Magian Trials: What are you carrying around?Follow

I'm currently working on:
two STR Shamshirs - default setup
one DEX Shamshir - to either pair with a STR or wear alone when I need the Acc
one 2-3 hit Khanda - easier to obtain and mostly for my PLD when doing Avatars - low damage doesn't bother me, since I use enspells with it; might also use to generate TP if it upgrades decently enough
two VIT/PDT Shamshirs - PDT build when I'm worried about tanking something - doubles up for my PLD, since PLD can't use Genbu
one M.Acc Shamshir - Want for my RDM DB for those times I want to melee, save TP, and enfeeble. Might as well do both at once. Can also double as a Head Butt weapon if that's the only thing I'm worried about (it's usually not)
two MDB Shamshirs - MDB build for times I care about reducing magic damage. Really wish they were MDT, though.

It's a lot to work on, but when I have a free hour or two, I've always got something I can be working on. First STR shamshir is almost done, and I'm on the clusters component of the Khanda. DEX shamshir is started, but it's still pre-soulsaber levels.

Currently working on Str and Macc, would like to do a second Str(or a Dex) and possibly an OAT Sword at some point. Not really a fan of waiting(I just log on whenever) so it's all pretty slow going for me. Honestly not sure how I'm going to pass the eventual Flan trial anyways, so Str sword may take for damn ever.

I had really wanted a -PDT sword, but I never do Campaign anymore and that's what I really wanted it for.

Damn that trial, seriously.
I just finished a STR Shamshir +1 the other night. It was a huge pain in the ass due to the complete rarity of fire weather, and the last couple mobs being flans and manticores. The flan part took me the longest, though.

Halvung... I don't know. The flans in there are easier than on mt. zhalyom, yeah, but their pops suck (unless I never found the good camp?) and their respawn seems a lot longer. I tried there a number of times in different areas, and never found one that worked very well.
I ended up doing the trial up on mt. z, in the NW pudding camp. Most of the time I was there was soloing, or duoing with a blm friend, at level 80, so it was pretty slow going. After the update, though, suddenly people started showing up there again, and I was able to blitz the last of what I needed quickly.

Solo, that camp is slow going (though easier at 85 now for sure), but in a group... mt. z works well enough.
(Edit: Also, to note... the entire time I was there in halvung/mt. z... I never once saw fire weather, nor did I ever see it predicted to happen within several gamedays before and after.)

Anyway, the only magian sword I have completed is the STR shamshir +1. I want another, but damnit... I really, REALLY dislike the weather trial idea. Whoever thought it was good is just plain wrong. I would rather have 2x the amount of mobs in any of those weather trials if I could just choose when to do it myself, instead of waiting for the game to tell me it's ok.
I had to cram all my kills into firesday for nearly everything on that path. Having to schedule my time around the game clock was incredibly frustrating... and it's one of the biggest reasons I don't do endgame.
Honestly, I don't know if I can put up with that to do another one. We'll see.



Edited, Sep 24th 2010 7:09pm by AmanoJ

Magian Spectacles will tell you the weather for any place for the current day and the next two days, so you can go out and do something else rather than having to wait 2-5 hours like you used to. It really made the process easier for me.

And weather kills count for 5 kills if you solo. I was turning a Shamshir into a Shamshir +1 and got it done by simply popping into the zone, using the Magian Specs, and then deciding whether the odds of the weather I needed was worth the time I'd spend waiting(sometimes I wait for a "chance of <weather>" weather, and sometimes I'd only wait for the message for the longer weather). All told it took 3-4 hours total over a few nights to get the 300 kills I needed. Heck, if the zone I needed didn't have the weather, I'd go check one of the other spots.

As for swords, I have a pair of MagAcc swords, and am working on STR swords and a OAT. I've been tempted to aim for a high-end Almace, but I until I get any evidence that the WS is any good and that the Aftermath works on WSs, I'll table the idea (the entry-level NMs for swords are just soul-crushing to hunt, and to get an Almace I'd have to set up an Abyssea LS which is something I'm not terribly interested in).

Edited, Sep 25th 2010 2:45am by DemonOfHunger

I have the shasmir+1 -pdt, then I have the evasion down sword I use as my main for right now. Still maybe 100 procures left to get it to +1.

When it comes to birds, I wouldn't worry about fire weather much. You CAN find them... like cockatrice in teriggan, flamingos in sky, or bats in ifrit's cauldron... but fire weather, as you likely know by now, is a total pain in the ass to try and nail down. I didn't get to use it even once during the trek to shamshir+1.
Instead, I would recommend just going with firesday and fighting lesser colibri. QC/Disseverment just destroys the things (I hit one with a 5k QC when I first got out there, essentially killing it in one hit), and you can set MP drainkiss to keep up your mp easily. You can really blitz through a lot of those things in one sitting. There were a number of people who needed them for trials when I went, and so I just went to where they were at the leypoint. It was a great spot for trials. Even with fast kills, there's tons of spawns to get at.

And VIT isn't entirely dead, it's still a mod on quadratic continuum, afterall. :P With a str/vit mod set up, you can just use a lot of your cannonball gear for it, really. Things that share STR and VIT, of course (man I wish we could use the kemas earring :X).


Edited, Oct 1st 2010 6:04am by AmanoJ

Good point, good to know.
I was pretty much just thinking of things where VIT fell incidentally with something else you were gearing for, like spiral ring (or kemas earring :( ), mostly.

But, you're right, no use going out of your way for VIT, I suppose.
Thanks for the info, that's handy. :D

I'd vote not worth while. Even if you discount the bonus STR will give you for your casts, the melee addition of +8str and 18att should outweight either machaera.

On WS the 18 att should equate to about 4.5% more damage and the 8 Str should tack on another 4.5% (roughly). Now take into account 1 more base damage, and the fact that it swings faster.

Finally, take into account that you get all those bonuses on melee swings and not just WS.

The comparison isnt very close. It would have to be closer to 25% WS damage, to be worth considering IMO.

I suppose if you have a specific plan for spamming Sanguine Blade, it could have a situational use.

Edited, Oct 9th 2010 6:23pm by doctorugh

I just started working on the strength path. On vermin right now. I've been thinking of doing the dexterity path but not really sure.

I have 2 strength Shamshir +1 took me 12 days to fully upgrade both from start too finish.

I worked it out so that my 2nd sword overlapped on a few trials while I did my first to take full advantage of fireday.

The overlaps were on the 50 of any monster while I got my first batch of flans and then later the 100 beast while doing my first lot of manticore.

To do it that fast I logged on for 2/3 sometimes 3/3 of the firedays that occured every real life day, being in the GMT timezone I was able to work alongside the japanese population who seem to be more involved in the system having a full alliance or at least 2 parties makes all of the trials much faster and Blue Mage is an absolute power house when it comes to clearing the zone.

Some useful spells include benthic typhoon and whirl of rage for the aoe, at times depending on the mob I was taking on 2-4 at a time by doing this which is very useful for the last trial against colibri or while fighting vermin bees's in wajaom woodlands where speed is key.

Another useful tip is to be in the zone ready before 00:00 to make full use of the time and to get into a group every second spent travelling on the day or trying to communicate via auto translate with a jp leader who is busy killing asking to join etc wastes time.

I could have finished both in 9 days but I had a weekend at home and missed a few firedays due to lectures and oversleeping other than that it's how well you manage your mp and availability of other like minded individuals with useful jobs, I wouldn't count on seeing fire weather much if at all in the main zones you'll visit for the trials.

The only real hard part is getting over all those big numbers and living by the 7 hour 40 mins or so fireday cycle you can do it, you should do it and do it right don't just settle for magic acc swords cause there easier unless they are what you want and thats up to you.

Str is one of the best for overall dps increase and spell damage so do it....... do it now!!!!

A casual player could get both done in about a month of casual well timed play.

Here's a bit of advice for those on the Dark path and are at the final 2 trials: Go to Fei'Yin. Dark Weather occurs periodically there, sometimes for most of the game day. As long as you clear out TW Specters and Utukku before the gloom starts, you should not be in want for Undead and Evil Weapons. This is the safest way to knock off big chunks of points off your trial quotas, as long as you avoid Sluagh and/or Cassie.