Ahh, it seems like it has been forever since last I posted. I did miss last weeks post from being too tired and lazy. To make up for it, today I'm going to go over some of the things I do when tanking subbed NIN, which is for just about everything I do. Most of this you will know because I honestly don't do anything special or different. I'm just going to cover how I gear for NIN sub and how to use the sub to its maximum potential.
Ok, some things you need to ask yourself if your going to use PLD/NIN a lot first. Can I count to three (I can but its really hard to play with one hand and count with the other)? Do I even have NIN sub? Do I have a bajillion Gil for Shihei and the Ni scroll?
If you answered yes to all this then you're on the right track.
In essence, when subbing NIN you are just trying not to get hit. This means your gear will be a little different from other subs if you have the gear to optimize for subbing NIN. For example, a Terror or Wivre Shield with more enmity and less block rate than the Koenig shield with less enmity but a higher block rate.
The weapon I use almost always with NIN sub is the Macuahuitl +1 with its +4 enmity it's to good to pass up. You can use the Joyeuse and others I suppose but on mobs that you can't hit this is the one I love to use. And don't be a cheap bastard and get the NQ version. LOL
I mentioned shields right before swords and there is not really a lot of variety at end game for shields. Koenig Shield is a must have and is a great shield but with NIN sub a Wivre or Terror Shield out shine it. If you're new to subbing NIN stick with the Koenig till you master threading shadows.
At this point, the line blurs from on gear depending on your race, your own style of tanking, and the gear you are able to obtain.
I will go over what I use for /NIN but keep in mind if you're a Taru or Galka this will most likely not be ideal for you. For the most part I just stock up on enmity. If you have Iron Ram gear from the past that is great stuff to use. I know I use the hat and boots all the time. The legs and hands are also very amazing but I tend to use Homam in those spots.
There are a few bodies you can use. AF body if you're a cheap S.O.B. who wont buy Adaman gear, AF +1 body to sell that Adaman piece you bought with a few others that are harder to obtain like Valor body and Ares. There is also the Nuevo body that you put fast cast and enmity on, right?
Hands that are great for subbing NIN are Homam (Iz)Manopolas, Askar hands, I.R. hands, and Adaman (I think).
Legs, the bane of my existance. Homam legs, more Homam legs, I.R. legs, and Adaman once again if you just dinged 73. I think that is about it.
Boots. OK, you win this one you cheap bastards. AF feet are still really great even for NIN sub and the HQ even better but it's only something I macro in when shadows are down. When I do have shadows up, I use I.R. boots with all of its enmity but Adaman, Homam, and Askar are all great choices and the best will vary on your play style.
For rings I use a Hercules' Ring and if you don't own one you get my Cheap S.O.B. Seal of Approval™! I mainly use a Bomb Queen Ring on my other finger but the CoP ring is also amazing. I would wear more but I lost my other 8 fingers in the Dunes to a crab.
Waist is easy enough, a Trance Belt being the better choice but a Warwolf Belt is also very good and very cheap. I wouldn't use anything other then these unless I was a Taru or Galka.
Ears! A lot for choices for ears. I use a Loquacious Earring and a Ethereal Earring but those don't come until later in the game. A Buckler Earring is fine or HP Earrings of any sort and the Cure Potency +5% are all nice until you can get a Loquacious and Ether earring.
The neck slot, the only exposed spot on your body besides your face. Parade Gorget is amazing as well as the Ritter Gorget and the last choice I can think of is a Shield Torque for when those shadows are down.
Bow? Well, the Lamian Kaman or the +1 are the best. And here is where I become the cheap sob that uses a NQ. A Rosenbogen is fine I guess but the point is not to get hit so the VIT and HP become less important than MP and Magic Defense.
The back. A Cerberus Mantle is amazing with its 3 enmity and it is also becoming more affordable. The Gigant Mantle is OK
but I think costs more then a Cerb Mantle now, and a Boxer's Mantle rounds out the top 3 choices besides a Cerberus Mantle +1, but I don't have the 20+ Mil for one of those. If you don't have those then just about anything will work to fill in space.
Well, that's it for the gear part now lets talk about counting shadows.
Threading shadows is the term I use when I cancel my shadows to put up a fresh set. To do this properly you have to cancel your shadows at the top of your screen right before the third attack comes in while you are casting a new set of shadows. This can be difficult at times with lag and spell lock but with enough practice it will become second nature to you.
Some things to keep in mind when doing this is that Ichi will overwrite itself so no need to cancel shadows if you're casting Ichi over Ichi. The only time you will have to cancel is when you're casting Ichi and have shadows up from Ni before. One other short tip is to save Shield Bash to stun a enemy to get a Ichi up in time of need.
Here are some final tips and good things to have with NIN sub: 1. A shield set that you can swap into when your shadows are down. 2. The less blinking the better and your mages will love you, the more you blink the higher your chance of death. 3. Keep in mind to not swap out anything that will make you lose TP.
That's it for this week, I'm sure I have missed a few things or there are things I didn't think of but playing PLD really is more dependent on skill than gear, more then most jobs I would think. So go practice threading those shadows until you have 1-2-3 pounded into your little concussed PLD head. Lets all cross our fingers and hope the I.R. body is at least half as awesome as we all think it will be!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sir Iron Will's Wisdom: Ask A Ninja! (PLD/NIN That Is).
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Play Better, Suck Less: Get Geared Up.
Trying to figure out what gear you should use in FFXI can be difficult enough as it is, but with a number of different websites to check for the information, things can get pretty confusing. There is the FFXIAH, the FFXI wiki, the BG wiki, and there are some other sites that now seem to be permanent festering virus sores. There really was a need for a website that allowed for some decent gear comparisons without having to check 5 different websites. And that is why FFXIGear.com was created. Talk about your one stop shops for all of your gearing needs! This place is great, but it's special features are what really makes it a great resource.
First, you select your appropriate race and job to give the site your parameters for great selection. Then you have your blank equipment grid, that can be filled with whatever gear you select. Do you just want a stat read out of your current gear selection? Then just plug in your current gear and it will tell you all of your collective totals. Do you want to compare it against other potential gear selections? Just click on the box you want to check and select from the menu of all possible pieces that can fit into that slot. But that is just the beginning.
Before we get to anything else lets get a bit more specific. The gear selection is pretty advanced here. Once you click on a slot, a menu of all possible selections for your job and race will pop up, you can scroll through the selection menu and click from it to have it placed in the slot. You can use the search function for it to find the items you are looking for by name, just type in what you know of the name, hit filter and only those items that fit your filter will remain. For weapons, you get an additional list for the type of weapon you want to use to further limit down your searching. Another nice enhancement is the fact that you can cursor over the equipment in your gear slots and it will tell you the stats on that piece of gear in a pop-up. 
Finally, one of the best things about FFXIGear.com is that it can give you an external permanent link to your gear set up, so that you can post it on your blog, on a forum or send it to a friend so that can get an idea of the gear you are wearing.
If you are wondering what they have done recently, or what they plan on doing with the site you can check out their Dev Notes page. Their current plans include showing evasion, adding spell effects, adding weapon delay and TP gain, showing accuracy against common mobs and creating windower macro lists. That is a great list of additions and you can even e-mail them with your own ideas!
FFXIGear.com is a great additional resource for all FFXI players. Check it out. :)
Morning in Vana'diel: Show a Little Respect.
Now you might be asking yourself why I included that picture above. And it is to prove an example of something. The picture above shows someone trying to be a decent player. They have the right ideas. The have the Walahra Turban for a little haste, and they have some Accuracy and Attack and some other things that all look like a good idea on paper. The problem, and most of you already know this, is that they don't really have enough of anything to be very effective. The problem is not what this person could be doing better, it is how to deal with this person. Does one approach them with a helping hand, making suggestions as to how they could improve their gear selection? Do you deride their bad decisions, mocking their lack of knowledge? Do you ignore them and just hope they go away?
I know what we should do, and that is try to provide a helping hand. Even if that helping hand is pushed away, you can still determine the mentality of someone and then make decisions for yourself as to if it is a person you want to even be around, have in your LS, or even party with. I choose the example above because none of the equipment decisions are necessarily wrong, but they are not very good. There are a lot of improvements that could be made, obviously, but they have not done anything that makes you pull your hair out. This could be this person's first job, or it could be an unimportant job to them, something to use in Campaign for example. It could be that they are very poor and don't have the gil to spend on better gear. In the end it looks like this person could use a helping hand, not just in gearing but on other aspects like how to make gil, what in-game events they can do to improve their gear, and maybe how to best earn merits for that job.
Far too often we find ourselves falling into ruts of derision and cruelty when it comes to less knowledgeable players. I am guilty just as much as the next person. Hopefully we can try to be a little more kind and helpful to other people. One of the best parts of the game, thinking back, was when I didn't know anything about the game. When there was a lot of learning and exploration. Everyone has made poor gear decisions because they did not know what was best at the time. Everyone has had some of their assumptions blown out of the water by someone else. I think someone that is willing to learn should be given some leeway to learn, and we should all show a little more respect to each other.
How do you treat other players? Are they enemies trying to steal your treasures? Are they people you don't care about? Are they young padawans just waiting for your training? Leave a comment and tell us what you think!
#1 ~ Monk
#2 ~ Samurai
#3 ~ Ninja
#4 ~ Dragoon
Chaotic Pellucidity
Teabags and KY Jelly
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