the notable absence of pictures! The title of this weeks blog entry could mean many different things, decide for yourself!
Laters~
Raen Ryong~
However I did forget to take that many screenshots so there will be a lot of text this time around. My apologies~
First of all, I've been burning to write something comprehensive about THF for a while now, since there are so many misconceptions about the job going around. So here goes.
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The Thief Codex
Okay, first of all I have conducted testing on the Sneak Attack and Trick Attack damage formulae since they are so important to Thief as a job and understanding them is crucial. The following is what I have deduced;
SoloSA: (D + fSTR + DEX) * (critical) Pdif
SoloTA: (D + fSTR + AGI) * (critical) Pdif
SoloSATA: (D + fSTR + DEX + AGI) * (critical) Pdif
SAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} * {(critical)} Pdif
TAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif
SATAWS: (D + fSTR + WSC) * fTP + {DEX} + {AGI} * {(critical)} Pdif
Key:
D = Base DMG on weapon
fSTR = STR-VIT function
Pdif = ATK/DEF function
fTP = TP modifier of that hit
DEX = Total DEX
AGI = Total AGI
{} = First hit only
The issue with ffwiki's formulae has been resolved; they were correct as are mine, just written differently.
From my formulae, you are able to deduce that
During Sneak Attack or Trick Attack, 1 DEX or AGI = 1 fSTR = 1 weapon D. It follows that 1 fSTR = 4 STR for melee hits in most cases, so;
1 DEX = 4 STR = 1 DMG.
(note that 4STR is in fact slightly better than 1dex/1d because you also add 2atk -- minor, but it's there).
Further testing shows that each point of dex/agi is worth "pdif" and each point of d/fstr/wsc is worth "pdif * ftp", meaning the bonus is weaker than d/fstr/wsc on its own -- but remember that dex also gives wsc; agi does not. See "Dagger in the Dark" for more information.
Attack is also not as valuable as it would otherwise be during soloSA/soloTA/soloSATA because you are criticalling it anyway, which reduces the impact of adding further attack. During multihit WSs, Attack still helps subsequent hits a great deal so it becomes a balancing act of sorts.
Tests were performed on THF/SAM onehanding a Sirocco Kukri and using the weaponskill Wasp Sting (previously tested -- it indeed has 1.0 fTP and no WSC). Test mob was Savanna Rarab in West Sarutabaruta.
Basically, to sum up:
- 1 DEX or AGI on Sneak Attack/Trick Attack ~= 4 STR ~= 1 DMG.
- 1 DEX = 1 AGI for soloSATA potency.
- On SATAWS and TAWS, 1 AGI does add a great deal of damage but only to the first hit. DEX increases the WSC as well.
- Attack does not help soloSA, soloTA or soloSATA a great deal but is still useful in Dancing Edge.
- Wiki's formulae are WRONG, very clearly and easily seen in tests (damage using theirs would be ~300 lower than it was -- VERY clear)
What type of DD is THF?
Thief is largely melee DoT-based on anything without a huge amount of defence, otherwise you are largely spike-based (by virtue of SA/TA and WS). In THF's early levels, it is mainly spike based for this reason but as soon as your attack and haste become decent, your melee DoT really pick up.
For stacking WSs (ie SAWS TAWS etc)... the lower your attack is compared to your opponent's defence and the difference between your levels, the more stacking it helps. Basically, the more buffed you are relatively, the less useful stacking becomes in terms of overall damage, and vice versa. Stacking is ALWAYS stronger of course, but in areas you are largely buffed, it is often more beneficial to do soloSA, soloTA and bareWS for more overall damage. All very situational! Think intelligently -- as you have to do on THF.
Shark Bite vs Dancing Edge is largely the same issue. If your acc/atk is reliable, go Dancing Edge. If not, Shark Bite. This is looking at it purely from a damage point of view of course, skillchain properties aside.
Meat vs sushi is a similar issue; Meat will almost always outdamage sushi as long as you can maintain respectable accuracy (usually using an accuracy body over Rapparee Harness etc). The Thief Paradox on gods and high level mobs is thus;
Thief is a low accuracy DD, and so needs sushi to hit. However, you need meat to damage respectably.
How to solve this paradox? I just stack accuracy and build for meat, and end up parsing very respectably (see a recent Proto-Ultima where I parsed above all of the other DDs and BLMs, using an acc/slight haste build + meat). This becomes a LOT more possible with Homam of course, and I have 2/4 useful Homam (Feet/Legs as of this moment)... Body would be a HUGE upgrade for this kind of thing, obviously.
Since you are largely DoT based, you want to emphasise this in your build. Ie, don't use Daggers like Stylet/Garuda's Dagger which only emphasise damage during WS or once every 50s-1min in the case of SA/TA. Focus on the DoT inbetween. Low delay IS important but I see so many Thiefs using trash daggers like Hornetneedle at 75 just because they have low delay. It is the delay/damage ratio that is most important! Sirocco Kukri and Blau Dolch are exceptionally strong in this respect, as is Mandau obviously. The only other obvious amazing endgame Dagger for THF is the X's Knife... an incredibly rare (0/4 at the moment and not expecting one until the /50 mark) and incredibly powerful dagger. It increases the power of criticals, including those forced by SA and TA and it has a high base D. I shouldn't have to tell you why this is so broken for THF. Shame it's so damn rare!
Mandau/X's Knife > Mandau/Blau Dolch > X's Knife/Blau Dolch > Blau Dolch/Sirocco Kukri > Else in my opinion.
Thief myths and the essential Thief problems
Myth #1
Starting with the myths. Haste is an incredibly good stat, but it is not incredibly good to the exclusion of all other stats, especially on Thief -- low accuracy (a problem covered later in this section)! A lot of Thiefs use a certain body piece thinking it will always trump accuracy. It won't.
Let's examine the prime symbol of this myth, the RAPPAREE HARNESS.
DEF:32 Racc+2 Haste+4%
0 Accuracy. On a low accuracy DD. Not so good. As accuracy is low, adding more accuracy is comparatively better than adding it at high accuracy. There are five situations Rapparee Harness is better than a 10acc+ body;
- During Feint
- Using sushi in most scenarios
- When accuracy is otherwise capped or near to
- When haste values are VERY high and accuracy is still sufficient (~40%+ in meripos with ~85%+ accuracy otherwise)
- When recasting Utsusemi solo (less recast time)
Myth #2
Another myth, and a very prevailant one. "Thief is not a DD". Not true at all -- it requires a lot more intelligence and initiative than most DDs and requires you to be far more adaptable, but it is very powerful when played properly. Of course it's not going to be amazing in every possible situation, but what DD is?
Thief has low accuracy and low attack and low base DMG and low STR. This means you must REALLY know what you are doing and not be lazy to make it work. Since this is not achievable without a huge amount of effort, most Thiefs do fail to damage. If you are a dedicated THF, you WILL do damage. A large fear of mine when I started this job was that it would be as second-rate as people say, but it simply isn't.
That means using a Fire Bomblet > Bomb Core for when you are not having to use bolts and having both SA and TA sets! Thief uses a lot of inventory space and requires a lot of micromanagement; deal with it! If this doesn't sound appealing to you, then Thief is not the job for you!
Myth #3
"Thief can only eat sushi". Not true, it just requires a lot of effort on the user to build for a meat build. On things like Kirin/Jailer of Love etc I can see it being ridiculously difficult to eat meat. This would come under the type of fights where Thief isn't very good, I guess. Still working on that.
Myth #4
"Don't give a Thief Haste, it'll mess up his SA and TA timing". I had to contend with this so many times when levelling. Learn to time your SA or TA. Activate your macro the second you've started the previous attack round (despite the attacks not happening simultaneously on your screen, they're processed simultaneously on the server so after you've seen the first hit the others won't take the SA or TA). Learn to time it.
Problem #1
Low accuracy, low attack, low DMG, low STR. Due to this as well as the pivotal role of DEX and AGI in dealing damage during SA and TA related things, Thief is VERY sensitive to gear choices. Think VERY carefully about what gear you are choosing for any situation; that AGI may be enhancing that first hit of your Dancing Edges wonderfully during TAWS, but what about the others? Is it better using War Brais +1 for 5AGI for the first hit or Dusk Trousers for +14atk over the rest? This is all situational but THINK about it and make different builds for different situations. Thief is far too sensitive not to do so. This leads on to problem #2...
Problem #2
Thief gear experiences a huge gulf. Let's examine good TP pieces for instance.
Body: Homam Corazza >> Enkidu Harness > Skadi's Cuirie > Pahluwan Body > Antares Harness = Scorpion Harness +1 > Scorpion Harness... and Rapparee Harness in there situationally.
Hands: Homam Manopolas ~= Dusk Gloves +1 (on Thief the accuracy on Homam Manopolas can equate with Dusk Gloves +1 for overall DD potential) > Enkidu's Mittens =~ Dusk Gloves...
Legs: Homam Cosciales > ... getting the point yet?
All of the top tier stuff is rare/ex, hard to get, expensive etc. And this is only looking at TP build! Check out all of that Hecatomb in WS build... then look at the next best alternatives. Yeah, not pretty. Thief requires prohibitively expensive and/or hard to obtain gear, and this gear is MILES above the alternatives. Heck, look at your top daggers.
Mandau: Relic
X's Knife: Insanely rare and hard to get
Blau Dolch: Very costly
Sirocco Kukri: Depending on your playtime etc, can be very hard to get
Thief has a very hard time with gear with little feasible alternatives. This is quite the problem. Get used to dealing with it, but look forward that due to Thief's gear sensitivity, getting these pieces will lead to a dramatic increase in damage potential!
Problem #3
Otherwise known as Dancing Edge. Multihits become exponentially stronger with acc/atk, more hits = more of an exponential increase. So let's give Thief, very low acc/atk, a 5(6 when Dual Wielding) hit WS. Yeah, it's a problem. This is why bodies like Hecatomb Harness are -generally- superior to Dragon Harness... despite the fact Dragon Harness will do a lot more a lot of the time, you NEED that accuracy on this WS. No way around it. It's good to have a separate WS macro for during Feint/low eva mobs though!
To summarise, Thief is a very powerful and fun DD, but also a very challenging one to play. It will take a lot of effort, intelligence, and micromanagement to bring out the best of this DD. Good luck!
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In other FF-related news...
After 14 months, I am no longer with CetraSanctuary LS. More accurately, I was kicked after a dispute with one of the sackholders (you can guess which). It is a testimony to the favouritism within the LS that one member who shall remain unnamed MPK'd the LS once during Dynamis-Xarcabard (Diaga on slept mobs for fun) and received a slap on the wrist whereas I received a full kick for a dispute with a sackholder. At any rate, it turns out the drops I thought were not counting against me were and the attendance records they kept of me was much lower than I had recorded, so my future was limited anyway.
Bitterness aside, I am very thankful to CetraSanctuary for the drops I did receive and regret it had to end this way. But meh, new starts. I am now in Wish LS and have already finished my Valor Paladin
AF2 set!!
Better screenshot coming when I can be bothered! Sexy anyway, I know.
Wish does things with a lot less members than I am used to, though this is not a bad thing at all! The group is more focussed due to less people and events like dynamis are more entertaining when you feel like you are contributing rather than monsters dying the second they are targetted.
I've also been levelling mage jobs recently! Yes, me as a mage. Who would've thought it? My BLM sucks but I'm okay with WHM and RDM I think! Except I forgot I didn't have Silena in Qufim against worms which was kinda embarrassing.
Getting there! And yes I know I need /rdm for my PLD really.. working on it!
Look at that hardcore white mage warcry. Feet are now Garrison Boots for the record, just were none up!So what else has been happening. Oh yeah, Nyzul Isle; my static which I lead has hit a few problems with conflicting times and so we are being forced to do a lot less than usual. Still got to floor 40 this weekend though, with the following results;
My sister the Sakurawr wanted Askar Dirs sadly, though I got a nice new situational legpiece (isn't everything?) for THF! Tenbroya got a Radiant Lance for his level ... 30ish? Maybe? DRG. Not even a 75 job yet either, but he performed quite well as 60RDM~Also have been focussing on my NPC a lot lately, level 61 now and nearly 62! Love my Sahyu despite her lack of an MP pool. Did the Vassago LB fight recently...
Something messed up the image quality there, but whatever. Redhead Mithra (so hot), sword/shield, Soothing Healer, heavy armour look. The fight itself was quite easy as a level sync'd 50thf/nin; only got hit by attacks which bypassed shadows.Rushed out to Kreutzet after maintenance to assist an LS member...
Grats to Amrik on your new dagger~ hellish NM but a great drop.
Finally did the COR AF3 fight with THF/NIN THF/NIN BRD/WHM as the setup, Requiem of Sin style. Get one THF to kite around the big deck on your left (around the stairs) while you pull the other and kill. Very easy win.
It's actually snowing there but you can't really see it Pretty dramatic. Realised afterwords how much cooler that would be if I had turned the names off!
Other than that, nothing too exciting. Sorry about not so many screenshots this week, I'll try to take more. Gonna try my luck with Simurgh... Trotter's please!!
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Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
Been playing the Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion, Mask of the Betrayer recently and I finally understand the game mechanics and battle engine (impressive I know)! It actually had a really good storyline unlike the pre-expansion campaign which I did not like so much... time to finish that original campaign now. Basically... and spoilers ahead so be warned.
When you die, if you are atheist, ie one of the "Faithless", your soul becomes imprisoned within the Wall of the Faithless until it is eventually consumed and becomes nothingness. Akachi, a high priest of sorts serving Myrkul, God of the Dead at that time. However, when his lover died, he was aghast, knowing her faith as an atheist. He pleaded with his God but Myrkul refused to make an exception for her. So he cast off his faith and gathered an army consisting of undead, celestials, dragons and other races, and led an assault on the City of Judgment to save his lover's soul... hence how he came to be known as the "Betrayer". He successfully freed her soul but his crusade was lost and he was imprisoned within the City of Judgment and tortured horribly, until all that remained was a spirit hunger, a spirit desire...
... a spirit hunger that becomes imprisoned within your character at the start of the campaign, which you can either choose to feed or suppress, giving you different powers either way. I suppressed it and fought against it, and gained incredibly powerful healing abilities as a result. You have to actually feed it to stop yourself from dying though. Eventually, it turns out that the one who basically exposed you to the spirit eater contagion was the incarnation of Akachi's past lover, seeking you to lead a second crusade against the City of Judgment and free his soul...
The climax of the game has you leading said crusade into the City of Judgment, into the Bascilia of Lost Hope and Eternity's End, the real name of the City... and finishing at the Wall of the Faithless and in your own soul. The final battle is against all that remains of Akachi's hunger and its different aspects (appearing as different opponents periodically throughout the battle), Remorseless Instinct, Infinite Despair, Unrelenting Fury and Insatiable Hunger. After defeating him, you can choose to destroy him or reform the Mask of the Betrayer (you are his Mask basically -- a Mask for the hunger that lies within and should eventually consume you) and so finally end the curse and set things right... however this "good" ending is rather bittersweet because it is noted that Akachi and his love are doomed never to see each other again. This crusade was to be their last act of love~ bittersweet.
Great game though.
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Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Also been playing another game recently which is quite old, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. I used to play it so much with one of my good friends, though we've drifted apart much to my dismay though he doesn't seem to care at all. Looking back at some of the dates of the saved games of the matches we played against/with each other (it's a TBS -- turn-based strategy), it stretches back as far as 2003~2005. Scary stuff... really scary.
But yeah, I've digressed enough about stuff most people won't even care about, especially given the notable absence of pictures! The title of this weeks blog entry could mean many different things, decide for yourself!
Laters~
Raen Ryong~
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