So, I've hit a wall...

[Castanica]

Most people who are doing Rhaps now won't know that they are easier in a party after this, they don't read update notes and nowhere else does it state this. not only that but what if they are on a low population sever and they are the only people in the zone, they still can't progress with the story they came back for LOL

This is no help at all and the roadblock remains for the players who didn't already progress past it, it's like they are in their own little world and don't even see the problems outside of the server metrics that tell them it's a serious roadblock.

[Teraniku]

Also, working on your Job point levels can help, a lot. Getting 100 job points on a given job will allow you to equip Superior 2 gear. Not to mention the Job Ability bonuses that it entails.

It just becomes a matter of grinding gil for the job you need to equip.

Your Accessories pieces can make all the difference in the world and make sure all your skills are capped.

[Diavolo]

Most people who are doing Rhaps now won't know that they are easier in a party after this, they don't read update notes and nowhere else does it state this. not only that but what if they are on a low population sever and they are the only people in the zone, they still can't progress with the story they came back for LOL

Updates like this often leave me feeling cynical. FFXI has seen many changes over the last 2-3 years making it far more accessible to casual players with limited play time, but the last couple of updates have thrown some very questionable ones our way which act more like wrenches that stop/slow that progress, almost like the dev team is unsure of which direction they're going. Forcing us to team up has been the answer to all of this game's more difficult challenges since day one, so if they were going to tell us to do so in order to overcome Rhapsody's quests there was no need whatsoever to lower the monsters' levels - why not just lower them when solo? The reasoning here escapes me.

[Baley]

Actually, I got a message in my log that rhapsody in mauve weakened the nakatas I needed to kill.
They turned from VT++ to Very Easy, I was in party with only trusts.
Finally I could get along with the RoV missions

[Raydeus]

Actually, I got a message in my log that rhapsody in mauve weakened the nakatas I needed to kill.
They turned from VT++ to Very Easy, I was in party with only trusts.
Finally I could get along with the RoV missions

That's great news.

I just hope it is "working as intended" and doesn't get patched in an emergency maintenance later on. XD

[Baley]

That's great news.

I just hope it is "working as intended" and doesn't get patched in an emergency maintenance later on. XD

Hope so too, for everyone who still have to do those

[Seiowan]

The reisenjima mobs required for progress just got nerfed when in a party so grab some help and you'll have an easier time with it now.

Trusts apparently count as 'in a party' for the purposes of this quest, so I was able to finish it without breaking a sweat. It appears to reduce them down to level 99, so at item level 117 they were basically floored in seconds.

[Seiowan]

Regarding 119 gear. Your first stop should be farming basic original Artifact armor 5/5, and then upgrade this to level 109 and 119 by farming Records Of Eminence sparks to purchase the REM's Tales chapters 1-->10.

I respect your advice, but I don't really agree with it. For a little perspective, when I re-started the game, I went through a ton of RoE objectives which I had already completed. This covered things from missions to job levels to quest. I ended up with around 100k sparks, of which I spent 34k on getting myself to item level 117 (17k per set for 2 jobs).

Those REM books cost 7.5k each, and I'd need 5 of them for each item, assuming I went through the upgrade process on all my old relic gear to get a +1. That's a total of 187,500 sparks for one set of gear! And that's not even including the weapon. With most RoE objectives giving 100-300 sparks, it's going to be a very long while before I'll be anywhere close to having enough to complete a set.

Then there's the small issue with most of the crafted items not being readily available on the auction house these days. Those that are, tend to be quite expensive. This may be less of an issue for those with well developed crafting skills, but I don't think my level 7 weaver is going anywhere fast.

[Stompa]

I respect your advice, but I don't really agree with it. For a little perspective, when I re-started the game, I went through a ton of RoE objectives which I had already completed. This covered things from missions to job levels to quest. I ended up with around 100k sparks, of which I spent 34k on getting myself to item level 117 (17k per set for 2 jobs).

Those REM books cost 7.5k each, and I'd need 5 of them for each item, assuming I went through the upgrade process on all my old relic gear to get a +1. That's a total of 187,500 sparks for one set of gear! And that's not even including the weapon. With most RoE objectives giving 100-300 sparks, it's going to be a very long while before I'll be anywhere close to having enough to complete a set.

Then there's the small issue with most of the crafted items not being readily available on the auction house these days. Those that are, tend to be quite expensive. This may be less of an issue for those with well developed crafting skills, but I don't think my level 7 weaver is going anywhere fast.

Yeah, you cut one small quote from my big post, in which I continued to detail the "faster" methods of obtaining Rems Chapters.

I was quite clear, in my post which you did not quote in full, I said "farming sparks for Rems is very slow." And that a faster method existed, which I explained. Farming sparks is just safer, for people who don't feel confident about beating BCNM on very easy mode. I explained all this in the post you picked that one quote from.

Regarding materials, when I farmed my Artfact reforged, the synthesis ingots were selling for 7 million gil. Because the content was new. I was paying 10m gil per slot. And I was farming sparks for my Rems chapters, because we didn't have Trusts, or free SKC from logins or other new features which were added to make the reforging process easier, long after I had finished soloing my six full sets of reforged AF.

[Seiowan]

Yeah, you cut one small quote from my big post, in which I continued to detail the "faster" methods of obtaining Rems Chapters.

To be fair, your other methods aren't that much quicker. It involves farming a SKCNM, which means farming for seals, and on anything besides easy or 'very easy' they can be quite challenging for players without higher level gear.

As for materials, the same problem applies. If it's not on sale, it's going to be difficult to obtain. I ended up farming boss monsters in Abyssea for a few hours just to get a sailcloth for one of my upgrades recently, since no one seemed willing to craft it at my behest, and no one was selling them on the auction house. I do have members of my LS who can help with certain items, but the majority are rarely seen on sale, certainly for my mages at least.

Delve items, on the other hand, do at least seem plausible. I have friends in the LS who can help me with some of the tougher ones, and I was recently able to acquire some nice items. I think the artifact gear is more of a long term goal for me, but thanks for the advice all the same.