Post by Ikonic on Oct 12, 2006 12:01:08 GMT -6
Since PUP is a new and rather unexplored job and very few people in the LS have experimented with it all that much I decided to try to detail my lvling for the benefit of people new to PUP.
Note: This is an incomplete list and will get updated as I can make the time.
-- Ikonic
Hints/Tips:
- Take 2-4 Hi-Potions with you when soloing. You never know when that extra 100HP could save your life.
- Au Laits are great to restore a good chunk of HP for relatively no cost. Use them when your automaton is low on MP or to help supplement its healing.
- Take reraise items with you or set your HP near where you are xping.
- Keep Strobe equipped for emergency vokes.
- Grab some Selbina Milk, Au Laits, or Juices to reduce (or even eliminate) possible downtime.
I picked up the Frames/Heads at these lvls:
10 Stormwaker Frame/Head
20 Valoredge Frame/Head
30 Sharpshot Frame/Head
lvl 1-11ish:
East Ronfaure, West Ronfaure
Harlequin Frame, Harlequin Head (only option until lvl 10 when you can get your first upgrade), /WHM
Fought everything bit by bit.
Kept Stoneskin up on automaton and had it tank and DD.
Automaton can't learn Cure until lvl 4, but most likely won't learn it for a few more lvls due to slow magic skill lvling.
lvl 11-14ish:
Ghelsba Outpost, La Theine Plateau
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM
Fought a lot of orcs and lizards and some Toadstools in Ghelsba Outpost. Once I was tired of lvling here and the xp didn't seem worth it I moved on to LTP. I fought birds, saplings, and rarabs here.
lvl 14-17ish:
La Theine Plateau, Konschtat Highlands
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM
Kept fighting the same in LTP. Eventually I wanted to try Konschtat fighting sheep to get some skins. I fought sheep, saplings, gobs (most everything really).
lvl 17-20ish:
Tahrongi Canyon
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM and /WAR
Fought mainly dhalmels and mandies, but fought whatever was around too. I was still uncertain of my puppet's ability to keep me alive and so went /WHM for part of this. After the puppet learned Cure II he was much better at keeping me healed.
lvl 21-24ish:
Buburimu Peninsula
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Fought everything around the outpost but birds as their DEF and ATT was just too great.
Rarabs and Mandies seemed to be the weakest mobs.
I used my NPC some on these mobs. Using the NPC we were able to take more DC-T mobs quicker, but also had an xp cut from having her out. I figured the safety (she's a soothing healer) and the extra DMG more than make up for the slight xp cut.
lvl 24-27:
Buburimu Peninsula
Stormwaker Body, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Flashbulb, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Shock Absorber, Mana Booster, Tension Spring, Strobe, Accelerator, Armor Plate II, Stabilizer II, Heatsink
Fought mainly Dhalmels and Crawlers from 25+; fought gobs when I had to.
Used EVA gear in every slot available, even if I could have used ATT gear instead.
Use any sort of attack food. Dhalmel Pies, Navarin, Meat Jerky. If you die a bunch try to stick with the 30min foods.
For lvls 26+ I fought mostly EP and some DC mobs. There weren't many EM and T mobs around.
I used my NPC here some as well.
lvl 27:
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Loudspeaker, Damage Gauge, Mana Converter, Mana Tank
Did some experimentation here trying to get puppet to nuke and enfeeble. I was a DD here. Also, had puppet as a DD at times, but really wanted to work on the nuking while in a pt.
lvl 28-30:
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Loudspeaker II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Flashbulb, Accelerator, Inhibitor, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate, Stabilizer, Stealth Screen, Mana Jammer II
Mainly fought Yhoater Mandragoras.
With this configuration automaton cast enfeebles and Blizzard.
lvl 31:
Yuhtunga Jungle
Harlequin Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Scope, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Mana Tank, Mana Conserver, Heatsink, Stealth Screen, Mana Jammer, Stabilizer, Armor Plate, Mana Booster, Tension Spring
I did this configuration for about a fight after I lvl'd and the pt disbanded. I wanted to experiment a little bit and see what the automaton could do. Ended up dying because even when I was under 1/2 HP the automaton would not cure me. The automaton ended up meleeing, enfeebling, and nuking with this setup. At one time it even stole hate from me and kept it a decent while and I'd pulled with voke.
lvl 31:
Yhoater Jungle
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Analyzer, Stabilizer II, Heatsink, Stealth Screen, Flashbulb
In this pt the automaton was a pure DD. I tried some with RNG frame (Sharpshot), but found that with 0 ranged skill that my puppet couldn't hit with any ranged attacks.
lvl 33:
First Offical Tank Party
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Stealth Screen, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Accelerator, Mana Booster, Inhibitor, Tension Spring
Same pt as before, but NIN DC'd so I took over as tank. I set my puppet to only cure me and melee (also to cast flash). This pt worked out quite well and end the end we had a BRD main healer (besides the puppet). The setup for most of my tanking was BLU x2, BRD, DRG, PUP, and SAM. Neither of the BLUs did any curing.
I had some difficulty with keeping hate, but since I was pulling I was able to voke pull and then voke again after getting back to camp (or within 15 seconds). I made sure that I had a light maneuver up and had my puppet attack before I voked so it could cast cure if needed or flash. By doing this the puppet was also able to attack and hit the mob on the way back to camp for some extra DMG.
lvl 33-34:
First Party After 10-18-06 Update
Garlaige Citadel
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Loudspeaker, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Accelerator II, Mana Booster, Loudspeaker II
In this pt I started out as a DD and ended up as a Trick partner and DD. I felt that I didn't need a dedicated healer, but that some healing would help as well as some enfeebling. With this setup my automaton was mainly and enfeebler/nuker and backup healer. Party setup was as follows: SMN, PUP, BLM, THF, PLD, WHM.
lvl 34-36:
Garlaige Citadel
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Inhibitor, Accelerator II, Accelerator, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Armor Plate, Flashbulb, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Auto-Repair Kit II
This was the same pt as listed before. We were all around lvl 35-36 in Garlaige Citadel. I decided to see if my automaton set as pure DD would speed up the kills enough to both increase xp/hr and prevent as much downtime. It seemed to be the case since we then ran out of mobs and the PLD ended up still having a good bit of MP left at the end of the fight.
lvl 36:
Korroloka Tunnel
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, MNK74/PUP36, Ranged Skill: lvl 8
Scope, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Heat Seeker, Auto-Repair Kit II, Flashbulb, Accelerator II, Accelerator
At lvl 36 I stopped and tried to cap out my archery using the Sharpshot Frame and Head. I went MNK74/PUP36 and went to Korroloka Tunnel.
I fought pretty much everything here, but mostly stuck to bats, slimes, and spiders.
lvl 36:
Eastern Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, MNK74/PUP36, Ranged Skill: lvl 75
Same exact setup as listed above.
I fought Desert Dhalmels, Sand Beetles, and Giant Spiders. After 95 skill I fought Anticans and Sand Beetles mainly. Antican Auxiliarius worked very well to cap out skills at 106; they are at J/K-7.
lvl 36-39:
Second Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
We fought Worker Crawlers. I used a Dash Sash, evasion gear (+34), and Dorado Sushi or Rice Dumplings. There wasn't much difference between Sushi or Dumplings. The pt setup was WHM, RDM, SAM x2, THF, PUP. Without the THF there'd have been no chance of even remotely holding hate from the SAMs.
When I hit 38 one of the SAMs had to leave and we had a DRG replacement. We still fought Worker Crawlers.
lvl 39-40:
Third Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
Pt setup was: RDM, PUP x2 (one PUP/MNK), SAM, BLM, THF. We fought beetles and only had to slow down from lack of mobs.
lvl 40-41:
Fourth Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
Pt setup was: WHM, SAM, THF, DRG, PUP, COR. WHM wasn't very good and THF was a bit slow on SATA, but otherwise pt worked out fairly well. My biggest problem was keeping hate with a SAM. I often wondered if with the recent update if the SAM would have been a better tank. We fought Nest Beetles.
Maybe with a Tactical Processor I could have done better, but it seemed like I was taking quite a bit of DMG and my puppet couldn't keep up. Generally after chain #5 we'd have to stop and rest for MP. We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 41-42:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Heat Seeker, Scope, Accelerator II, Accelerator, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II, Dynamo, Flashbulb, Optical Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit
Very slow pt due to not enough DD as we ran with only 5 people (WHM, BRD, BLU, PLD, PUP). We were able to get up to chain #5, but the kills were slow. We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 42-43:
Western Altepa Desert
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Optical Fiber, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Stabilizer II, Flashbulb, Loudspeaker, Loudspeaker II, Mana Booster, Accelerator II
I toyed around with a few different combinations here, but mainly stuck with the basics to get my magic recapped. The automaton cast a lot of Bio II and Stone II (later Water II). It also liked to silence beetles and would toss a few poisons out. At one time I saw a blind even.
lvl 43-44:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Scope, Dynamo, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Auto-Repair Kit, Optical Fiber, Flashbulb, Heat Seeker, Stabilizer II
Pt config was: PUP x2, PLD, SAM, BRD, WHM. I started with Sharpshot Frame/Head and other PUP used Stormwaker. I used this config until Ranged was capped (about 2k tnl 45).
We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 44:
Quicksand Caves
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Dynamo, Heat Seeker, Stabilizer, Flashbulb, Optical Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit, Accelerator II, Accelerator
We moved to QSC and fought beetles. The pt config changed to PUP x2, NIN, BLM, WHM, BRD.
I switched to Valoredge to cap my puppet's melee skill.
lvl 44-46:
Quicksand Caves
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Pt was pretty much crap so I decided to try to get some automaton melee skill out of it.
lvl 46-49:
I mostly used xp scrolls for these lvls.
lvl 49-50:
East Ronfaure
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WHM and /MNK
Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Eraser, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit II, Shock Absorber, Replicator, Mana Booster, Hammermill, Armor Plate II
I did this solo against Ladybugs. As long as it was only one I rarely had a problem killing them and staying above 75% HP. Often when I'd have a link I'd end up dying. They were DC.
lvl 50-52:
East Ronfaure
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Replicator, Accelerator II, Patern Reader, Shock Absorber, Auto-repair Kit, Optic Fiber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Did most of these lvl in a Level Sync pt against Colibri or Ladybugs. Did do about 1/2 of lvl 52 solo against the same mobs (EP or DC). /DNC took care of any healing that I needed and allowed me to put Kintoki to full DD. I equiped the eraser to take care of attack down from the Ladybugs.
lvl 52-53:
Eastern Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Turbo Charger, Coiler, Stabilizer, Volt Gun, Optic Fiber, Auto-repair Kit, Shock Absorber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Killed EP and DC mob (goblins, manticore, dhalmels) and used FoV 5. Eraser helped to remove status effects from DRK mobs (Goblin Reaper). I didn't have much problem keeping hate at this lvl as Kintoki's skill was at least 20 lvls under cap. Used Wind, Light, and Fire maneuvers.
lvl 53-55:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Turbo Charger, Coiler, Stabilizer, Volt Gun, Optic Fiber, Auto-repair Kit, Shock Absorber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Used FoV 3 some for this stretch, but not the most often as it was a pain to get back to the book to start again. Hate was harder to keep once Kintoki acquired 150 ranged skill and started using Daze. Eraser was still very handy here to remove status effects from beetles. Mainly used Wind and Light maneuvers.
Eventually traded out Attuner for Stealth Screen and Tension Spring for Tension Spring II and even without a water maneuver Kintoki had a lot harder time pulling hate.
lvl 55-56:
Level Sync pt (21)
Qufim
Soulsoother Frame, Stormwaker Soulsoother, /DNC
Damage Gauge, Eraser, Condenser, Auto-repair kit II, Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Steam Jacket, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Turbo Charger, Mana booster, Analyzer
Started with SS config from last pt and was doing great DMG, but the pt didn't have enough healing support so downtime was nasty.
Changed to SW/SS config and had Optic Fiber instead of Condenser and ended up overloading way too often. Removing Optic Fiber allowed me to overload way less and still seemed to cure well. Kintoki did great with regens and extra cure IIs. Only real problem with this configuration was constantly losing maneuvers to erase from worm enfeebles. I mainly used Light and Dark maneuvers.
lvl 56-58:
East & West Altepa
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Did most of these lvls solo using FoV. Did get a lvl sync pt for 42 in East Altepa and used same config.
lvl 58-59:
Wajaom Woodlands
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Shock Absorber, Replicator, Turbo Charger, Mana Booster, Flame Holder, Armor Plate II, Condenser
This was a DRG x2, COR, BRD, PUP, SAM pt. There was outside healing, but I was asked to use WHM auto. I alternated Light, Dark, and Water Maneuvers to keep from overloading. Kintoki was able to do a good bit of healing this way and never ran out of MP.
lvl 62-63:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Stealth Screen, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Flame Holder, Stabilizer II, Coiler
Party setup was PLD, SAM, MNK, DNC, PUP, and SCH. I started using 2 Wind and 1 Light Maneuvers, but kept overloading. Eventually I switched to using 1 Wind and 1 Light and occasionally using 1 Earth (for Stoneskin) or 1 Thunder (for melee ACC). I rarely kept all 3 (Light, Wind, Thunder) up at the same time for long because Kintoki would pull hate way too easily and end up tanking if I did.
I used sushi in the pt and saved my WS until I could safely use them. This pt ended up parsing as such: PUP/WAR (me): 17.98%, Kintoki: 14.23, SAM/WAR: 29.43%, MNK/NIN: 20.82%, PLD/WAR: 5.68%.
lvl 63-65:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Stealth Screen, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Coiler, Stabilizer II
DRG/mage x2, RDM, PUP/WAR x2, DNC/NIN
I used Wind, Light, and Water Maneuvers to keep Kintoki's hate down as we didn't have a definite tank and anything else he'd pull hate and end up dying within 12 minutes of being called.
I did switch to WHM auto from time to time if we needed extra healing (like when a DRG died or was afk for several fights).
lvl 65-66:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Stealth Screen, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II
WAR/NIN x2, SCH, PUP/WAR, DRK/NIN, DNC/NIN
Did same camp as before. Used Wind, Light, and Thunder Maneuvers since WARs were able to hold hate better. Rarely had problems with Kintoki tanking for too long.
lvl 67-68:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (G-8)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Condenser, Auto-Repair Kit II, Optic Fiber, Stabilizer, Stealth Screen, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Heat Seeker
PUP/WAR, BLU/THF, RDM/WHM, DRG/WAR, THF/NIN, PLD/WAR
Used Wind, Light, and Thunder Maneuvers. Almost never had Kintoki pull hate. Kills were somewhat slow as I think we were a bit low-lvl for the camp.
lvl 69:
Level Sync pt (71-72)
Bhaflau Thickets (H-10)
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Accelerator II, Condenser, Stealth Screen, Mana Booster, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber
PUP/WAR, DNC/NIN, DRK/NIN, SAM/NIN, BLU/WHM
Went to Mamool Ja Staging Point and fought Sea Puks. Was going to get a 6th, but never did. Ended up using the WHM auto as we didn't have a definite tank and DMG taken was pretty high. Party worked pretty well, but didn't kill as fast as we could have.
I didn't do nearly as much DMG as normally, but I was 2-3 lvls below the rest of the pt and Kintoki was doing a lot of cures, which took away from my total DMG potential.
Used Light, Dark, and Earth Manuevers.
lvl 70:
Level Sync pt (64-65)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Stealth Screen, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Coiler, Armor Plate
MNK/WAR, PUP/WAR, PLD/WAR, WHM/SMN, DRG/RDM, RDM/WHM
Used Light, Wind, and Thunder Maneuvers.
Pretty decent kill speed and PLD was able to hold hate a lot better and with less DMG taken.
lvl 70-71:
Bhaflau Thickets (H-10)
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Hammermill, Armor Plate II, Armor Plate, Turbo Charger, Stabilizer, Auto-Repair Kit, Stealth Screen, Auto-Repair Kit II
SAM/NIN, PUP/NIN, NIN/WAR, RDM/WHM, DNC/NIN, MNK/NIN
Went to Mamool Ja Staging Point and fought Sea Puks.
I used Valoredge Head/Frame as it could take the DMG from AoEs and heal itself with WS. I don't think RNG auto would have been able to survive w/o oils. Auto had 1911 HP total. I could have probably loaded up on more ACC/ATT attachments after seeing its DMG. Plus with WS it was able to keep full or almost full HP almost the entire time. Melee skill was also at least 20 lvls under cap.
I used Wind, Thunder, and Light Maneuvers subbing in Earth for SS or Dark for cannibal blade.
lvl 72-73:
Mount Zhayolm (H-7)
Stormwaker Frame, Spiritreaver Head, /BRD
Ice Maker, Loudspeaker, Loudspeaker II, Mana Channeler, Condenser, Mana Jammer II, Optic Fiber, Economizer, Mana Conserver, Auto-Repair Kit, Accelerator II
Joined a couple LS mates to try out manaburning. Didn't do too badly, but definitely need some skill and lvls. Kintoki's T3s were doing (max) 801 with 2 Ice and 1 Water Maneuver or 917 with 3 Ice. Overall I didn't do too badly and I'm looking forward to 75, some better gear, and capped skill.
lvl 74:
Bhaflau Thickets (F-5)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Replicator, Flame Holder, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II, Coiler, Heat Seeker, Auto-Repair Kit II, Optic Fiber
74PUP/WAR, 73SAM/NIN, 75BRD/NIN, 75SAM/WAR, 75WAR/NIN, 74WHM/BLM
Fought Greater Colibri on the lower lvl.
Used mainly Light, Lightning, and Wind Maneuvers substituting in a Fire (mostly for Light) when it was time to WS. Overall DMG wasn't too bad considering my auto's ranged skill was 34+ lvls under cap. I did manage to parse (me + auto combined) better than the lvl 73 SAM.
Note: This is an incomplete list and will get updated as I can make the time.
-- Ikonic
Hints/Tips:
- Take 2-4 Hi-Potions with you when soloing. You never know when that extra 100HP could save your life.
- Au Laits are great to restore a good chunk of HP for relatively no cost. Use them when your automaton is low on MP or to help supplement its healing.
- Take reraise items with you or set your HP near where you are xping.
- Keep Strobe equipped for emergency vokes.
- Grab some Selbina Milk, Au Laits, or Juices to reduce (or even eliminate) possible downtime.
I picked up the Frames/Heads at these lvls:
10 Stormwaker Frame/Head
20 Valoredge Frame/Head
30 Sharpshot Frame/Head
lvl 1-11ish:
East Ronfaure, West Ronfaure
Harlequin Frame, Harlequin Head (only option until lvl 10 when you can get your first upgrade), /WHM
Fought everything bit by bit.
Kept Stoneskin up on automaton and had it tank and DD.
Automaton can't learn Cure until lvl 4, but most likely won't learn it for a few more lvls due to slow magic skill lvling.
lvl 11-14ish:
Ghelsba Outpost, La Theine Plateau
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM
Fought a lot of orcs and lizards and some Toadstools in Ghelsba Outpost. Once I was tired of lvling here and the xp didn't seem worth it I moved on to LTP. I fought birds, saplings, and rarabs here.
lvl 14-17ish:
La Theine Plateau, Konschtat Highlands
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM
Kept fighting the same in LTP. Eventually I wanted to try Konschtat fighting sheep to get some skins. I fought sheep, saplings, gobs (most everything really).
lvl 17-20ish:
Tahrongi Canyon
Stormwaker Frame, Harlequin Head, /WHM and /WAR
Fought mainly dhalmels and mandies, but fought whatever was around too. I was still uncertain of my puppet's ability to keep me alive and so went /WHM for part of this. After the puppet learned Cure II he was much better at keeping me healed.
lvl 21-24ish:
Buburimu Peninsula
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Fought everything around the outpost but birds as their DEF and ATT was just too great.
Rarabs and Mandies seemed to be the weakest mobs.
I used my NPC some on these mobs. Using the NPC we were able to take more DC-T mobs quicker, but also had an xp cut from having her out. I figured the safety (she's a soothing healer) and the extra DMG more than make up for the slight xp cut.
lvl 24-27:
Buburimu Peninsula
Stormwaker Body, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Flashbulb, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Shock Absorber, Mana Booster, Tension Spring, Strobe, Accelerator, Armor Plate II, Stabilizer II, Heatsink
Fought mainly Dhalmels and Crawlers from 25+; fought gobs when I had to.
Used EVA gear in every slot available, even if I could have used ATT gear instead.
Use any sort of attack food. Dhalmel Pies, Navarin, Meat Jerky. If you die a bunch try to stick with the 30min foods.
For lvls 26+ I fought mostly EP and some DC mobs. There weren't many EM and T mobs around.
I used my NPC here some as well.
lvl 27:
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Loudspeaker, Damage Gauge, Mana Converter, Mana Tank
Did some experimentation here trying to get puppet to nuke and enfeeble. I was a DD here. Also, had puppet as a DD at times, but really wanted to work on the nuking while in a pt.
lvl 28-30:
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Loudspeaker II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Flashbulb, Accelerator, Inhibitor, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate, Stabilizer, Stealth Screen, Mana Jammer II
Mainly fought Yhoater Mandragoras.
With this configuration automaton cast enfeebles and Blizzard.
lvl 31:
Yuhtunga Jungle
Harlequin Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Scope, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Mana Tank, Mana Conserver, Heatsink, Stealth Screen, Mana Jammer, Stabilizer, Armor Plate, Mana Booster, Tension Spring
I did this configuration for about a fight after I lvl'd and the pt disbanded. I wanted to experiment a little bit and see what the automaton could do. Ended up dying because even when I was under 1/2 HP the automaton would not cure me. The automaton ended up meleeing, enfeebling, and nuking with this setup. At one time it even stole hate from me and kept it a decent while and I'd pulled with voke.
lvl 31:
Yhoater Jungle
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Analyzer, Stabilizer II, Heatsink, Stealth Screen, Flashbulb
In this pt the automaton was a pure DD. I tried some with RNG frame (Sharpshot), but found that with 0 ranged skill that my puppet couldn't hit with any ranged attacks.
lvl 33:
First Offical Tank Party
Yhoater Jungle
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Stealth Screen, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Accelerator, Mana Booster, Inhibitor, Tension Spring
Same pt as before, but NIN DC'd so I took over as tank. I set my puppet to only cure me and melee (also to cast flash). This pt worked out quite well and end the end we had a BRD main healer (besides the puppet). The setup for most of my tanking was BLU x2, BRD, DRG, PUP, and SAM. Neither of the BLUs did any curing.
I had some difficulty with keeping hate, but since I was pulling I was able to voke pull and then voke again after getting back to camp (or within 15 seconds). I made sure that I had a light maneuver up and had my puppet attack before I voked so it could cast cure if needed or flash. By doing this the puppet was also able to attack and hit the mob on the way back to camp for some extra DMG.
lvl 33-34:
First Party After 10-18-06 Update
Garlaige Citadel
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Loudspeaker, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Accelerator II, Mana Booster, Loudspeaker II
In this pt I started out as a DD and ended up as a Trick partner and DD. I felt that I didn't need a dedicated healer, but that some healing would help as well as some enfeebling. With this setup my automaton was mainly and enfeebler/nuker and backup healer. Party setup was as follows: SMN, PUP, BLM, THF, PLD, WHM.
lvl 34-36:
Garlaige Citadel
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Inhibitor, Accelerator II, Accelerator, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Armor Plate, Flashbulb, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Auto-Repair Kit II
This was the same pt as listed before. We were all around lvl 35-36 in Garlaige Citadel. I decided to see if my automaton set as pure DD would speed up the kills enough to both increase xp/hr and prevent as much downtime. It seemed to be the case since we then ran out of mobs and the PLD ended up still having a good bit of MP left at the end of the fight.
lvl 36:
Korroloka Tunnel
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, MNK74/PUP36, Ranged Skill: lvl 8
Scope, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Heat Seeker, Auto-Repair Kit II, Flashbulb, Accelerator II, Accelerator
At lvl 36 I stopped and tried to cap out my archery using the Sharpshot Frame and Head. I went MNK74/PUP36 and went to Korroloka Tunnel.
I fought pretty much everything here, but mostly stuck to bats, slimes, and spiders.
lvl 36:
Eastern Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, MNK74/PUP36, Ranged Skill: lvl 75
Same exact setup as listed above.
I fought Desert Dhalmels, Sand Beetles, and Giant Spiders. After 95 skill I fought Anticans and Sand Beetles mainly. Antican Auxiliarius worked very well to cap out skills at 106; they are at J/K-7.
lvl 36-39:
Second Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
We fought Worker Crawlers. I used a Dash Sash, evasion gear (+34), and Dorado Sushi or Rice Dumplings. There wasn't much difference between Sushi or Dumplings. The pt setup was WHM, RDM, SAM x2, THF, PUP. Without the THF there'd have been no chance of even remotely holding hate from the SAMs.
When I hit 38 one of the SAMs had to leave and we had a DRG replacement. We still fought Worker Crawlers.
lvl 39-40:
Third Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
Pt setup was: RDM, PUP x2 (one PUP/MNK), SAM, BLM, THF. We fought beetles and only had to slow down from lack of mobs.
lvl 40-41:
Fourth Tank Party
Crawler's Nest
Stormwaker Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Mana Booster, Shock Absorber, Flashbulb, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit, Mana Convertor, Mana Tank, Stabilizer II, Stabilizer, Armor Plate II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II
Pt setup was: WHM, SAM, THF, DRG, PUP, COR. WHM wasn't very good and THF was a bit slow on SATA, but otherwise pt worked out fairly well. My biggest problem was keeping hate with a SAM. I often wondered if with the recent update if the SAM would have been a better tank. We fought Nest Beetles.
Maybe with a Tactical Processor I could have done better, but it seemed like I was taking quite a bit of DMG and my puppet couldn't keep up. Generally after chain #5 we'd have to stop and rest for MP. We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 41-42:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Heat Seeker, Scope, Accelerator II, Accelerator, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II, Dynamo, Flashbulb, Optical Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit
Very slow pt due to not enough DD as we ran with only 5 people (WHM, BRD, BLU, PLD, PUP). We were able to get up to chain #5, but the kills were slow. We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 42-43:
Western Altepa Desert
Stormwaker Frame, Stormwaker Head, /WAR
Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Mana Conserver, Optical Fiber, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Stabilizer II, Flashbulb, Loudspeaker, Loudspeaker II, Mana Booster, Accelerator II
I toyed around with a few different combinations here, but mainly stuck with the basics to get my magic recapped. The automaton cast a lot of Bio II and Stone II (later Water II). It also liked to silence beetles and would toss a few poisons out. At one time I saw a blind even.
lvl 43-44:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Scope, Dynamo, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Auto-Repair Kit, Optical Fiber, Flashbulb, Heat Seeker, Stabilizer II
Pt config was: PUP x2, PLD, SAM, BRD, WHM. I started with Sharpshot Frame/Head and other PUP used Stormwaker. I used this config until Ranged was capped (about 2k tnl 45).
We fought beetles on the rock.
lvl 44:
Quicksand Caves
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Dynamo, Heat Seeker, Stabilizer, Flashbulb, Optical Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit, Accelerator II, Accelerator
We moved to QSC and fought beetles. The pt config changed to PUP x2, NIN, BLM, WHM, BRD.
I switched to Valoredge to cap my puppet's melee skill.
lvl 44-46:
Quicksand Caves
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Pt was pretty much crap so I decided to try to get some automaton melee skill out of it.
lvl 46-49:
I mostly used xp scrolls for these lvls.
lvl 49-50:
East Ronfaure
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WHM and /MNK
Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Eraser, Damage Gauge, Auto-Repair Kit II, Shock Absorber, Replicator, Mana Booster, Hammermill, Armor Plate II
I did this solo against Ladybugs. As long as it was only one I rarely had a problem killing them and staying above 75% HP. Often when I'd have a link I'd end up dying. They were DC.
lvl 50-52:
East Ronfaure
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Replicator, Accelerator II, Patern Reader, Shock Absorber, Auto-repair Kit, Optic Fiber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Did most of these lvl in a Level Sync pt against Colibri or Ladybugs. Did do about 1/2 of lvl 52 solo against the same mobs (EP or DC). /DNC took care of any healing that I needed and allowed me to put Kintoki to full DD. I equiped the eraser to take care of attack down from the Ladybugs.
lvl 52-53:
Eastern Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Turbo Charger, Coiler, Stabilizer, Volt Gun, Optic Fiber, Auto-repair Kit, Shock Absorber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Killed EP and DC mob (goblins, manticore, dhalmels) and used FoV 5. Eraser helped to remove status effects from DRK mobs (Goblin Reaper). I didn't have much problem keeping hate at this lvl as Kintoki's skill was at least 20 lvls under cap. Used Wind, Light, and Fire maneuvers.
lvl 53-55:
Western Altepa Desert
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Scope, Turbo Charger, Coiler, Stabilizer, Volt Gun, Optic Fiber, Auto-repair Kit, Shock Absorber, Eraser, Tension Spring, Attuner, Flame Holder
Used FoV 3 some for this stretch, but not the most often as it was a pain to get back to the book to start again. Hate was harder to keep once Kintoki acquired 150 ranged skill and started using Daze. Eraser was still very handy here to remove status effects from beetles. Mainly used Wind and Light maneuvers.
Eventually traded out Attuner for Stealth Screen and Tension Spring for Tension Spring II and even without a water maneuver Kintoki had a lot harder time pulling hate.
lvl 55-56:
Level Sync pt (21)
Qufim
Soulsoother Frame, Stormwaker Soulsoother, /DNC
Damage Gauge, Eraser, Condenser, Auto-repair kit II, Mana Tank, Mana Converter, Steam Jacket, Shock Absorber, Armor Plate II, Turbo Charger, Mana booster, Analyzer
Started with SS config from last pt and was doing great DMG, but the pt didn't have enough healing support so downtime was nasty.
Changed to SW/SS config and had Optic Fiber instead of Condenser and ended up overloading way too often. Removing Optic Fiber allowed me to overload way less and still seemed to cure well. Kintoki did great with regens and extra cure IIs. Only real problem with this configuration was constantly losing maneuvers to erase from worm enfeebles. I mainly used Light and Dark maneuvers.
lvl 56-58:
East & West Altepa
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /DNC
Did most of these lvls solo using FoV. Did get a lvl sync pt for 42 in East Altepa and used same config.
lvl 58-59:
Wajaom Woodlands
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Shock Absorber, Replicator, Turbo Charger, Mana Booster, Flame Holder, Armor Plate II, Condenser
This was a DRG x2, COR, BRD, PUP, SAM pt. There was outside healing, but I was asked to use WHM auto. I alternated Light, Dark, and Water Maneuvers to keep from overloading. Kintoki was able to do a good bit of healing this way and never ran out of MP.
lvl 62-63:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Stealth Screen, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Flame Holder, Stabilizer II, Coiler
Party setup was PLD, SAM, MNK, DNC, PUP, and SCH. I started using 2 Wind and 1 Light Maneuvers, but kept overloading. Eventually I switched to using 1 Wind and 1 Light and occasionally using 1 Earth (for Stoneskin) or 1 Thunder (for melee ACC). I rarely kept all 3 (Light, Wind, Thunder) up at the same time for long because Kintoki would pull hate way too easily and end up tanking if I did.
I used sushi in the pt and saved my WS until I could safely use them. This pt ended up parsing as such: PUP/WAR (me): 17.98%, Kintoki: 14.23, SAM/WAR: 29.43%, MNK/NIN: 20.82%, PLD/WAR: 5.68%.
lvl 63-65:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Stealth Screen, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Coiler, Stabilizer II
DRG/mage x2, RDM, PUP/WAR x2, DNC/NIN
I used Wind, Light, and Water Maneuvers to keep Kintoki's hate down as we didn't have a definite tank and anything else he'd pull hate and end up dying within 12 minutes of being called.
I did switch to WHM auto from time to time if we needed extra healing (like when a DRG died or was afk for several fights).
lvl 65-66:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Stealth Screen, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Tension Spring II, Armor Plate, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II
WAR/NIN x2, SCH, PUP/WAR, DRK/NIN, DNC/NIN
Did same camp as before. Used Wind, Light, and Thunder Maneuvers since WARs were able to hold hate better. Rarely had problems with Kintoki tanking for too long.
lvl 67-68:
Level Sync pt (62-63)
Bhaflau Thickets (G-8)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Condenser, Auto-Repair Kit II, Optic Fiber, Stabilizer, Stealth Screen, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Heat Seeker
PUP/WAR, BLU/THF, RDM/WHM, DRG/WAR, THF/NIN, PLD/WAR
Used Wind, Light, and Thunder Maneuvers. Almost never had Kintoki pull hate. Kills were somewhat slow as I think we were a bit low-lvl for the camp.
lvl 69:
Level Sync pt (71-72)
Bhaflau Thickets (H-10)
Stormwaker Frame, Soulsoother Head, /WAR
Damage Gauge, Optic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Mana Converter, Mana Tank, Accelerator II, Condenser, Stealth Screen, Mana Booster, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber
PUP/WAR, DNC/NIN, DRK/NIN, SAM/NIN, BLU/WHM
Went to Mamool Ja Staging Point and fought Sea Puks. Was going to get a 6th, but never did. Ended up using the WHM auto as we didn't have a definite tank and DMG taken was pretty high. Party worked pretty well, but didn't kill as fast as we could have.
I didn't do nearly as much DMG as normally, but I was 2-3 lvls below the rest of the pt and Kintoki was doing a lot of cures, which took away from my total DMG potential.
Used Light, Dark, and Earth Manuevers.
lvl 70:
Level Sync pt (64-65)
Bhaflau Thickets (F-9)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Accelerator II, Shock Absorber, Stealth Screen, Obtic Fiber, Auto-Repair Kit II, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Coiler, Armor Plate
MNK/WAR, PUP/WAR, PLD/WAR, WHM/SMN, DRG/RDM, RDM/WHM
Used Light, Wind, and Thunder Maneuvers.
Pretty decent kill speed and PLD was able to hold hate a lot better and with less DMG taken.
lvl 70-71:
Bhaflau Thickets (H-10)
Valoredge Frame, Valoredge Head, /WAR
Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Stabilizer II, Shock Absorber, Hammermill, Armor Plate II, Armor Plate, Turbo Charger, Stabilizer, Auto-Repair Kit, Stealth Screen, Auto-Repair Kit II
SAM/NIN, PUP/NIN, NIN/WAR, RDM/WHM, DNC/NIN, MNK/NIN
Went to Mamool Ja Staging Point and fought Sea Puks.
I used Valoredge Head/Frame as it could take the DMG from AoEs and heal itself with WS. I don't think RNG auto would have been able to survive w/o oils. Auto had 1911 HP total. I could have probably loaded up on more ACC/ATT attachments after seeing its DMG. Plus with WS it was able to keep full or almost full HP almost the entire time. Melee skill was also at least 20 lvls under cap.
I used Wind, Thunder, and Light Maneuvers subbing in Earth for SS or Dark for cannibal blade.
lvl 72-73:
Mount Zhayolm (H-7)
Stormwaker Frame, Spiritreaver Head, /BRD
Ice Maker, Loudspeaker, Loudspeaker II, Mana Channeler, Condenser, Mana Jammer II, Optic Fiber, Economizer, Mana Conserver, Auto-Repair Kit, Accelerator II
Joined a couple LS mates to try out manaburning. Didn't do too badly, but definitely need some skill and lvls. Kintoki's T3s were doing (max) 801 with 2 Ice and 1 Water Maneuver or 917 with 3 Ice. Overall I didn't do too badly and I'm looking forward to 75, some better gear, and capped skill.
lvl 74:
Bhaflau Thickets (F-5)
Sharpshot Frame, Sharpshot Head, /WAR
Scope, Turbo Charger, Replicator, Flame Holder, Tension Spring II, Tension Spring, Shock Absorber, Stabilizer II, Coiler, Heat Seeker, Auto-Repair Kit II, Optic Fiber
74PUP/WAR, 73SAM/NIN, 75BRD/NIN, 75SAM/WAR, 75WAR/NIN, 74WHM/BLM
Fought Greater Colibri on the lower lvl.
Used mainly Light, Lightning, and Wind Maneuvers substituting in a Fire (mostly for Light) when it was time to WS. Overall DMG wasn't too bad considering my auto's ranged skill was 34+ lvls under cap. I did manage to parse (me + auto combined) better than the lvl 73 SAM.