The Curse of the White Mage

Hoo-boy. Saturday night was bad – capital B BAD. Here’s the skinny:

Fhox and company had planned another run on 5-2 for Stoik, Kitty and Bene (IIRC). Start time was 9 EST. I was on earlier than them so I used the time to farm and futz about with T-T runs and flagging AF2, but at 9 we started checking in. Stoik almost didn’t get in because he had gone AFK in Sandy. He did finally reply and so we were off. Kitty was leading the effort because Fhox wasn’t on and she asked me to escort Stoik to Castle Zvahl Keep, from Sandy, because Stoik still didn’t have his crystal.

OK, I can do that, right? I meet Stoik at the Ronfaure/Ranguemont Pass zoneline and we start through. About 5 minutes in (having started close to 9:30) he realizes he STILL doesn’t have 5-2 flagged, despite Kitty’s repeated invectives earlier in the week after 5-1. So he runs back and I wait. He returns to the gate at about 10, at which point Kitty mentions we have a problem. The tank she’s picked out (Jago or Jano or…) can’t stay long enough.

She asks if any of us know anyone high up enough to tank/DD the Shadowlord for us, since the rest of us are 45-60-ish. I see that Dezmo is likely free and ask if he can meet us at the Vahzl crag in exchange for a reward. He can, and I let Kitty know. Dez teles out and waits, annoyed, for about 15 minutes while I’m trudging Stoik through. Sneak and/or Invisible keep falling off him shortly after being cast but we’re pretty lucky with aggro. This is about when Kitty mentions that not only is her buddy sticking around (making 5) but that he has a friend too, filling the party.

Crap-o. So I have to tell Dez we don’t need him and I let him know that I’ll tele him out once we arrive, ETA 5 minutes. That is, until a supposed EP Demon Pawn aggros and bludgeons both of us. Pwned by a Pawn. I told Stoik to disengage and run for the crag to get crystal and then I died. Stoik dies about a minute later. Care to guess what happens next?

Now I have a dilemma – I don’t yet have Tele-Vahzl and I need to make TWO trips to the crag, one to relocate Dez and the other to return myself and Raise Stoik. So I HP, buy the scroll for 61k, tele, re-tele Dez, pay him 5k for his time, and tele again back to Vahzl. I Raise Stoik and as I STICK a Cure III, he is killed by a Lost Soul’s blizzard. >< So I tractor him to an empty hilltop and raise him again. So far so good, but knowing that weakness lasts 5 minutes and being fearful he’ll get aggroed again despite my best efforts, I tele him out to Mea to rest. Here’s the paraphrased conversation (mind you Fhox has logged in by now and is nearby):

/p We’ll rest here until weakness passes, and then I’ll tele… Oh, crap…
(Stoik) What?
/p CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP
(Stoik) WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT
/l Someone please shoot me!
What happened?
Did you die again?
/l I just screwed up bigtime.

I go on to explain that in the fog of war I didn’t realize Stoik never got his crystal, and that I basically undid all the traveling we did over the last hour. At this point it’s after 11:00 and the crew reforms, adding Fhox in Stoik’s place and dumping me. The 5-man crew continued on to 5-2 and I told them I’d take Stoik back to get the crystal so that he would at least be able to move quickly to the zone once the next run was made. Fhox said Diosa and someone else (Chucho?) still needed it so Stoik could go then.

Stoik and I actually made good time to the crag despite buffs constantly falling off him. Once I had him positively verify the gate crystal was in his permanent key items list, I teled us back to Holla and gave him 2500 for his trouble and the birds he had to use. I said my goodbyes to him. However, Stoik chose this time to start downing Bacardi 151’s and somewhat hopelessly repeated in LS tell, “So when do I start?” Kitty tried hard not to strangle him electronically but she was clearly upset.

I threw myself at their mercy knowing I had not only cost Stoik his shot but made the rest late as well. Kitty switched to private chat and we talked about it and she was very supportive of me and didn’t blame me for the accident. She was madder at Stoik for being unprepared again. I kept insisting it was at least partially my fault that he lost his shot at rank up and told her it was the curse of the WHM to care too much. She offered more kind words at which I told her she had eased the sting. She replied that it shouldn’t sting at all. /cry

It was more or less at this point in the convo that Fhox pulled his usual {Amateur} tease out and I hotly replied, “Dammit Fhox, I feel bad enough already!”

Kitty must also have said something in /tell to Fhox because he soon joined us in private, echoing Kitty’s assertions that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself and that Stoik is causing unacceptable amounts of trouble. I hopefully mentioned Stoik is going through a lot, and that his life changes were why I was willing to try so hard.

I told Fhox that I wasn’t going to bail on him or anything but that I was very upset with myself. I told him I was going AFK and that if I didn’t make it back (ahem) I’d see them all Monday.

I would be mad at myself over the next several days, in-game at least… The anniversary trip to Orlando was magnificent, and pretty much took my mind off my bungle, until Monday’s session. /sigh

Reputation (Not the Quick Kind)

I’ve been thinking about FFXI a lot lately. And not just because I’m very likely clinically addicted, or that I’ve got about 860 hours logged in under 11 months. I’ve been thinking about what the game means to me and why I’m so into it, and what I want to get out of it. It helps to know what my motivations are, especially when trying to explain such a timesink to non-massive gamers, or *gasp* non-gamers! ^^

One thing I’ve found very interesting is that my online persona, aside from being represented by a hot cat-lady, is essentially the opposite of my real-life one. Anyone who knows me IRL knows I’m not a socializer. I have great people skills but I don’t go out of my way looking for people to skill up on, as it were. I try to interact with non-family as little as possible.

In-game however, I love helping out people and don’t mind doing all manner of favors. It’s one of the main reasons I dumped RDM in favor of WHM – it’s the premier job for selfless people. From my first weeks in Vana’diel I resolved to help anyone I could since I got so much random help from higher-ups just as I was getting started. Usually simple things like Protects or Shells or a little curing. As WHM I do a lot of random curing and enhancing, and have gotten many chances to show off my Raise macro.

But now, the more I think about it, I think there’s more to it than wanting to help people. If Squeenix were to ask me directly what I valued most in-game, be it experiences, activities, people, inventory, anything, I think my answer would be my reputation. Yes, I do have a couple of e-peen items, and I have a great linkshell boss and crew (yay Fhox!) but I really think my rep is the most important asset I have.

From my first days of partying back in March, to PLing now, or running missions with the Brigaders, I’ve worked very hard to maintain high standards of behavior. Not just as a solid, dependable White Mage, but as a member of the community people wouldn’t be afraid to approach for assistance.

Mainly, I’ve done this by following some simple rules, and the other night, got some recognition for it (details follow). Now, since some of this pertains to my teletaxi business, don’t spread this around too much:

• Never bail on a party. Warn the leader at least 15 minutes in advance (30+ if possible) and be prepared to look for a rep if time permits.

• Fulfill expected job duties and make sure (as WHM) everyone stays enhanced and vertical.

• Don’t demand restitution for simple favors like Raises, teles, PLing or guidance. In months of being a T-T, I’ve never argued about an offered tip, have given away countless freebies, and basically work on the idea of “You pay what you offered, even if the offer is 0, because that’s what I accepted.”

• Stop to help someone on the bad end of a pull or link (if possible). In several trips through Valkurm I’ve managed to save lots of bacon, but I was seconds too late on several as well. I don’t recall ever walking/riding past someone who clearly needed help.

• Follow through on the Mentor badge. Actually, I don’t think this thing gets me noticed the way many seem to fear. I’ve had some random tells asking for help, teles, or other assistance which I always try to respond to. But it’s equally likely they found me by level/job search as by Mentor search. Still, I want people that see me hanging about to feel they can approach me.

• Be fair and diplomatic in all communications. I try to stay professional and mature whenever chatting with others. I can get silly/jokey sometimes, and angry (usually in-Shell only), but I try to be polite to everyone.

• Never underestimate the power of a kind word or emote. Following from above, I do a lot of bowing and scraping either in-party to my leader, or when helping others. Or in cases where I’m being helped. Lately, as a PL, I’m trying to leave newer players with a better impression of higher-ups like me. Not every higher-up wants a quid pro quo or has an arrogant attitude. I help out with gameplay tips and answers when I can.

I keep a party log, and I suspect many others do to. I don’t know what others document, but I know almost everyone I’ve ever partied with and I do have a few people I’d avoid in the future. I don’t want to find myself on other people’s lists if I can help it, at least, not for behavior. I know I’ve pissed off some leaders as a melee-mage, but lately I’ve pretty much given up on that.

And now, the event that pretty much convinced me to write this whole thing up. I was tooling around in Jeuno Tuesday or Wednesday when Espoira sent me a private tell asking for a favor. I was afraid she was going to ask for Vahzl which I don’t have yet, or try to invite me to a party, which I didn’t have time for. Nope, just a routine tele request, to Dem I believe.

So I start casting after she parties up, and she tries to pay me. I refuse, and just as she’s about to try again, insisting “tip”, the spell fires and we zap over to Dem. On arrival, I throw down my usual Protectra III and she starts talking tip again which I refuse. At this she says something like “You’re a very good person. If you ever need help with a mission quest etc. just ask.” I told her “Same” wrt missions and quests.

Now, I honestly don’t know if this was a true assessment or just gratitude, but it really made me feel good inside!

Last-Minute One-Shotting

Last night I logged in around 8 with the thought of doing a little farming, T-Ting and possibly hanging with the Brigaders. Fresh from Tuesday’s 5-1 run for Kitty and one other (Stoik didn’t show), I was worried Fhox would try to start 5-2 tonight and I wasn’t going to have time.

However, Fhox wasn’t on and the rest of the crew on were doing their own thing. So I went ahead and farmed up a set of Test Answers and returned to Jeuno to auction them and wait for T-T action. I got a couple runs and then decided to go PL in Valkurm.

I rode in and checked the Oasis and then the OP for parties. I thought I had found one at the OP pulling flies and proceeded to dismount. Then I saw their PL, Ibbit, whom I somehow missed on my way in. >< So I walked to Siren Sands (nobody) and then Whitebone Sands. Still nobody. There were supposed to be upwards of 20 people here according to the search window. I hoofed it to the secret beach entrance and found a group there working on gobs.

I immediately began throwing out the Cure IIs and located their leader, Cupofjoe. He was one of three Taru mages in the group, and for some reason, he appeared to be AFK. He didn’t answer my question about him minding my help, and he wasn’t casting. So I kept on PLing figuring he’d come back. I repeated my query just to be safe.

After about 5 minutes, he did return and said it was fine. I think possibly he was waiting to see if I was going to demand money before responding. Maybe, just a hunch. In any event, we got to work and it wasn’t long before they realized it was time to find bigger fish to fry, literally. In fact, one member said out loud to “ask” which was soon followed by their puller asking if I’d go to the beach and help them with pugs. Of course I said sure and escorted them down.

Once on the beach they went straight for pugs. I think they might have read my guide because it seemed, by word and action, that they were choosing their first targets carefully and their vokers weren’t constantly pulling off me. One of their BLMs even started meleeing, but wasn’t hitting very often.

We did this for a little over an hour, enough for Cupofjoe to hit 20. When I had said I was getting ready to leave at about 10:15 he asked me to stick around for about 1,200 XP which would probably happen anyway by that time, give or take a few. On what was planned to be the last boss for me, he gets hit hard, and then the pug finished him with Screwdriver (about 158 damage he said). I believe BOTH my Cure IIs landed and I think he actually got hit 3 times in a row, but his HP bar looked pretty full before the TP finisher.

I Raised him and was willing to get him back to 20 but luckily he had enough of a buffer and stayed 20 post-Raise.

Things went really well and I think everyone leveled. With just that one accident (I never did figure out what he did to get so much hate!) it was a really nice PL party and I told them so, complimenting them on working well together even on links and for good voking. I also thanked them for letting me hang with them.

I really need to keep a better eye on my skill levels because I did lift Healing a couple points, but I don’t know how many. I need to try to estimate skillups per hour so I can figure out how long it will take to cap Healing, and possibly Divine when I start leveling myself past 55 again.

After we split up I went back to the Ruins and grabbed a second set of Answer Sheets and a dagger (in like 10 minutes!), warped back, and put them up before logging.

PL Guide

Here now, is my first attempt at a powerleveling guide, both for the PL and for the party or player receiving PL assistance.

The Powerleveler

I don’t know yet if there’s a hard and fast rule about what job(s) are best to be a PL, but almost all I’ve seen were WHMs or RDMs. Certainly a Raise-capable job setup is a must! Since a PL can’t use any enfeebs or elemental spells, and is not a member of the party, the PL is limited to Cures, Protects/Shells, Haste and Raise (I believe – please correct me if needed). Actually, the PL can also use –na spells to cure various status ailments – think Paralyze or Blind. But those don’t come up often.

Also, PLs need to be far higher in level than those they are PLing. Probably not an absolute rule, but you’ll need lots of mana and the ability to take a hit or three without dying. Plus, higher-level job abilities like auto-regen and clear mind help a lot, as do higher-level stat gear like Light/Dark Staves or Cure potency/INT+/MPR gear.

Use a macro with <stpc> for curing and keep it active. This way you can cycle only player targets and drop a cure quickly once someone gets knocked around. You might consider standing so the party is all to one side of you so you can just cycle in one direction repeatedly.

However, be careful of roaming party members – if a ranged melee or back-line mage chooses to relocate behind you they may not appear in the target sweep and if they are ambushed you may not find out until after they die. Sweep the campsite periodically with the camera to see if anyone is standing in your blind spot, or to look for a better position to make watching the whole party easier.

Find out, either by /search or by questioning the party, who is tanking and if they are PLD or NIN. While the powerleveler tries to hold hate, once the mob refocuses on the party their tank needs to be effective. Overcuring a PLD tank or failing to Haste a NIN tank can limit their ability to control hate. Also, overcuring a PLD could lead to a waste of MP for you or the PLD.

Consider using Haste especially on blink-tanks. If nobody takes damage, the party can keep killing, building up chains and TP. Haste increases the success rate of Utsusemi casts by giving the blink-tank more chances to cast around the mob’s attacks.

[Added 12/13/07] Dancers are formidable party enhancers and moderate DDs in their own right. Because all their abilities use TP, Hasting a Dancer will help them build TP faster and then allow more dances per mob. Dances work as enfeebles and enhancers so it’s a win/win for you and the party if they are productive.

Since you won’t have direct visible access to each member’s total HP, what looks like a good amount on the “percent bar” for one player (Galka Paladin) can be downright near-death for another (Taru Ninja). Pay attention to race and job to know who might take severe damage easily. You can always ask the party to relay its numbers if you aren’t sure.

Also, consider coordinating with the party leader on the player roster so you know who to watch if the camp is crowded or if there’s a lineup change. You can also work with the leader to decide how to handle links or unexpected aggro. The PL can use their full arsenal on unclaimed targets but if the party engages multiple mobs (on a link for example), the PL’s going to have to work harder to keep everyone alive.

[Added 01/22/08] While you as the PL can use various spells for crowd control, any mob so hit will not give XP if your party kills it. In my experience the mob’s name never changes from yellow on a Flash or Repose but recent field testing shows that they still are claimed briefly and so shouldn’t be killed by the party. If crowd control is needed the PL should aggro the mob and kill it fast since it is only cluttering up the area and wasting time the PL could use otherwise on the party.

You can also work with the leader to set rules like, “Don’t provoke off me”, “Have mages avoid curing unless party gets into orange or red”, and so on. The best thing you as a PL can do is pull hate and keep it, allowing the party to focus on beating on the mob uninterrupted. Again, the less damage the party takes and the less mana it uses, the longer it can keep a run going.

Random or needless Provokes from the party once you have got the mob trained on you must be avoided. Such voking defeats the whole purpose of a powerleveler. If the PL can absorb attacks, especially AoEs like the Goblin Bomb Toss or Damselfly Cursed Sphere, then the party won’t take much damage, if any. With someone voking every 30 seconds, the mob ping-pongs between the voker and the PL and interferes with the DDs ability to hit.

One way to make the vokers’ lives easier is to position yourself opposite the party’s regular mages, so that you, the melee core and the back-line form a straight line. This way, it will be obvious when the mob is headed for vulnerable back line members versus headed to the PL’s position. If this positional arrangement is workable in your campsite, it can lead to fewer needless provokes. Due to “party creep” you may need to realign between pulls, especially if the mob hate on you is causing the party to follow it to your spot.

Powerleveling is a great way to repay community kindness, help out friends and scout recruits for a linkshell. It can also be a way to boost healing and enhancing skills so don’t neglect such spells by using Cures only.

The Party

Rule #1 – Don’t voke off the PL unless the PL has requested it! A possible exception is if a strong mob has a go at your mages – a timely Provoke then would be better than hoping your mage doesn’t get one-shotted by a TP move following a powerful attack before the PL lands a high-level cure.

Rule #2 – Mages should not heal except in emergency situations (bad AoE, links, etc.) and should consider switching to offense, skilling up magic or combat skills. Check with your PLer first – I have known one to find mage-melee very offensive leading to a dust-up between the mage, the leader and the PL!

Rule #3 – Do continue your usual enfeeble cycle – anything that leads to faster kills or less damage for the party is a good thing.

Rule #4 – While being PLed, start pulling IT++ mobs – try one to be sure but with a PL keeping the party healthy and taking some damage for the party (and with all members on offense) killing much stronger mobs should be very feasible. Look for 200 XP per kill, unbanded. But if the only “tough” mobs are taking far longer to kill than the party’s usual diet, switching back to improve XP per minute is advised.

In many cases, a PL is only doing this for your party as a favor to someone or because they’re waiting for their own invite. Annoy them at your peril.

Remember, the only way a PL can hold hate is through curing and limited enhancing magic. Don’t waste the limited time a PL can hold the mob by voking constantly. DO use full attack and don’t worry if a large nuke/SC pulls hate – just take the hits and the PL can re-pull by curing.

In summary, assuming the PL is on board, don’t do anything to generate hate ASIDE from full attack, or initial enfeebs. The PL’s cure-hate will more than equal that but artificial hate from provokes or Flash or other non-damaging means is a waste.

Power to the People

While waiting the last couple weeks to pass Genkai 2 and break the level 55 cap, I’ve been playing power-leveler. I’ve focused on LS parties because Fhox has brought a lot of new blood into the Brigaders family and it’s an easy way to pay back all the kindness I’ve received.

Plus, sometimes people pay to be PLed and I’d better know what the heck I’m doing!

Here now, is my first attempt at a powerleveing guide, both for the PL and for the player/party receiving PL assistance.

The Powerleveler

I don’t know yet if there’s a hard and fast rule about what job(s) are best to be a PL, but almost all I’ve seen were WHMs. Since a PL can’t use any enfeebs or elemental spells, and is not a member of the party, the PL is limited to Cures, Haste and Raise (I believe – please correct me if needed).

Also, PLs need to be far higher in level than those they are PLing. Probably not an absolute rule, but you’ll need lots of mana and the ability to take a hit or three without dying. Plus, higher-level job abilities like auto-regen and clear mind help a lot, as do higher-level stat gear like Light/Dark Staves or Cure potency/INT+/MPR gear.

And my favorite tip – use a macro with for curing and keep it active. This way you can cycle only player targets and drop a cure quickly once someone gets knocked around. You might consider standing so the party is all to one side of you so you can just cycle in one direction repeatedly.

Consider using Haste especially on blink-tanks. If nobody takes damage, the party can keep killing, building up chains and TP.

Also, consider coordinating with the party leader on the player roster (I’M SORRY FHOX!) so you know who to watch if the camp is crowded or if there’s a lineup change. You can also work with the leader to decide how to handle links or unexpected aggro. The PL can use their full arsenal on unclaimed targets but if the party engages multiple mobs (on a link for example), the PL’s gonna have to work harder to keep everyone alive.

You can also work with the leader to set rules like, “Don’t provoke off me”, “Have mages avoid curing unless party gets into orange or red”, and so on. The best thing you as a PL can do is pull hate and keep it, allowing the party to focus on beating on the mob uninterrupted. Again, the less damage the party takes and the less mana it uses, the longer it can keep a run going.

I have tried to PL several times in Valkurm Dunes and every time, I have a problem with someone voking off me once I’ve got the mob trained on me. That defeats the whole purpose of a powerleveler IMHO. If the PL can absorb attacks, especially AoEs like the Goblin Bomb Toss or Damselfly Cursed Sphere, then the party won’t take much damage, if any. With someone voking every 30 seconds, the mob plays ping-pong between the voker and the PL and interferes with the DDs ability to hit.

The Party

I’ll keep this section a little shorter:

Rule #1 – Don’t voke off the PL unless the PL has requested it!

Rule #2 – Mages should not heal except in emergency situations (bad AoE, links, etc.) and should consider switching to offense, skilling up magic or combat skills. Check with your PLer first – I have known one to find mage-melee very offensive leading to a dust-up between the mage, the leader and the PL!

Rule #3 – Do continue your usual enfeeble cycle – anything that leads to faster kills or less damage for the party is a good thing.

Rule #4 – While being PLed, start pulling IT++ mobs – try one to be sure but with a PL keeping the party healthy and taking some damage for the party (and with all members on offense) killing much stronger mobs should be very feasible. Look for 200 XP per kill, unbanded. But if the only “tough” mobs are taking far longer to kill than the party’s usual diet, switching back to improve XP/min is advised.

In many cases, a PL is only doing this for your party as a favor to someone or because they’re waiting for their own invite. Annoy them at your peril.

Remember, the only way a PL can hold hate is through curing and limited enhancing magic. Don’t waste the limited time a PL can hold the mob by voking constantly. DO use full attack and don’t worry if a large nuke/SC pulls hate – just take the hits and the PL can re-pull by curing.

In summary, assuming the PL is on board, don’t do anything to generate hate ASIDE from full attack, or initial enfeebs. The PL’s cure-hate will more than equal that but artificial hate from provokes or Flash or other non-damaging means is a waste.