So, I've hit a wall...

[Seiowan]

Been catching up with a lot of new content over the last couple of weeks since the Return to Vana'diel promo, and one of the new things was the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel missions.

Everything seems to go fairly smoothly until you hit a wall in Raisenjima. Of course when I say 'hit' I mean it hits you and by 'wall' I mean a four-armed beast who has a long range forward cleave that kills everything in one shot.

Now, it's clear I need to get better gear, as I'm currently using the 117 sparks equipment. The highest I've even seen is only 119 though. I fail to see how a mere 2 levels could have quite such a dramatic impact, but that's neither here nor there.

Problem is, I don't have a clue how to get anything higher than 117. I've seen some terrifyingly long grinds to upgrade artifact armors to 119, but even if I started now I wouldn't be finished until gone past Christmas, mostly because of the huge number of sparks needed for those books. Surely there is something I'm missing.

I took a look at the Delve rewards on the wiki, but the highest ilvl I could find (I admit I didn't check every single link in the list) was 113, significantly lower than my current gear.

I'm not asking for a magic bullet, just to be pointed in the right direction. So far the newest expansion has left me rather confused and not knowing which way is up. The story has frozen in its tracks, presumably waiting for me to complete another 10 thousand courier runs, and I'm not even sure if I can even access any of the higher level content yet, or where to go if I wanted to.

[Cabalabob]

Using trust is helpful, those mobs have really high evasion so magic damage is better than physical. As for gear, it depends on your job. I'm a SMN main so I just did my reformed armour (even just the 109 sets are good for the job specific stats), got an eminent satchel for 115 pet, farmed some job points and soloed tenzen hard mode for a seraphicaller.

Sparks aren't as hard to get as you think they are, set a load of objectives and just play and you'll have more than you know what to do with in no time. Also doing the daily and unity ones is good as they give first time bonus every day.

Hard mode missions and unity wanted NMs are a good way to get some fairly easy 119 weapons.

But job points are where your best stat increases lie, maxing out BP damage and pet attack m.dmg has been a huge boost for my pets, let alone the gifts. Should definitely consider some capacity points farming.

[Limecat]

Summon a full party of trusts, and definitely try to get a bit higher iLvl(level difference IIRC has the biggest impact of all calculations when it comes to final damage/evasion). Might also want to do it on a pet job if you have one spun up for a bit extra damage. Alternately try shouting for help, someone might come by and whittle down/hold them for you to pick off. If you're having trouble finding 119 gear, there are new Eminence tasks under Tutorial --> Intermediate that will spit out some 117 sparks stuff at first but then hand you some 119 weapons and gear(there's a semi-wall here in the form of a task to complete any wildskeeper reive, sniff around during the day and you can probably catch a group farming one or another to sneak in with for your clear). Other events like the "Nyzul II improved ??? junk" one we just had are good ways to trip over 119 equips. Also save any SP dial keys you get until the gobbie box bonus that makes the SP dial give gear more often happens again.

On top of that, if you have the Amchuchu trust and a healer trust you're comfortable with(Apururu UC being a good idea since she actually stays away from AoE range most of the time) along with DDs that work well for you, many of the T1 Geas Fete NMs in Escha Zi'tah can be soloed with just a little elbow grease. Fighting them costs you nothing but 1000 silt and your choice of crafted items to trade for the pop(fish mithkabobs are a cheap option). I suggest Amchuchu simply because these NMs are very element-themed, so she can mitigate a lot of their damage being a RUN. If you have BLM at 99 all the better, because then you can stagger the hell out of them yourself for pretty simple wins. They'll drop 119 equips directly.

[OmnysValefor]

First, I guess it's important to point out that Sparks gear is, sadly, deliberately poorly balanced. I came back with a load of of 106 and 113 (and 119 weapon) and was pretty disappointed in the Sparks gear. Regarding sparks gear, higher-ilvl does not mean better (sparks vs lower ilvl). If it doesn't look better, it probably isn't.

Also, weapon ilvl is the one that matters when calculating the potency of trusts. Those four-armed skeletons are rough for a 117 person. Use trusts like Zeid II and Ullegore because they stun, or find some help if you can.

Delve I (Morimar, Foret, Ceizak) drops 113 armor and 119 weapons.

Delve II drops 119 armor. I'm not saying its worth your time to do these, but it is there. If you have friends willing to help (since Delve requires 3 to enter), this might be an option.

There's also your JSE weapon which augmented with 300 riftworn boulders, plutons, or beitetsu (these range in price per server, so pick the cheapest one and buy three stacks). For melee, even when you get a better weapon, this weapon may be handy to keep around if you find an NM that you don't have the accuracy for. 1h weapons get +50 acc fully augmented, and 2h weapons get +70 acc. The 1h are especially nice for offhand for dual-wield if you find yourself needing that extra accuracy. You'll need a few pretty simple clears to be able to get the "quest" to get these weapons, but hopefully you can find the help.

Also, the ambuscade gear should be a significant upgrade from sparks, even though we don't know the stats for 3/5 of the sets yet. Solo Very Easy or Easy if you can, enough times, get the NQ armor and use that to get in groups to get the HQ armor. Points are not "wasted" on the NQ armor as its about Total Hallmarks earned. It's a very generous point system.

Edit: There's also a plethora of quests under Records of Eminence > Tutorial > Beginner and Intermediate that you should find very useful.

[Urthdigger]

ilvl 119 is quite a lot like level 75 gear back in the day: All the same level, but a drastically different level of power between individual pieces. I'd say to try and get alluvion skirmish gear at the very least, that should hopefully pump your acc up enough to do other things.

[Seiowan]

But job points are where your best stat increases lie, maxing out BP damage and pet attack m.dmg has been a huge boost for my pets, let alone the gifts. Should definitely consider some capacity points farming.At 200 CP per kill, it's going to take a very long time before I can do anything noteworthy with job points. Most of the capacity point upgrades seem to be gated behind Rhapsodies quests, which is precisely where my brick wall is.

[Catmato]

At 200 CP per kill, it's going to take a very long time before I can do anything noteworthy with job points. Most of the capacity point upgrades seem to be gated behind Rhapsodies quests, which is precisely where my brick wall is.

If you check the mission RoEs, they all have a permanent capacity point bonus for completing them. I believe all Reive RoEs do as well.

Edit: The FINAL mission RoEs have the bonuses, not every one along the way.

[Helldemon]

Also the RoE's for WKR/Lair/Colo Reive completions in each zone give small CP boost bonuses I believe.

[Cabalabob]

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.

As for CP do all the rieves in records of eminence and all the mission ones for main story/zilart/cop/aht urgan/wotg and you'll get a large CP boost, there's also a cape you can buy and hopefully you got the trizek ring in the anniversairy, I personally get about 1.3k per kill in escha zi'tah without a chain now on fresh jobs from doing those RoE objectives. Then there's apex mobs in the gates zones which give huge amounts of CP per kill (about 20k per kill for me) and you can party to kill them.

[Raydeus]

Bwahaha, the devs are so troll. XD

The "while in a party" part completely negates any benefits of lowering the things' levels, so it's exactly the same challenge as it was before regardless.


PS > For comparison I was already soloing those Narakas and Panopts in sparks gear a very long time ago, with the only problem being acc against Narakas (which food solved) and not using enspells or magic dmg (Skillchains included) against the panopts. If you had another person or more to help you then the Narakas were already too easy even without the "adjustment".

Redundancy, HO!

[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.

[Stompa]

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.


Yes, I am just trying to help you, and also trying to help any other returning players who may be reading the Forum and are confused and concerned about 119 stuff.

I was only suggesting Reforged AF, because your original posts were saying that you had problems getting 119 gear.

Reforged AF is completely soloable, so it is the first stop. Reforged AF is also pretty cool, and often has nice stats.

You mentioned you had problems beating those couple of spooky Rhapsodies mobs in Reisenjima, which made me think that maybe you would find sparks method for Rems Tales more easy than actual SKCNM fights.


"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."

Again, go to my first post, where I say "you obtain Sacred Kindreds Crests from Login Points" and they cost 10 points per SK crest, you can get loads of them basically for free. You can also exchange beastmens seals etc. for SKC at Shami NPC.

It is quite easy to beat a Very Easy SKCM if you have 117 sparks armor and 3~5 useful Trusts. The same goes for HM Battles for the Chapters 6-10.

Really though, the point is that there are lots of new ways to get reforged Artifact gear quickly and on solo, compared to a few years ago, when we didn't have the free bonus stuff of today.

Obviously if you have a LS, and friends, and they help you with Delve, then that is very good. I'm happy to hear this. I hope you get loads of cool stuff and have a lot of fun adventures.

[Seiowan]

Again, go to my first post, where I say "you obtain Sacred Kindreds Crests from Login Points" and they cost 10 points per SK crest, you can get loads of them basically for free.Ooo... phenomenal information there, thank you. I'm surprised I missed it. I don't have a massive number of login points at the moment since I'm still kind of freshly back from the Return to Vana'diel campaign. I did buy a summon with it (Shantotto II) and a crab mount with the few I had. Still, it's got to be easier than farming them, as despite my merit grinding I've only been able to find 7 so far.

I knew about the trades, but I didn't really have a lot of seals to begin with. I had converted a motherlode of them into beastman seals in an attempt to get Phalanx and Utsusemi: Ni from BCNMs before I 'retired' before. Incidentally, I still don't actually have either spell.

[Seiowan]

So while you can of course do the solo Very Easy mode, I would really urge you to talk to your Linkshell, and request they do some really Smashy Splatter runs for you, on Difficult+ mode.I ran one recently, "Kindred Spirits" in Castle Zvahl on normal mode. I got completely destroyed as a Thief. So, I ran it again as a Scholar and succeeded on normal difficulty.

Joining a team for 'difficult' runs is great and all, but it suffers one fatal flaw. You only get a limited number of Rem Chapters out of it. On that one run, I was able to obtain 6 chapters in total with 4 of them dropping from the coffer, and two for beating it on 'normal'. Seems like a more efficient way of farming them than splitting the loot between friends.

Or maybe I'm just greedy. Now the only issue is trying to find the upgrade items. Ideally I'd have +2 gear so I don't have to spend too many chapters, but that's easier said than done with some of them.

[detlef]

If SKC are the limiting factor then you are certainly best served going in a group because you get personal drops for every fight including ones where your orb wasn't used. Tackling difficult is okay, but a lot of people will just spam normal because it's a lot faster and safer.