I’ve been taking a break anyway, though, mostly due to console games (Super Mario Galaxy, Rock Band, GTA: San Andreas [yes, I'm just now getting around to it], Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash, etc.) and other MMOs (pretty much EVE Online). I think it’s essential to avoid FFXI for a while every once in a while to avoid burnout.
Fun fact, though - I was poking around on a couple different sites during some downtime at work and discovered that my office’s firewall’s IP address is banned from Killing Ifrit. I wonder if there’s another player here…
After settling in last night, I realized that while Hand-to-Hand weapons were a bit too slow (as Genome had already suggested on the Dancer forums), Daggers were way too weak. So I figured I’d go for the middle ground - Swords. Dancers sure don’t get many swords, do they?
So I picked up a Bilbo and it works like a charm. Just the right balance of damage and speed, enough to keep me alive and well for at least two levels of DNC (12-14). The switch to Battle Gloves + 2 Balance Rings at this level (+7 DEX total) helped a lot, as well. At that point, the Jack-o’-Lantern I’d been using wore off and since (1) I no longer had -10 CHR, (2) I noticed the DNC seems to have naturally high CHR, and (3) I’d seen it work before, I decided to switch over to DNC/BST and level in East Ronfaure (S). (By this point everything was EM-T there, except worms which were now EP-DC.)
That worked really well, and so I swiftly swept through DNC14 and into DNC15. Which means, of course, Curing Waltz. Now I see what people mean about Curing Waltz speeding up leveling - basically I can spam Cure II on myself as long as I can hit the monster two, maybe three times. This is on top of the small tidbits of health from Drain Samba. It’s almost unfair, really. I’m about 1k from 16 now and I haven’t had to rest, nor have I been below the very highest yellow HP range (at which point one Curing Waltz popped me back up to full health). The Evasion Bonus is nice, too, allowing me to go entire fights and never take a hit.
Sadly, I’m going to have to go back to the present. I feel I’ve missed the actual level range for the past, which would probably rightfully be somewhere around 12-14; most of the enemies there now rank EP, but are actually harder than EP. I’ll probably come back with my BLM/BST one of these days, but for now, I bid past Ronfaure adieu.
I have some photos to share! They’re slightly spoiler-iffic, so you may want to skip them if you’re not into the WotG stuff yet. I also have a video of myself dancing, but I’ll have to edit it down a little bit (and may wait until I get Curing Waltz before I do so, so as to have some variety).
Took DNC to 7, planning to go to 8 or 9 before I sleep. Also did Gifts of the Griffon. Noted that the East Ronfaure (S) mobs con as VT-IT to me, further validating my theory that in a few levels East Ronfaure (S) will be a decent place to level.
It was very, very interesting to me to see Excenmille and Rahal as kids, as well.
Got tired of waiting on the NPC to reappear, so I went to Southern San d’Oria (S) via Batallia -> Jugner -> Vunkerl -> Jugner -> Ronfaure.
Finished Steamed Rams, joined the Knights of the Iron Ram.
Noted that present-day San d’Oria needs to take a cue from San d’Oria of the past as far as music goes. More percussion + fewer shrill bagpipes = more me with headphones on.
Noted that East Ronfaure (S) will probably be a good place to level solo as an alternative to La Theine; it’s the same mobs, only tougher, and with Pixies randomly wandering around tossing out Cure IVs and Raise IIIs. Don’t hurt the pixies, kids!
Changed jobs to DNC/MNK, strapped on a pair of cesti, and went out punching things until my DNC was level 5. Drain Samba, yay! It’s actually a fun job, even if I do look absolutely fabulous doing the samba. My outfit is similarly ridiculous: Coven Hat, Bronze Harness, Chocobo Gloves, Sprinter’s Shoes, and Cesti. Hey, it’s what I had lying around!
Anyone done Lakeside Minuet and/or A Little Knowledge yet? Both of them look pretty darn easy; I think getting my BLM or SMN through Batallia Downs [S] alive might be the hardest part.
Okay, so. Been leveling BLM… sort of. I had to take a few days off of the game - first, because my car decided to spaz out and die so I had to spend a night taking care of that (so I can continue to go to work… so I can continue to make money… so I can keep playing!), then I went to my parents’ house for the weekend because it was my mom’s birthday. Anyway!
BLM is at 13 now, and if I can get a party it’s mere minutes away from 14 (something like 600 exp). Not too shabby. I do, however, have to post a couple videos. Remember how I called the Dancer AF the gayest thing since gay hit Gaytown?
I was wrong. Behold: the male Elvaan dancing animation.
Seriously, the last frame of that screams “fabulous!” (The bad part is, if DNC/NIN turns out to be a viable job combination? I am seriously thinking it. Why? Watch the very last dance. RIVERDANCE, BITCHES.)
Meanwhile, since Skaphia mentioned DNC as well… Skaphia, I have to recommend the Mithra dancer. See, actually, Galka and Mithra probably turned out to be two of the best. Galka have this big, slow-moving, sweeping dance - very tribalesque in its appearances - but the Mithra?
The Mithra have a booty dance.
SHAKE IT, KITTY. (Actually I’m pretty sure that might be a /dance animation, because actual Mithra dance casting looks like this:)
It’s too perfect! I mean, glasses? An awesome mortarboard hat? And loafers! AF with frickin’ loafers!! I don’t think I could be more excited.
(Also, male dancer? Gayest AF ever. Seriously. This thing competes with Puppetmaster as far as making the owner look homosexual. Elvaan PUP AF is even worse, btw… it’s got a nice wide open neck as opposed to the closed neck covered in chains from other races.)
I finally built a new gaming rig, out of completely new parts this time instead of whatever I had lying around. Granted, the stuff I had lying around for the last computer was pretty ludicrous in and of itself (a 256 MB ATI Radeon 9200 AGP video card? 2 GB of DDR RAM? A 160 GB hard drive? sheesh), but now the new computer is even bigger and badder.
