Was Ambuscade too popular?

[Pixela]

I'm assuming it was far too popular because I can see no other reason why the first month offered a set of monsters to fight and a solo monster fight yet this month offers 2 group monsters to fight. What's the point of having 2 tombs with 4 difficulty levels?

The first month the content was aimed at everyone, better geared players could do the more difficult fights for better rewards and everyone else could do the 2nd tomb on a fairly decent difficulty.

This month the "easy 2nd tomb" is 2 monsters, killing one makes the other monster enrage. The taur can use mortal ray and kill you or your pet/trust tank with a pretty good chance of success (cause cursna sucks) and they have party based aggro, so whether you hit the other or not it's going to go and kill your healer.

You really have to make your mind up what you want here, are you offering content for everyone or are you offering content where they have to be carried?

This feels like a bit of a bait and switch.

[Diavolo]

You really have to make your mind up what you want here, are you offering content for everyone or are you offering content where they have to carry their own weight?

Fixed that for you.

[Jile]

Fixed that for you.

Remember that when sending invites, don't ask newbie players to change jobs when they're spark geared and only have one 99-dd job and still want to do this content at max level and have no chance at contributing beyond the social aspect.

SE needed to address the entry to allow orderly and fair play, they need many more instances. Slapping soloers when 2016 players solo 95% of the time makes little sense. A sign SE dev team either doesn't play xi nor every job.....and they play on gm-server with other supremely geared players.... A far stretch from the reality we play in.

[Diavolo]

Remember that when sending invites, don't ask newbie players to change jobs when they're spark geared and only have one 99-dd job and still want to do this content at max level and have no chance at contributing beyond the social aspect.

Any newbie I invite wouldn't be wearing that sparks gear the next day.


SE needed to address the entry to allow orderly and fair play, they need many more instances. Slapping soloers when 2016 players solo 95% of the time makes little sense. A sign SE dev team either doesn't play xi nor every job.....and they play on gm-server with other supremely geared players.... A far stretch from the reality we play in.

Glad I'm not the one that had to say it.

[Olor]

yeah this is disappointing - gear with a pet job on it and ZERO pet stats for one thing - and replacing the only soloable event in the game with one designed to thwart soloers. Way to kill my desire to play SE.

[OmnysValefor]

Honest question: How does it thwart soloers? It entices people to group up, which is a fine thing in an mmo, but it doesn't actually penalize soloers.

As someone who prefers to play with others, at least a few others, it's a little frustrating to have one guy fighting the dragon for 25 minutes (not all soloers are this slow).

Like everyone else, I wish they either had more copies of the instance or, even better, varied the instances (and possibly the battles themselves). Bring back the classic BCNMs that sit empty most of the time, like KS99s, Under Observation, etc.

But given that there are limited resources, I like that grouping up is rewarded.

[Immortta]

yeah this is disappointing - gear with a pet job on it and ZERO pet stats for one thing - and replacing the only soloable event in the game with one designed to thwart soloers. Way to kill my desire to play SE.

Last I checked almost everything is soloable outside of the highest tier of Escha NMs lol.

[Vanfrano]

The problem is that they presented Ambuscade as content aimed at everyone, from soloers to top-geared players.

The Gallantry system is perfectly fine because, indeed, party play should be rewarded but we can't deny the fact that a lot of players are now playing solo in FFXI for different reasons, the dev team itself keeps adding ways to make soloing a possibility. I am not saying that the whole game should be soloable, it is not anyway but they should really be more careful with how they handle content, especially when they themselves say that a type of content is aimed at all players.

The choice of monsters for this month Ambuscade is clearly saying "we don't want you to solo" so they should either remove the possibility to enter solo altogether or change what they added. Gallantry was enough of an addition, if you party you get rewarded more, simple as that. Gallantry and the Tauri is more of : if you party you get rewarded more but if you solo you get punished.

Soloers are a non-negligible part of today's FFXI, whether we like it or not, they pay their fees just like everyone else and should be able to play the way they want to -again, especially when SE says "this content is for everyone"-. It takes 145 Volume 2 runs on Normal to get the whole set, that is work, it should be difficult and I don't think most soloers don't enjoy difficulty, on the contrary, but out of all the monsters in the game, chosing ones with mechanics such as Doom and Hundred Fists is punishing and it is clear it is not an innocent choice, even more so knowing how unreliable Cursna is.

[Pixela]

Last I checked almost everything is soloable outside of the highest tier of Escha NMs lol.

There is a difference between someone with all the best gear in the game and a huge amount of player skill and a casual soloist.

That's like asking why your mom can't pick up her car to change the tyre cause the worlds strongest man did it.


Honest question: How does it thwart soloers?

I just stated how it stops some people doing content solo, it's 2 mobs, the mob rages after the first dies, they have shared aggro so cures make the 2nd mob go kill your healer and they use death moves that are custom made to kill an npc tank.

The reality is that you can't force people to group in this way. They just won't do the content if they can't solo it, given the game needs to keep people entertained that's not a good thing for the future of the game. If content is created that is party based like Escha Reisen then fine, you have to accept it. When they do a bait and switch and make you think it's content for casual players and then change it next month because too many people were engaging in the new content that's going to have a very different reaction.

If they keep doing this there won't be a problem getting into ambuscade because people are going to stop playing the game again. You can't dismiss the casual portion of this game and giving them nothing while they pay the same subscription.

I understand that many people are simply only interested in their own self interest and want faster queues but you also have to keep in mind that there are a lot of solo casual players and that if they have no content to do anymore they will go play something else, this game is borderline unprofitable as it is. They have like 3 people and a small parrot on the dev team, not sure how much more streamlined they can make it with a smaller playerbase again.

In a perfect world with a welcoming and accepting playerbase (or a party instance system every other mmo has) maybe this would work, the xi playerbase has never been either of these things though so people just get ostracized for being scrubs.

[OmnysValefor]

You wrote several paragraphs about people only being interested in themselves ("wanting faster queues") in defense of soloers, lol.

Soloers are quite clearly only interested in themselves.

[Dale]

I'm assuming it was far too popular because I can see no other reason why the first month offered a set of monsters to fight and a solo monster fight yet this month offers 2 group monsters to fight. What's the point of having 2 tombs with 4 difficulty levels?

The first month the content was aimed at everyone, better geared players could do the more difficult fights for better rewards and everyone else could do the 2nd tomb on a fairly decent difficulty.

This month the "easy 2nd tomb" is 2 monsters, killing one makes the other monster enrage. The taur can use mortal ray and kill you or your pet/trust tank with a pretty good chance of success (cause cursna sucks) and they have party based aggro, so whether you hit the other or not it's going to go and kill your healer.

You really have to make your mind up what you want here, are you offering content for everyone or are you offering content where they have to be carried?

This feels like a bit of a bait and switch.

I would try stocking up on holy waters and spamming those. I had a lot better luck doing that than trying to rely on cursna (which sucks just as you say). I guess the spell requires a gear set to be effective at removing doom. And apparently a pretty good one - because my +15 to Cursna wasn't doing much.

[Ketaru]

yeah this is disappointing - gear with a pet job on it and ZERO pet stats for one thing - and replacing the only soloable event in the game with one designed to thwart soloers. Way to kill my desire to play SE.

Does it really? You keep saying things like this, but if I recall correctly, you were struggling with even the NORMAL dragon last month. Eventually, you're just going to have to admit your gear simply isn't good enough for current content- solo or not. Maybe Ambuscade just isn't what you should be doing right now.

EDIT: I just soloed the Demon duo on Very Easy playing an undergeared RNG. No bells and whistles like REM weapons. I literally just stood there, used ranged attacks, and used weaponskills at 1000 TP. Trusts were August, Gessho, Apururu, King of Hearts, and Cherukiki. To be fair, I would not have used Cherukiki if I had remembered she doesn't give a rat's hindquarters about status removal, there are others that do. Between three healing trusts, surely ONE of them will remove Doom.

So there, the very easiest mode is soloable by what has traditionally been considered one of those worst soloing jobs in the game. So the fight, is in fact, very soloable. Just maybe not on the difficulty you want to do it on.

[Pixela]

I would try stocking up on holy waters and spamming those. I had a lot better luck doing that than trying to rely on cursna (which sucks just as you say). I guess the spell requires a gear set to be effective at removing doom. And apparently a pretty good one - because my +15 to Cursna wasn't doing much.

Well the point was that it's been updated with a direct design decision to stop solo players more than anything else, you can't use holy waters on a trust tank or pet. They added Galantry, then they added a mob that can doom and as an added kick they put another mob in there.

I know you can turn or use holy waters, that wasn't the point I was making though. Point was that Square went 10x over what was needed to dissuade people from soloing and directly punish them instead now, probably because the content was more popular than they expected. Instead of just limiting how many times you can enter per day they decided to punish players for doing the content outside of groups. Considering the majority of content available to group players they are really not being very smart here.

Even Blizzard said the secret to their success was making content for everyone and not just the raiders or pvp players.

I guess the truth is the leadership of the game is changing so much they don't know what they want lately though.

[xiozen]

The problem is that they presented Ambuscade as content aimed at everyone, from soloers to top-geared players.

The Gallantry system is perfectly fine because, indeed, party play should be rewarded but we can't deny the fact that a lot of players are now playing solo in FFXI for different reasons, the dev team itself keeps adding ways to make soloing a possibility. I am not saying that the whole game should be soloable, it is not anyway but they should really be more careful with how they handle content, especially when they themselves say that a type of content is aimed at all players.

The choice of monsters for this month Ambuscade is clearly saying "we don't want you to solo" so they should either remove the possibility to enter solo altogether or change what they added. Gallantry was enough of an addition, if you party you get rewarded more, simple as that. Gallantry and the Tauri is more of : if you party you get rewarded more but if you solo you get punished.

Soloers are a non-negligible part of today's FFXI, whether we like it or not, they pay their fees just like everyone else and should be able to play the way they want to -again, especially when SE says "this content is for everyone"-. It takes 145 Volume 2 runs on Normal to get the whole set, that is work, it should be difficult and I don't think most soloers don't enjoy difficulty, on the contrary, but out of all the monsters in the game, chosing ones with mechanics such as Doom and Hundred Fists is punishing and it is clear it is not an innocent choice, even more so knowing how unreliable Cursna is.

Completely agree with this sentiment... luckily I'm in two linkshells and was able to party for this month's ambuscade; but last month I solo'd it... not everyone would be so fortunate. Perhaps some clearer definition of the intention behind this content should be presented instead of wrapping it in sparkly foil and claiming its cotton candy...

[Olor]

Does it really? You keep saying things like this, but if I recall correctly, you were struggling with even the NORMAL dragon last month. Eventually, you're just going to have to admit your gear simply isn't good enough for current content- solo or not. Maybe Ambuscade just isn't what you should be doing right now.


Right, which is why I needed ambuscade to be soloable - so I could get gear good enough to participate in solo and group content... HOW am I supposed to play if there is no gear ladder?

I have 119 skirmish one and 2 gear that I spent 10s of millions upgrading. I have a bunch of unity gear. I have some relic and AF (none of which, frankly, is better than my skirmish stuff) I can't get anything better solo - outside of ambuscade.

And I only had trouble on dragon on normal first time I tried. After doing it a few times solo on easy it was easy on normal. Hard I couldn't hit it enough to win, though if I could have worn the gear that dropped last month I bet I could have done it. Accuracy was my only issue. I was surviving just fine, but I couldn't hit it enough to take it down.

What content am I supposed to do? I'm not interested in spending 6 hours shouting, I have limited play time, I am willing to group up but the game makes it hard to find other players who want to do the same content.

Why does it bother you that I want to make my character better and play the game? Would you rather players like me just quit? Cause the game won't last long without our subs.

I am not the best player in the universe but what is holding me back is gear, not skill. I did endgame events fine in the past when everything wasn't so ridiculously stratified. Now if you're not caught up on gear you're left out. And because every new thing invalidates every older thing, no one who has better gear is willing to group up on the lower tier content. I could probably solo a lot of it with gear just an inch better than I have but right now I am totally stuck.

[detlef]

Pretty much you should be focusing on Escha gear. Especially with the extra drops campaign this month, that's probably something you should prioritize.

Question: do you have friends in-game? 2-3 people can get so much done.

[Olor]

Pretty much you should be focusing on Escha gear. Especially with the extra drops campaign this month, that's probably something you should prioritize.

Question: do you have friends in-game? 2-3 people can get so much done.

No, unfortunately everyone I used to play with has quit. They are either playing single player games or FFXIV. One friend will come back during the free play time to help me out with finding my way to a couple of homepoints but other than that I am on my own.

I used to have a half decent LS but I had to move and I came back to an empty linkshell.

Escha NMs are not soloable by someone in my gear, I don't feel comfortable leading on content I've never done (even after reading the wikis I am not even sure how to pop Escha NMs) and I don't have the playtime to sit in town for 3 hours shouting for a group, regardless.

Ambuscade was perfect. I could solo it. I could do a couple runs in the morning before work, and a couple before bed and make progress. The gear was actually good.

They didn't need to ruin it.

[detlef]

Aren't there supposed to be a lot of people on Asura? A lot of those T1s in Zi'tah drop very solid gear and the only real strat is nuke the right element and don't die. The triggers can be bought from Curio Moogles.

Edit: Kinda sidetracked but yeah this new Ambuscade is so much less appealing than last month's version. The fight is harder, the monthly rewards are worse, the KI farming is more annoying, and the new queuing system doesn't help matters. Also the quadav fight hasn't been figured out but is also super annoying.

[Olor]

Aren't there supposed to be a lot of people on Asura? A lot of those T1s in Zi'tah drop very solid gear and the only real strat is nuke the right element and don't die. The triggers can be bought from Curio Moogles.

Edit: Kinda sidetracked but yeah this new Ambuscade is so much less appealing than last month's version. The fight is harder, the monthly rewards are worse, the KI farming is more annoying, and the new queuing system doesn't help matters. Also the quadav fight hasn't been figured out but is also super annoying.

I don't have a nuking job. My BLU is not at all geared for nuking.

There are a lot of people but no one groups up with scrubs - at least not without 3 hours of shouting -.-

Thanks for letting me know I can get pop items from moogle. That's nice.

If I can find folks willing to do it I am up for it, I just don't want to spend limited time shouting. I'd rather just log off and breed pokemon or something.

The only bright side to them ruining ambuscade is that I can focus on doing other stuff this month, I guess. I only have pup of the jobs on this armor, and I don't play pup really so I can go without it, especially since there are no pet stats on it. I might do a few runs if I can find a group on Normal, but I am not going to sweat it.

Maybe I will take my level 70 DRG to 99 so I can at least enjoy last month's armor set.

[Dale]

Well the point was that it's been updated with a direct design decision to stop solo players more than anything else, you can't use holy waters on a trust tank or pet. They added Galantry, then they added a mob that can doom and as an added kick they put another mob in there.

I know you can turn or use holy waters, that wasn't the point I was making though. Point was that Square went 10x over what was needed to dissuade people from soloing and directly punish them instead now, probably because the content was more popular than they expected. Instead of just limiting how many times you can enter per day they decided to punish players for doing the content outside of groups. Considering the majority of content available to group players they are really not being very smart here.

Even Blizzard said the secret to their success was making content for everyone and not just the raiders or pvp players.

I guess the truth is the leadership of the game is changing so much they don't know what they want lately though.

That doom crap is a pain whether you are in a group or not. So I'm not sure why that mechanic punishes solo players in particular. It's just miserable to deal with all around. So it's likely to dissuade both soloists and groups alike.

I was just letting you know I had more success at getting the doom off by spamming holy waters instead of trying to get it off with that Cursna Spell, which I agreed sucks.

I'll try soloing it on normal later and see how difficult it is. Then I'll have a better idea as to how hard SE is making this new content for soloists using trusts. You may be right on all your points.

I'll add a comment to this thread once I try it out and see.

[Stompa]

I agree with many posts here, and I particularly relate to Olor's posts.

There isn't a right/wrong way to play any game, and this is especially true of extremely complex videogames.

Olor was clearly happy notching up Hallmarks on solo, with a limited timeframe, was still enjoying the feeling of making slow-but-steady progress. They have said in the past that they would like to team up, but that it isn't always practical, and so the solo option made them happy as a default option.

This month we see the arrival of OCD "Operation Certain Death" AKA Jobmaster Battlefield. This represents compulsory high-level group content. Nobody in their right mind is going to do OCD battle with less than 6/6 players. And by its nature, it is Jobmasters only. So this represents the high-level, pro-gear only, full-party only, serious content that hardcore people wanted.

I would say that there is a place for OCD type battlefields, and a place for solo casual mid-range content too.

So there isn't a right/wrong here. It is just about a person's limited available game-time, empty LS, empty server, or their personal preference that they actually enjoy soloing mid-range content. This doesn't make that person wrong, or a bad player. It just means that this is the most realistic way for them as an individual to play the game.

So I think there should be Ambuscades at BCNM entrances, with a "Single NM" battlefield every month, with only "low-mid tier" battle option. This would allow solo players to build Hallmarks slowly, without being made to feel guilty that they are fighting low-mid range mode, and taking 25 minutes to do so.

Other entrances could be for harder mode Ambuscades, "multiple NMs" and aimed at full parties. This is the same as Jobmaster OCD battle, it is separated from other easier content, and aimed at serious hardcore groups only.

[Olor]

Thanks Stompa! I always enjoy your posts - your positive attitude really shines through. Makes me want to make a 75 lock/99 lock character on your server and play sometime ^^

[Dale]

I agree with many posts here, and I particularly relate to Olor's posts.

There isn't a right/wrong way to play any game, and this is especially true of extremely complex videogames.

Olor was clearly happy notching up Hallmarks on solo, with a limited timeframe, was still enjoying the feeling of making slow-but-steady progress. They have said in the past that they would like to team up, but that it isn't always practical, and so the solo option made them happy as a default option.

This month we see the arrival of OCD "Operation Certain Death" AKA Jobmaster Battlefield. This represents compulsory high-level group content. Nobody in their right mind is going to do OCD battle with less than 6/6 players. And by its nature, it is Jobmasters only. So this represents the high-level, pro-gear only, full-party only, serious content that hardcore people wanted.

I would say that there is a place for OCD type battlefields, and a place for solo casual mid-range content too.

So there isn't a right/wrong here. It is just about a person's limited available game-time, empty LS, empty server, or their personal preference that they actually enjoy soloing mid-range content. This doesn't make that person wrong, or a bad player. It just means that this is the most realistic way for them as an individual to play the game.

So I think there should be Ambuscades at BCNM entrances, with a "Single NM" battlefield every month, with only "low-mid tier" battle option. This would allow solo players to build Hallmarks slowly, without being made to feel guilty that they are fighting low-mid range mode, and taking 25 minutes to do so.

Other entrances could be for harder mode Ambuscades, "multiple NMs" and aimed at full parties. This is the same as Jobmaster OCD battle, it is separated from other easier content, and aimed at serious hardcore groups only.

I think we can all agree that SE has made tremendous strides in making this game more solo-friendly than it once was. So I think this debate could use some perspective.

I remember back when you couldn't do hardly anything on this game solo. The game has come a long way in that respect. So while I'm usually the first to pile on and be critical of a game and its flaws - when it comes to catering to solo players I really do believe this game has gone above and beyond and deserves some credit for that.

[Stompa]

I think we can all agree that SE has made tremendous strides in making this game more solo-friendly than it once was. So I think this debate could use some perspective.

I remember back when you couldn't do hardly anything on this game solo. The game has come a long way in that respect. So while I'm usually the first to pile on and be critical of a game and its flaws - when it comes to catering to solo players I really do believe this game has gone above and beyond and deserves some credit for that.


It isn't really about historical soloing versus the situation today.

It is about Ambuscade specifically. It allows solo entry. But it brackets the solo entry in the same zone as group entry. So the solo person gets hated on, they are made to feel guilty and unhappy when they tackle low-mid range mode, and take 25 mins to win.

The point is that allowing solo entry, should go alongside an entry system that doesn't create tension in the playerbase, or make people feel guilty for choosing that option. Solo entry is a legit option, offered by the game. But if you take it, you are made to feel bad.

Also, the multiple NMs / catastrophic attacks factor, is not solo friendly at all, and yet is designated as the solo option this month.

So it is really not about the past versus today, but the current content. I am not doing Ambuscade at all, because I don't agree with my points being ninjad every month. Maybe I have enough stress in my life already, without worrying about my points vanishing.

It would be far better if the Ambuscade entrances were multiple BCNM areas, and I would suggest putting a type of "Microcosmic Orb" / "Macrocosmic Orb" situation where there is specific BCNM zones for solo/duo Ambuscade, against single NMs, with low-end difficulty and low-end rewards. And a higher level pop, in different BCNM zones, for parties of 3 to 6 players, with multiple NMs, higher levels of rewards and difficulty.

We all want to see players enjoying the game and being happy. Nobody should be made to feel unhappy or feel guilty, just because they choose to solo a battle slowly, for whatever reason. Splitting the 1-2 / 3-6 player groups into separate Ambuscade entrances, would stop this tension and allow people to be happy playing the game in the manner that best suits them.

[Diavolo]

Escha NMs are not soloable by someone in my gear

Actually, many of them are. If your item level is 119 and you have spent at least a minimum amount of time getting merit/job points and completing quests/missions to unlock vorseals you'll have have an easy time with Tier 1 NMs in Escha Zitah using a balanced party of trusts, especially now that their stats appear to have been given a significant boost post-update (I just spent an hour soloing Apex mobs with trusts and they had higher accuracy than I did before food). You can get some decent, augmentable gear there and then use that to work your way up to Ru'Aunn NMs.

[Stompa]

Thanks Stompa! I always enjoy your posts - your positive attitude really shines through. Makes me want to make a 75 lock/99 lock character on your server and play sometime ^^


Thanks for your kind words. :)

To be honest, playing my level 99 character in level 99 gear is my favourite option. Its crazy I know. Level 99 player in level 99 gear, wow that is so bizarre!

The level 75 lock is popular with many players too, but it is a bit too restrictive for me.

I can't tell you how happy I am when I use my level 80~99 gear, my level 99 OA 2~4x Magian weapon, gears from Meebles etc. I find that with a couple of Trusts, and this level 80~99 gear, Abyssea is still a fun place to be, with no accuracy issues or queueing!

I get laughed at of course, but I think that making people laugh is a very noble thing to do.

[Olor]

Actually, many of them are. If your item level is 119 and you have spent at least a minimum amount of time getting merit/job points and completing quests/missions to unlock vorseals you'll have have an easy time with Tier 1 NMs in Escha Zitah using a balanced party of trusts, especially now that their stats appear to have been given a significant boost post-update (I just spent an hour soloing Apex mobs with trusts and they had higher accuracy than I did before food). You can get some decent, augmentable gear there and then use that to work your way up to Ru'Aunn NMs.

Not on my jobs. I've read up on them. I only have BLU/THF/BRD no PLD and no BLM... I have BST but I don't play it since they ruined it.

None of the NMs that drop anything useful for me look soloable on my jobs with my gear and my trusts.

I've read the BG threads - if folks there with trusts like August are struggling to solo things like Vidala my BLU is not going to cut it.

[Pixela]

Aren't there supposed to be a lot of people on Asura? A lot of those T1s in Zi'tah drop very solid gear and the only real strat is nuke the right element and don't die. The triggers can be bought from Curio Moogles..

There are a lot of people on Asura but as with most other servers, they don't want anyone they deem beneath them to join. They will complain in party that some scrub asked to join, or complain on their linkshell that some upstart in awful gear bothered them. They even shout higher Ilevel/JP requirements in shouts as standard (that are known to be pure nonsense by the chosen people) just so the unworthy masses don't send them a tell to bother them.


Actually, many of them are. If your item level is 119 and you have spent at least a minimum amount of time getting merit/job points and completing quests/missions to unlock vorseals you'll have have an easy time with Tier 1 NMs in Escha Zitah using a balanced party of trusts, especially now that their stats appear to have been given a significant boost post-update (I just spent an hour soloing Apex mobs with trusts and they had higher accuracy than I did before food). You can get some decent, augmentable gear there and then use that to work your way up to Ru'Aunn NMs.

Good luck with the Caturae, or doing anything with basic 119 aluvion gear. Vorseals do help but I think the main problem is people seem to judge others by their own playing skills / knowledge / gear / JPs. I can tell you that the difference going form higher tier 119 gear from basic stuff is crazy. They only have to look at you and you'll drop dead.

Those trusts buffs will be gone tomorow with the emergency maint, enjoy them while you can.

[OmnysValefor]

Edit: Kinda sidetracked but yeah this new Ambuscade is so much less appealing than last month's version. The fight is harder, the monthly rewards are worse, the KI farming is more annoying, and the new queuing system doesn't help matters. Also the quadav fight hasn't been figured out but is also super annoying.

And the gear, frankly, isn't all that amazing.

[OmnysValefor]

It isn't really about historical soloing versus the situation today.

It is about Ambuscade specifically. It allows solo entry. But it brackets the solo entry in the same zone as group entry. So the solo person gets hated on, they are made to feel guilty and unhappy when they tackle low-mid range mode, and take 25 mins to win.

Three instances, five instances, on content that is designed to be rushed (because it will gone/replaced soon) is a poor choice in any context. Even if it forced full six man parties, three instances isn't enough. Valefor regularly has 250-700 people online (favoring the lower end, 265 atm) and I've had 20 minute waits at the book. I can't imagine what Asura must be like. Now the 25 minute wait means that I got unlucky at clicking the book at the right time, or that there were a few groups taking a really long time.

Anyway, yeah, the content is designed to be rushed. It will be gone. I'm simultaneously glad the new Usukane gear isn't that great (I'm fine with leaving my mnk and nin in the gear they have/don't use), and frustrated because mnk/sam/nin* deserved better. Pup deserved a whole lot better.

I'll never understand why bst/pup don't share pet-centric pieces. It gets rid of the stat-weighting problem.

[Diavolo]

Not on my jobs. I've read up on them. I only have BLU/THF/BRD no PLD and no BLM... I have BST but I don't play it since they ruined it.

There isn't much to lose except a few minutes and a few hundred sparks. I solo'd a lot of those Tier 1 NMs in Zitah on several jobs when I was looking to get back into the game last year, one of which was THF with gear likely worse than what you described above. Use August, Amchuchu or Gessho as tank, Apururu or Yoran as WHM (or Kupipi if you aren't in their unities), Koru-Moru as RDM, Iroha II and Shantotto II as damage dealers. I guarantee you'll find that some of those NMs are not as difficult as you may have been led to believe, including Vidala which you can pop after using a Mirror's Tonic to negate the Petrify he uses to open the fight.

[OmnysValefor]

Amchuchu for the bird lady, Cunnast, Gestalt and Angrboda (golem)
Gessho for Vidala (Vidala does nuke but the nukes don't hurt at all)

If you go as blu, make sure to use Saline Coat for pretty much all of those NMs (vidala really doesn't hurt). If you have /run sub, that's also very useful for keeping resist against the proper element for whichever fight.

Also, Asura is famous because of reddit. Head over the ffxi sub {Over there} and ask for some help.

[Olor]

Thanks for the advice folks. I do really appreciate it.

[scaevola]

The Ambuscade demon fight isn't bad, but it certainly reminded me that Dread Spikes, when used by monsters, could maybe use a nerf.

[Jin_Uzuki]

Not on my jobs. I've read up on them. I only have BLU/THF/BRD no PLD and no BLM... I have BST but I don't play it since they ruined it.


What did they do to BST? Didn't they just reworked the command radius? I still bring BST to Escha without problems.

[Jile]

What did they do to BST? Didn't they just reworked the command radius? I still bring BST to Escha without problems.

Ugh
..Pandora's box was opened..

SE profoundly negatively impacted how BST plays, thereby ruining how many of us have played the job for a decade. The job abilities are hit or miss and I find myself having to run around my pet hitting my my macros several times 'hoping' they will fire... An idiotic adjustment that further shows SE makes brash adjustments to please mob mentality while disregarding the actual players of the jobs they damage.

/closes Pandora's box

Back to ambuscade. The points per completion need bumped up for smaller groups especially since less people (on Phoenix) seem interested in doing runs this month, at least so far lol.

[Olor]

Jile nailed it. I don't find BST pleasurable to play anymore.

[Jin_Uzuki]

I don't get it. You can still self-sc (Which makes it desirable for CP party, as well Escha NM) and as far I know (Haven't done it in month since I got my August trust) BST burns are still viable for content like Sinister Reign.

What's the issue exactly?

[Jile]

I don't get it. You can still self-sc (Which makes it desirable for CP party, as well Escha NM) and as far I know (Haven't done it in month since I got my August trust) BST burns are still viable for content like Sinister Reign.

What's the issue exactly?

The Nerf had the (presumably) unexpected effect of making JA's only work when you are within a 90 degree angle of the face of the mob your fighting and at or under 7 yalms away. This adjustment forces people, not to be engaged, but to run between their pets face and the mob its engaged with to use their macros and the functionality of said macros is compounded by the physical size of the mob your fighting you cannot stand behind nor past the 90 degree frontal axis and have JA's function.

Additionally if your fighting say the tauri and the demon casts on your pet and you need to reward your pet.... Forget about it, your pet is running to the demon because its stupid so you have to chase after your pet and hope to get back in range before it dies or use heel and then reward then send your pet again.

Bottom line to answer your question is SE made gameplay tedious and glitchy when it worked fine since BST's inception. If you didn't have the fortune of playing BST before the Nerf it might be hard to understand the job wasn't always so annoying to play.

Had SE used a modicum of restraint they would have made the JA range 20 yalms instead of ~7 and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[OmnysValefor]

I don't get it. You can still self-sc (Which makes it desirable for CP party, as well Escha NM) and as far I know (Haven't done it in month since I got my August trust) BST burns are still viable for content like Sinister Reign.

What's the issue exactly?

Okay, I like to think I'm less-biased on this one.

I was a bandwagon BST in the aby area (the age of lowman loved a solojob that could do almost anything, and could do anything teamed with other BSTs). I didn't particularly love the job but the pets were invincible, especially in Abyssea. (For a while, pets in Aby could have -100% DT or PDT, it might have just been PDT). So for a while, they were literally unkillable.

I left the job alone since before adoulin.

BST used to play like SMN, you sent your pet in, made it do its thing, and you stayed safe. Unlike SMN, your pets could tank quiet well and be healed.

Prior to the BST nerf, The very good BSTs were soloing Avatars on D and VD. They were doing this because they could exploit terrain and stand at a safe distance from the bosses while still in range of their pets to order attacks and Reward. I believe that I could have done this too, all it takes is sitting in your best Pet-DT gear gear, using the right pet, and swapping for Ready commands.

Now I've been playing BST because my friends want to screw around on pet jobs. Generally it's fine, I don't mind it. It does get a bit irritating when you're meleeing with your pet, it switches target to something within melee range and it's suddenly too far away to command. BST pets are just like smn pets in that they hit the last thing to hit them (although they don't care what hits you, unless you Snarl and have actual enmity on the mobs). So it can be difficult to keep your pet focused and within range. If you're dealing with a LOT of mobs, it can be quite frustrating finding your pet.

Does the range need to be as long as it was? I don't think so. 10 or 15 should do. I shouldn't just be safe from all AOEs, freely Ready'ing without regard to TP (my tp or my pet's). I do have to say that I don't really see a problem with how far a BST should be able to Reward from. I'd leave Ready, Sic, and Snarl at a shortened range though.

Edit: I don't know if avatar solos are still possible (for bst), probably.

[Urmom]

Okay, I like to think I'm less-biased on this one.

I was a bandwagon BST in the aby area (the age of lowman loved a solojob that could do almost anything, and could do anything teamed with other BSTs). I didn't particularly love the job but the pets were invincible, especially in Abyssea. (For a while, pets in Aby could have -100% DT or PDT, it might have just been PDT). So for a while, they were literally unkillable.

I left the job alone since before adoulin.

BST used to play like SMN, you sent your pet in, made it do its thing, and you stayed safe. Unlike SMN, your pets could tank quiet well and be healed.

Prior to the BST nerf, The very good BSTs were soloing Avatars on D and VD. They were doing this because they could exploit terrain and stand at a safe distance from the bosses while still in range of their pets to order attacks and Reward. I believe that I could have done this too, all it takes is sitting in your best Pet-DT gear gear, using the right pet, and swapping for Ready commands.

Now I've been playing BST because my friends want to screw around on pet jobs. Generally it's fine, I don't mind it. It does get a bit irritating when you're meleeing with your pet, it switches target to something within melee range and it's suddenly too far away to command. BST pets are just like smn pets in that they hit the last thing to hit them (although they don't care what hits you, unless you Snarl and have actual enmity on the mobs). So it can be difficult to keep your pet focused and within range. If you're dealing with a LOT of mobs, it can be quite frustrating finding your pet.

Does the range need to be as long as it was? I don't think so. 10 or 15 should do. I shouldn't just be safe from all AOEs, freely Ready'ing without regard to TP (my tp or my pet's). I do have to say that I don't really see a problem with how far a BST should be able to Reward from. I'd leave Ready, Sic, and Snarl at a shortened range though.

100% pdt was pretty easy but you could do 100% dt as well but it required a very specific set of atmas that killed you and your pets DD capabilities and the right gear and keeping pet hp between ~25-50% with one of the atmas giving 30/tic dot... and yeah dots could still kill the pet. But definitely had a high lvl of survivability before the nerfs

Wouldn't say that avatars can't tank... they can to an extant if you use the same dt gear and choose the right ones. A bit less hp but more built in pdt and huge resistances if you can use the right ones. The lack of healing except on a couple of them is what makes it hard for anything longer... though that said a lot of those harder bst solos involved using a few dawn mulsums which any pet job can do. And note you can still use them though they don't stack so kills your invent. Though at the time smn had to be more like 17ish away to issue commands which made things with big AoEs like avatars a lot more dangerous to the master than for bst.

And of course the very good people on other jobs have been soloing VDs as well. Usually jobs like rdm, sch and blu. No surprise as all have always been good solo jobs

[OmnysValefor]

Yeah, very skilled players on many jobs can do a lot of things. (Other jobs, like say mnk, just don't have the resourcefulness regardless of skill.)

The problem with BST was that it was basically a guaranteed win. If you brought enough mulsums.

Because players do depend on TP (as bst pets once did), they can't just idle in -50% PDT gear and wait 10-20s for some powerful JA to be ready. They also have about one third to one half the HP of BST pets.

The mechanics were overpowered. Now they're underpowered.

[Pixela]

I hope the devs listened to feedback and saw how few people are doing ambuscade with the horrible choice for monster(S), hopefully this months ambuscade won't punish players for soloing as severely as this did this month. Yes I know less wait times suit a minority but bored players won't retain their sub, this was one of the few things "scrubs" could do in this game.

I do ambuscade once a day now and no matter what time I go I can walk right in with zero wait on Asura because ITS DEAD. Killing the popularity of content isn't fixing congestion anymore than putting your puppy to sleep is a good cure for its tummy ache.

[Diavolo]

I do ambuscade once a day now and no matter what time I go I can walk right in with zero wait on Asura because ITS DEAD. Killing the popularity of content isn't fixing congestion anymore than putting your puppy to sleep is a good cure for its tummy ache.

I disagree with you on a great many things, but this made me laugh because I find it to be somewhat true. The change in difficulty from one month to the next was drastic and seemed odd given how Ambuscade was content aimed at helping new/returning players obtain gear that gave them a fighting chance.

[Ketaru]

I do ambuscade once a day now and no matter what time I go I can walk right in with zero wait on Asura because ITS DEAD. Killing the popularity of content isn't fixing congestion anymore than putting your puppy to sleep is a good cure for its tummy ache.

A little context is needed. The first is the fact the armor this time around is less than stellar and only applies to a very select group of jobs, none of which are particularly popular right now. Also, a CP campaign is going on. Many of the most active players on the server right now are getting JP.

[Olor]

Ambuscade is really not fun anymore. Can there please be an option that is doable solo or in a duo on normal? I don't think that's too much to ask. As is, you need a full party of people in proper job slots to do normal with average 119 gear. Tried difficult with a full party and the weird gimmicks are hard to deal with when you have a group full of people who don't really know the fight/not everyone on optimal jobs.

Of course it would have helped if we had dropped the non BLU DDs because, frankly they added negligible or even NEGATIVE damage (by interrupting the BLU's skillchains) - but that's really a crappy place for the game to be in, where someone with about the same level of gear as someone else is not welcome because their job isn't able to do the one thing that is expected of them - deal damage.

Please consider making Ambuscade more accessible for all jobs next month. We should not be forced to exclude people on most jobs just to get wins.

Also can the event be slightly less punishing for WHM? Being a WHM is hard enough without draw in, AOEs, silencega and multiple mobs popping up and eating your face. I'd like to be able to get whm gear this month.... I am willing to WHM to do it but this event is really BS.

In the meantime if folks could respond with strategies/setups that work - I'd like to try to get some parties this month. I have BRD WHM for support and BLU (NQ) and BST (NQ) for DD.

[detlef]

Ambuscade was never fun. Not now, not ever. It's just that it was particularly easy the 1st month and maybe it had the benefit of being new.

As a healer, you can stand out of range of the Gravitic Pull move. Adds can be slept (if you're BRD, use Troubadour Horde Lullaby). Also if you're not familiar with the fight, try an easier difficulty.

[Olor]

Ambuscade was never fun. Not now, not ever. It's just that it was particularly easy the 1st month and maybe it had the benefit of being new.

As a healer, you can stand out of range of the Gravitic Pull move. Adds can be slept (if you're BRD, use Troubadour Horde Lullaby). Also if you're not familiar with the fight, try an easier difficulty.

Good to know lullaby works. Maybe I can get an invite as a BRD, WHM was a real pain. Any idea how much MACC I'd need to be rocking to make that work on higher difficulties? I haven't played in a long while and stopped focusing on gearing it. I'd really hate to get an invite as a sleeper and not have what it takes to make it work.

I kept getting my face eaten by the adds when I stood back, not sure how that was able to happen since I don't see anyone else posting about it, maybe my group was just fail at crowd control, but that was definitely making my life harder as whm.

In terms of fun I actually found the first month fun, but I find being able to make progress at my own pace fun, so mileage may vary. It would have been more fun if I didn't need to spam it 1000 times to get gear, but that's the trade off for being a soloer/duoer and I am willing to accept that. But if I need to group up just to do normal the points are waaaay too low and the event goes from being fun to being a crummy nightmare.

I'd be happy (frankly) to do lower difficulties and just spam it and get it done but it seems others would mostly rather lose a whole bunch of times (at which the better players quit often) bashing their heads against the wall. The only reason I got any points at all is because I asked us to switch to normal because difficult wasn't happening. But people sneer at doing normal.

That said, people might be more willing to try lower difficulties if you didn't need 160 runs to cap out on gear on normal...

[OmnysValefor]

Time to show off my MS paint skill

http://i.imgur.com/Xj7BwHq.png

As a tank, I pull the boss like so. I pull him to the corner we start in, have him face east, with me facing west (my back to the east).

WHMs can stand at max range off me and curaga on me when they need to.

The most important part is generating aoe hate when the adds pop. All so far have had "party-hate", meaning that the mobs will go for whoever has generated the most overall enmity. The adds will spawn all the same time, as soon as the tank sees any, they should start generating aoe hate (Warcry is good for this. I go all out Sentinel > Warcry > Rampart and start popping personal stuff like cures). If necessary, the whm and bard should run in at the same time so that if they do get agro, all the adds are together in lullaby range.

Sleep them, run back out. Once the adds are slept, I step backwards (eastward) so the slept adds are in front of me, so that if they DO wake, I can parry/block them.

I generally want mages to be east of me but some will stand northeast and so the red line represents them, the green dots represent DD positioning. Barstonra + Barblindra help.

Edit: And yes, Bard is wonderful here. "Nitro" should allow any decently geared bard to sleep effectively.

[Olor]

Thanks so much. I appreciate that help. It's hard to do a group when folks don't know what is going on.

So is the general strat to sleep the adds and just burn down the boss with them out? My group was killing the adds.

Do you just drop GEO from the party in favour of bard or do you do something lik WHM GEO BARD PLD BLU BLM?

And, hopefully I am not being a pest here but what buffs would a 3 song bard generally do?

[Urmom]

Ambuscade is really not fun anymore. Can there please be an option that is doable solo or in a duo on normal? I don't think that's too much to ask. As is, you need a full party of people in proper job slots to do normal with average 119 gear. Tried difficult with a full party and the weird gimmicks are hard to deal with when you have a group full of people who don't really know the fight/not everyone on optimal jobs.

Of course it would have helped if we had dropped the non BLU DDs because, frankly they added negligible or even NEGATIVE damage (by interrupting the BLU's skillchains) - but that's really a crappy place for the game to be in, where someone with about the same level of gear as someone else is not welcome because their job isn't able to do the one thing that is expected of them - deal damage.

Please consider making Ambuscade more accessible for all jobs next month. We should not be forced to exclude people on most jobs just to get wins.

Also can the event be slightly less punishing for WHM? Being a WHM is hard enough without draw in, AOEs, silencega and multiple mobs popping up and eating your face. I'd like to be able to get whm gear this month.... I am willing to WHM to do it but this event is really BS.

In the meantime if folks could respond with strategies/setups that work - I'd like to try to get some parties this month. I have BRD WHM for support and BLU (NQ) and BST (NQ) for DD.

Wait are you talking about intense? Because for regular D/VD are definitely soloable. Ls member does it a bit on blu.

As far as strats I've personally been doing intense normal with 3 bst. Actually won with no trusts once lol. But with D the difficulty went way up and could barely hit anything for little dmg and died fast. For regular I do VD 3 bsts with karuha, nashmeira II and KoH. Get's a little hairy without Apuru since Karuha is pretty meh and dies a lot but no complete wipes (though did have to burn unleash once or twice and/or had a guy die). D was super easy like that. Adds aren't really a problem. 2-3 tegmina buffets kills them all even on VD while doing good dmg to the main. Just gotta watch your charges so you aren't catch with your pants down

[OmnysValefor]

Thanks so much. I appreciate that help. It's hard to do a group when folks don't know what is going on.

So is the general strat to sleep the adds and just burn down the boss with them out? My group was killing the adds.

Do you just drop GEO from the party in favour of bard or do you do something lik WHM GEO BARD PLD BLU BLM?

And, hopefully I am not being a pest here but what buffs would a 3 song bard generally do?

My vv key is not orking again. Sorry about the typos.

You probably kno by this point that I don't really favor too many melee. I prefer PLD(since I am), VVHM, GEO, BRD, Melee, Melee and no, I really haven't seen anything out of blu that makes me favor them on this fight. I've had great group using DRG, DNC, SAM, and yes BLU.

GEOs buffs are superior or equal so I'd have the bard do March, March, Madrigal and have the GEO do Fury/Frailty. If accuracy is just not a problem, a minuet never hurt.

[Olor]

Wait are you talking about intense? Because for regular D/VD are definitely soloable. Ls member does it a bit on blu.

As far as strats I've personally been doing intense normal with 3 bst. Actually won with no trusts once lol. But with D the difficulty went way up and could barely hit anything for little dmg and died fast. For regular I do VD 3 bsts with karuha, nashmeira II and KoH. Get's a little hairy without Apuru since Karuha is pretty meh and dies a lot but no complete wipes (though did have to burn unleash once or twice and/or had a guy die). D was super easy like that. Adds aren't really a problem. 2-3 tegmina buffets kills them all even on VD while doing good dmg to the main. Just gotta watch your charges so you aren't catch with your pants down

I am talking about regular. And alas, what is soloable for someone with best in slot all over and/or helpful add ons is not necessarily soloable for someone with "okay" but "not amazing" 119 gear playing vanilla.

I might try a BST run. Thanks for the tips. Why King of Hearts and Nashmeira particularly? I use KoH on BLU to get the refresh II but why would he be the character of choice for BSTs?


My vv key is not orking again. Sorry about the typos.

You probably kno by this point that I don't really favor too many melee. I prefer PLD(since I am), VVHM, GEO, BRD, Melee, Melee and no, I really haven't seen anything out of blu that makes me favor them on this fight. I've had great group using DRG, DNC, SAM, and yes BLU.

GEOs buffs are superior or equal so I'd have the bard do March, March, Madrigal and have the GEO do Fury/Frailty. If accuracy is just not a problem, a minuet never hurt.

Thanks much. This sounds like a doable setup too.

I think I might dust off ye olde bst and try soloing easy too...

I really appreciate everyone who has chimed in with advice/ideas here. I think half the issue is just not knowing what works or not and not really wanting to experiment overly much with a pickup group.

[zataz]

It isn't really about historical soloing versus the situation today.

It is about Ambuscade specifically. It allows solo entry. But it brackets the solo entry in the same zone as group entry. So the solo person gets hated on, they are made to feel guilty and unhappy when they tackle low-mid range mode, and take 25 mins to win.

The point is that allowing solo entry, should go alongside an entry system that doesn't create tension in the playerbase, or make people feel guilty for choosing that option. Solo entry is a legit option, offered by the game. But if you take it, you are made to feel bad.

Also, the multiple NMs / catastrophic attacks factor, is not solo friendly at all, and yet is designated as the solo option this month.

So it is really not about the past versus today, but the current content. I am not doing Ambuscade at all, because I don't agree with my points being ninjad every month. Maybe I have enough stress in my life already, without worrying about my points vanishing.

It would be far better if the Ambuscade entrances were multiple BCNM areas, and I would suggest putting a type of "Microcosmic Orb" / "Macrocosmic Orb" situation where there is specific BCNM zones for solo/duo Ambuscade, against single NMs, with low-end difficulty and low-end rewards. And a higher level pop, in different BCNM zones, for parties of 3 to 6 players, with multiple NMs, higher levels of rewards and difficulty.

We all want to see players enjoying the game and being happy. Nobody should be made to feel unhappy or feel guilty, just because they choose to solo a battle slowly, for whatever reason. Splitting the 1-2 / 3-6 player groups into separate Ambuscade entrances, would stop this tension and allow people to be happy playing the game in the manner that best suits them.

bah u people solo lol make it so trust cant be used then u will solo >.>

[Castanica]

The first ambuscade was rewarding and fun, I was doing runs on my undergeared mule char and making decent progress solo.
The second ambuscade was really dang annoying, I struggled to do the minimum I could and I had to group or put a lot of effort in.
The 3rd ambuscade? I haven't even bothered, way to make good content and ruin it.


bah u people solo lol make it so trust cant be used then u will solo >.>

You seem to be confusing the term solo with a badge of honor. Solo means without any other living players in your party, it's not a measurement of your epeen.

[Urmom]

I am talking about regular. And alas, what is soloable for someone with best in slot all over and/or helpful add ons is not necessarily soloable for someone with "okay" but "not amazing" 119 gear playing vanilla.

I might try a BST run. Thanks for the tips. Why King of Hearts and Nashmeira particularly? I use KoH on BLU to get the refresh II but why would he be the character of choice for BSTs?


Actually wasn't really the best geared. 2 were basically full time ready/dt set... so like addon head/legs af3 hands then mostly the dt stuff main was similar but all 119 slots so trusts didn't suck. Just bst seems to be really good for this partly because AoE real good if you aren't sleeping and from what I'm reading almost sounds like gravity pull might be some sort of divided out dmg thing so more bodies is good. And of course being able to use hq pets like bertha and run wild then reset ja each run helps a lot.

My preference for KoH is largely due to his starting fights out with Dia III and then doing a decent job of keeping it up. The def down really helps your pets. Plus can heal himself and throw phalanx nas and such. Nashmeira II is basically making due. From what I've seen she's the most reliable AoE healer that isn't Apururu and at higher difficulties you will wipe every time without one of those 2 or a real healer just because the AoE dmg comes too fast for single cures

On a side note there is always the possibility of trying intense. Only did it a couple of times because slightly less hallmarks (though more gallantry if in pt) but Normal intense seemed to be a bit easier than VD regular though D intense was waaaaaaaay harder than VD regular. At least for me but that's largely because in regular the strong AoE mob is always there while in intense only saw the adds AoE so could kill them fastish first

[detlef]

SC MB strat also rocks the antlion. It's super easy to enter on Valefor now so a lot of people must either have given up or be done for the month. It's too bad because antlion is turning out to be as easy or easier than dragon.

[Vanfrano]

I'm growing tired of Ambuscade, it was quite fun the first month, last month I didn't even cap one new cape and this month I almost don't run it at all.
I don't see many people either in Mhaura, probably because full groups can get everything in one or two days and soloers don't bother anymore.
My friends don't play anymore and I don't find it easy to make new friends, especially when you have been playing with the same people for almost thirteen years so I end up soloing. I don't mind the grind but it's not fun at all and the subtle increase in difficulty makes it even less fun. Soloers without perfect gears or perfect jobs need 140 runs on normal and that's considering they clear each and every run, it's way too much.

I'm not too fond of the monthly content/reset anyway.

[Urmom]

I think some people have realized that gallantry means they can grind half as much to get the sets. Get some now then get the rest with gallantry next month while farming for that months set

[Olor]

Actually wasn't really the best geared. 2 were basically full time ready/dt set... so like addon head/legs af3 hands then mostly the dt stuff main was similar but all 119 slots so trusts didn't suck. Just bst seems to be really good for this partly because AoE real good if you aren't sleeping and from what I'm reading almost sounds like gravity pull might be some sort of divided out dmg thing so more bodies is good. And of course being able to use hq pets like bertha and run wild then reset ja each run helps a lot.

My preference for KoH is largely due to his starting fights out with Dia III and then doing a decent job of keeping it up. The def down really helps your pets. Plus can heal himself and throw phalanx nas and such. Nashmeira II is basically making due. From what I've seen she's the most reliable AoE healer that isn't Apururu and at higher difficulties you will wipe every time without one of those 2 or a real healer just because the AoE dmg comes too fast for single cures



Thank you for the advice! I've been reliably soloing easy on my bst, which is very nice because I just want the gear. Even the NQ is useful for me as I don't have a lot of 119 for whm and bard. Hope I can also get a couple HQ pieces but I will take what I get.

I am going to try normal this evening because I have some more time so failing won't be as big of a deal as it would in the morning or on my lunch break when I just want to get in a quick run before I go.

How do you reset ja? Just wait on timer or is there a way to do it faster other than Cor luck or w/e?

[Edit]

And able to solo normal on bst thanks to all the tips, thanks again people.

[Catmato]

I've had good luck soloing Normal on NIN. I don't know if it's the trust setup or what the deal is, but I never get adds after the first set. My trusts are: Ulmia/Joachim/Koru/Kupipi/Cherukiki. I know that's a lot of support, but the only NIN gear I have is the ambuscade set from last month, so I kind of need it.

For the fight: I provoke, hit the antlion, and run to the opposite corner from spawn. I usually miss the first set of buffs but that hasn't really hurt. I fight with my ass firmly in the corner for the entire fight. When the adds spawn, a WS, a provoke, and a warcry keeps them all on me. After the adds are dead, they never respawn. I'm not sure what triggers the respawn, but fighting this way has been incredibly safe. It can get a little hairy after gravity pull -> quake blast, but with a 12 second Ni recast there's little problem recovering (no, I don't have San).

Honestly I think the difficulty this month is perfect.

[Castanica]

I think some people have realized that gallantry means they can grind half as much to get the sets. Get some now then get the rest with gallantry next month while farming for that months set

No, it's just not fun. the first one was fun because it was easy enough that you could do it on any job but they have been messing it up every time since.

The grinders in groups complained about the solo players getting in their way, now they don't do it and neither do the solo players.

[OmnysValefor]

No, it's just not fun. the first one was fun because it was easy enough that you could do it on any job but they have been messing it up every time since.

The grinders in groups complained about the solo players getting in their way, now they don't do it and neither do the solo players.

I agree it's just not fun but not that it's hard. Taurus/Demon weren't hard (quadavs weren't hard, they were just RNG), Dragon wasn't hard, Antlion wasn't hard. But it's all such a boring grind. It takes longer to get the KI than to lose it.

[Diavolo]

The first ambuscade was rewarding and fun, I was doing runs on my undergeared mule char and making decent progress solo.
The second ambuscade was really dang annoying, I struggled to do the minimum I could and I had to group or put a lot of effort in.
The 3rd ambuscade? I haven't even bothered, way to make good content and ruin it.

You should give it a try. I thought the first month was so straightforward it got stale quickly, last month's was really annoying and this month's seemed just about right for content of this nature.

[Olor]

Yeah thanks to the tips people gave here I am reliably soloing easy and even winning a normal here and there, either with groups or with my two-hours (or both).

One thing that is kind of sad is that being in a group seems to make it way harder, mostly because you can't tailor the group perfectly to your strengths and people are not as predictable as trusts. Like, I know Amchuchu is gonna do sickle moon or whatever after my ruinator, and King of Hearts will reliably magic burst off of our skillchain. And I will probably get enough tp to ruinator again for a second weaponskill and detonation, which KoH will magic burst again. None of my other trusts will interrupt me.

And because I am whittling the mob down stupid slow, it will not pop adds until my pet has enough charges to do multiple AOE weaponskills and grab/kill all the adds.

I had fun doing a couple runs with groups but they were way harder and could go way more off the rails if people were not on their game. I stand by my view that this month's battle is hellish/unfair for whms, there is just too much going on for it to be fun. It's too bad because this content hugely favours whm trusts over human whms with the constant constant constant debuffs. Only kupipi can keep up. You shouldn't need a yagrush for 119 content.

[Urmom]

No, it's just not fun. the first one was fun because it was easy enough that you could do it on any job but they have been messing it up every time since.

The grinders in groups complained about the solo players getting in their way, now they don't do it and neither do the solo players.

Yeah no. It's not a single reason for everyone. I know for a fact some people were tired of it from the beginning but still want the stuff so if they can do it with less of a grind will do so. Just as some have no use for the gear this time. And some actually have more use for this gear than last month. Some people have finished the capes they want etc. Personally first month was boring as heck for me. Put some autos on it afk till maneuvers start to run down. With OD 2 pups and a cor was killing VD in like 2-3 minutes

[Urmom]

How do you reset ja? Just wait on timer or is there a way to do it faster other than Cor luck or w/e?
Depends. If you want to use sps (which should allow you to do a higher difficulty as unleash is just amazing with bertha) then yes wait or cor or reive or mmm or abyssea. Regular jas well just the time it takes to farm more vermin and get back it might be up but if not job change at the moogle in mhaura and bam non sp jas are back. Run wild and bestial loyalty to use HQ pets make rather large differences.

[detlef]

Easiest way to reset JA is MMM. It takes 2 hours to accumulate the 3 C.C. points you need to get a Revitalizer.

[OmnysValefor]

Gotta admit, "Here's one or two fights, spam it a bunch." is getting really tiresome.

It would be much cooler if each month added a few fights and kept the old ones, and opened up HTBFs as a source of hallmarks/gallantry as well.

[Urmom]

Gotta admit, "Here's one or two fights, spam it a bunch." is getting really tiresome.

It would be much cooler if each month added a few fights and kept the old ones, and opened up HTBFs as a source of hallmarks/gallantry as well.

Add a ultra hard difficulty for hallmarks/gallantry lol

[OmnysValefor]

Add a ultra hard difficulty for hallmarks/gallantry lol

lol, some of the VDs are Ultra Hard.

But no, add it in scaling amounts to every difficulty.

[Kensagaku]

I would love if they kept the old fights. Maybe looked at how successful they were each month, and scale their overall hallmarks/gallantry based on how spammed they were/clear times. Like dragon was almost too easy, antlion is pretty moderate, demons were tricky, so dragon would be lower hallmarks/gallantry while demons would be higher. It would give us a constantly growing range to play with, sort of levels within the VE-VD range they gave us that would allow for different parties to do different things.

[OmnysValefor]

And ya know, use *different* volume key items so that a group can go farm and spam.

So like I'd happily do Dragon, Orcs, Taurus/Demon, Antlion and maybe yags. So I should be able to go farm 5 KIs.

Oh, while we're at it. Toss the KI farming. It literally takes longer to get the KI than to burn it. It's ... frustrating.

[Zeldar]

The KI farming is meant to stop you from spamming it, lol. Think about it: the longer it takes you to get a KI, the less groups they have trying to enter at a time. Its really just to free up room in the line.....

[OmnysValefor]

Of course that's what it's for, but it still grows stale quickly.

In a good group, the fight is no more complex than an apex mob and takes just a little bit longer. It's like having to go get Ionis after every crab kill.

I know, I know, there's 3 copies of the instance or whatever, but there's are so many battlefields that sit empty most of the time. If they grafted this on to something like the HTBF without the merit farming, there wouldn't even be a problem with congestion.