I didn't see any guides for SMNs being able to solo NMs, especially in Abyssea, but I had to find out the hard way. There are some talk on other forums but nobody has written a guide yet, so I decided to add one for SMNs based on experience.
First off, you need the atmas. Minkin Monstrosity is a must. Not just on the Refresh, but also on the Enmity - and INT+50. You can't go wrong with any of those 3, and INT+ really helps out with BP:Merit that you will be using alot. Second Atma that is a must is Ducal Guard. It is a pain to get, but if you do manage to beat Teekesselchen doing the Quest Brugaire's Ambition, it is well worth it. Third atma is up to you, but if you want my advice, use Mounted Champion, that is dropped from Kutharei. Although you could also use Elemental Damage+% from certain atmas depending on your NM you are going to fight.
Second, know your NM. Some NMs are super easy for a SMN to solo, others are a tad more difficult and require to think on your feet. Other NMs are basically unsoloable by a SMN. Reason being that after it uses a certain move, it sheds all enmity on your avatar and starts going after you. Chasmic Hornet is a prime example of almost impossible to solo. I say almost impossible because luck has a lot to do with it, but I was able to solo it, which required a lot more luck than my skill.
Third, find a good spot to solo. Fighting in the middle of magic aggro mobs isn't that bad if you aren't going to summon more than one avatar to kill the NM, but its suicide if you try to solo it using more than one avatar. Some NMs, like Sisyphus, have an area already cleared just for us SMNs.
Fourth, start small. If this is your first time soloing NMs, I would recommend practicing on regular mobs prior to fighting the big guy. Get comfortable with your ability. Try bombs in Ifrit's Cauldron for some practice. Old-school solo SMNs would know what I'm talking about.
Fifth, know how long your avatar is expected to last. A lot of NMs out there don't require more than 1 avatar per kill. There has been many times where I have kept Garuda out the entire time I was in abyssea soloing NMs. Some NMs like Brooder can be killed with 1 avatar, while others, like Minhocao can take a few avatars. It all depends on the TP moves and if the NM has the ability to cast magic or not. Even if the NM has the ability to cast magic, some of them cast singular type of magic or have magical damage added to their melee attacks. Which in that case, you can just have the avatar that is strong against that element. Like Shiva vs. Alkonost. Or Leviathan vs. Ironclad Executioner.
Sixth, having good gear helps out alot. You won't be able to solo anything with only a NQ staff and Auster's Robe. You need to get perp cost down to at least having the avatar out and you still get +5 refresh with Minkin atma. TotM staves that has -7 perp cost are nice, and if you want to go that route, go ahead. I don't have TotM staves and I still got free avatars without it. Like I said, its all in the choice you want to make. But you need the gear to be the best you can.
Anyway, now its time to tell you how to solo the NM. First off, gauge your strengths. If your avatar is only taking 15-20 damage and you have Mounted Champion atma, then you know you are on easy street. Damage can go up as much as 40 damage per hit before you need to start worring about HP. TP moves, however, are your main worry.
Some NM's TP moves recover their HP, and if they are doing more healing than you are damaging, maybe that NM isn't right for you. Other TP moves will (try) to reduce your avatar's HP down to 10% and shed all hate from it, which in that case you need to make sure you have a BP:R ready to take hate back or run around like a chicken until your avatar takes hate back from you. Most physical damage TP moves aren't the worry, but magical damage are, if you are fighting a mob that your avatar's element is strong against. Like Bai Wing from Cuelebre against Ramuh. Odds are, you are going to lose in that matchup.
Another concern you should have are spellcasters. Not talking about the AoE debuff only type of spellcasters, but those out there that cast all elements all the time. Like Teekesselchen. He likes to cast all types of elemental Tier 4 -gas all the time. Sometimes the element is the same as your avatar, sometimes not. Luck has a major part in all that. Those types of NMs you will have to summon/BP:R/run away until avatar dies/summon/BP:R/run away until avatar dies...etc. Like I said before, you need to think on your feet in these cases.
Other things to add: It really helps out if you have 1/5 merited BPs in all 6 avatars. Having 1 5/5 or 2 3/5 merited BPs also helps out alot. Kindof wish that SE would just eliminate the entire cap of Tier 2 merits though.
Feel free to talk about this guide, add more stuff to it, or comment on this.
A Summoner's Guide to soloing NMs in Abyssea.
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04-26-2011, 05:30 AMKorpgA Summoner's Guide to soloing NMs in Abyssea.
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04-27-2011, 03:47 AMDefiledsickness
does summoning magic skill effect your avatars defense? my avatar dies a LOT quicker then my friends even with the same atmas. my skill and gear are both gimp, but i dont think he has anything for the avatars defense. so soloing for me would take a ton of recasts and lots of running :P
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04-27-2011, 04:26 AMSoundwaveSkill does not effect defense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Defiledsickness
-Atma
-Summoner Gear
-Avatar
**I don't think is really been tested but I'm sure between selected avatars their defense might be somewhat different.
-= To this tread =-
Thanks I was interested to see another persons thought process on soloing while in Abyssea. -
04-27-2011, 06:41 AMKorpgWhat Summoning Magic skill does is the following:Quote:
Originally Posted by Defiledsickness
-Avatar Accuracy (Blood Pact: Rage)
-Avatar Buffs (Duration and strength (Earthen Ward is known, possibly Lunar Cry and Lunar Roar also, but untested)
-Spirit AI
-Elemental Siphon strength. More skill means more MP recovered.
-Strength of Avatar's Favor and the rate of speed the buffs induced by favor increases after using a Blood Pact.
Personally I would like to believe that skill also equates stats, which makes sense. More skill means a stronger avatar. But that has been proven to be false. But that doesn't mean you can't rock out the skill. I always sit on 424 SMN magic skill fulltime, while having at max 444 skill for Elemental Siphon.
As for defense, I don't know why your avatar is dying faster than your friend's avatar. You guys at the same level also? -
04-27-2011, 07:26 AMCabalabobfavor doesn't effect the avatarQuote:
Originally Posted by Soundwave
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04-27-2011, 11:15 AMSoundwaveThanks I have no idea why I put that....Quote:
Originally Posted by Cabalabob