so... i would really like to see some miscellaneous tips and strategies for this game. there are a lot of things that go unsaid, and even more things that go unknown. anything from exping, to moneymaking, skilling, to farming. try to think of some obscure or abstract tips you might be able to add, to help anyone and everyone out.
ill start.
Strategic Item Selling Placement.
if youre interested in money making, and you are constantly killing monsters, keep in mind what you are killing. try to reference the guild lists, to know what the recipe materials are. both the common and the uncommon. memorize where each guild is located to maximize profit.
for instance.
logs of all sorts will sell best in sandoria. why? the woodworkers guild is there. youll find they will sell the fastest there. goldsmithing materials will sell fastest in bastok, etc. try to reference the guild listings often, to know what to farm where, and where to sell it. youll get a greater profit.
likewise, the resulting crafts might sell quickly but not expensively in the towns the guilds are based in. if you make, say, a leather ring +1, you will often sell it for more money in jeuno than you will in sandoria. the leatherworkers guild is in sandoria, and many people will be churning out leather rings +1 just by leveling crafting. this will increase the supply available, and it will decrease the price. in order to maximize profits in this way, the best idea would be to truck your wares to areas they are not common. take a leather ring +1 to jeuno, windurst, bastok... whereever.
another tip, watch the level of the item you want to sell. if it is a weapon, armor, or scroll, see what the minimum level is for it. if you win, say, a maul off of a garnet quadav, youll notice its level 31. a level 31 item will seldom sell in the base nations. this is because the majority of the population of the home nation, the majority of people who browse the auction house, are going to be levels 1-20. around level 20, people will start looking at the jeuno AH for things. jeuno becomes a home away from home after that.
when i am selling armor... i always look. if it is level 1-19, i will sell it in a nation, usually with the previous paragraphs in mind. anything above that will go to jeuno. think of who your buyer is going to be, your item will sell faster, and usually for more money.
this will work the same for crystals. fire crystals, for instance, will sell fastest in bastok, due to the goldsmithing and smithing.
strategic placement of items is a logical formula. gain money, do it the easy way!
Experience Chaining.
everyone knows the best way to get exp is to hit those high exp chains. just about everyone knows, also, that its not always possible. when faced with a situation like that, its best to remember one specific strategy. start small, with Ts. Ts will carry a chain just as easily as an IT will, but youll tend to kill them faster, and get higher chains. the base multiplier for exp chains increases with each additional chain.
keeping this in mind, you are able to turn other peoples trash mobs into something glorious for your party.
frustrated by kazham at level 28? i can imagine. go to qufim. you heard me, back to qufim! but its too low, right? wrongo.
notice all the snippers people are ignoring, or all the pugils. position yourself by a cliff... now, kill one or 2 pugils to start a T exp chain, and build TP. after that, pull an IT acrophies, and let loose. after killing that, chain back a couple of Ts. youll gain fast exp this way, due to the multiplier. make sure that the healer is aware of the plan. if done correctly, they will seldom need to heal during the Ts, and the ITs will go very fast due to weaponskills. the healer can almost rest during the first and/or second T battle, and kick in on the IT. this is a working strategy... i went 28-30 with my monk doing this. very fast exp. this can be done anywhere.
simply pull in a smart manner, be a responsible puller. if you are in a highly concentrated area *with players, not mobs*, suggest a move to a more mob populated area. when you scout around, remember what cons as what, and where. if you notice 3 Ts, 1 VT, and 1 IT mob... and you have little to no competition for it, try to pull accordingly. put thought into the construction of your exp chains, and it will go smoother for everyone.
Skillchaining.
this is almost common knowledge, but im suprised at how many people do not know it. when constructing a skillchain, make one that the mob is weak to!
i went through allakhazam's beastiary, and pulled out all the posted weaknesses, so here they are by family:
Fire: Doomed, Weapons, Ghost, Hounds, Leech, Mandragora, Morbols, Sapling, Shadow, Skeleton, Slime, Tiger, Treant
Wind: Antica, Bat, Cockatrice, Dhamel, Lizard, Mandragora, Worm
Earth: Coeurl
Water: Bomb, Manticore, Orc, Orcish machine, Rabbit, Raptors, Sheep
Light: Adamantoise, Ahriman, Bat, Beetle, Crawler, Demon, Doomed, Weapons, Funguar, Ghost, Goblin, Hecteye, Leech, Scorpion, Shadow, Skeleton, Tiger, Worm
Dark: Crawler, Mandragora, Rabbit, Sabotender, Sapling, Treant, Dark
Lightning: Crab, Dhamel, Doll, Mandragora, Pugil, Quadav, Rabbit, Sahagin, Sea Monk, Sheep
Ice: Bee, Beetle, Bird, Bomb, Crab, Crawler, Fly, Lizard, Mandragora, Pugil, Sabotender, Scorpion, Sea Monk, Spider, Yagudo
there you have it. when fighting these types of mobs, construct an appropriate skillchain. also, keep in mind. a light based skillchain will have a greater effect on lightsday. match the corresponding elements, and strengthen your chains.
here is a list of the skillchains, and their elemental effects:
LVL 1
Liquefaction: Fire
Detonation: Wind
Impaction: Lightning
Compression: Dark
Transfixion: Light
Reverberation: Water
Scission: Earth
Induration: Ice
LVL 2
Fusion: Fire/Light
Fragmentation: Wind/Thunder
Gravitation: Gravity/Earth
Distortion: Water/Ice
level 3s are just darkness and light, i believe (have not done one myself, personally.)
so... looking at this, a fusion skillchain on an undead (Fire/Light vs a creature weak to both), will give a huge effect. in addition, the greater the damage on the last hit of a skillchain, the greater the effect damage will be. this game is programmed with many possiblities, keep that in mind.
that about wraps up my tips for now. please post some that people should know about, or correct me where i am wrong. this information was widely based on my own experiences, so some many be wrong...
thanks!