Ok well, on my server iv been asked by well over 100 people asking me how i know pirates are coming. Iv never given away the secret because it always use to be a fun little parlor trick that really didn’t effect anyone’s playing if i didn’t tell them. But now with Ebisu rod quest and the WHM clubs, i figured there are alot of people that could benefit from knowing if there will be pirates on their boat trip. So here it goes (sorry if someone already posted this info, but i did a search and couldn’t find anything related to it. This is an old old trick that has become very useful lately).
How To Tell If Pirates Are Coming:
Here is how it works. After your boat departs from the dock and plays the "departing animation" you will zone back into the boat. After you zone you have to hurry and try and target the doors of the boat that lead to upstairs. If you CAN target the doors right away (instantly after you zone in) that means that pirates ARE coming. If it takes you like 5 seconds or so to target the doors, this means there will be NO pirates that trip.
HOW WOULD THIS INFO HELP ME:
1. This can help fisherman fishing for ebisu rod because this way they know when pirates are coming before they actually see them. This means they can start fishing right away as apposed to wasting 4 minutes waiting for the pirates to actually show up to know its a pirate trip. And considering how rare pirate rides are, this is very valuable time to get as many Sea Zombies as you can for the "bait gathering" part of the quest, or Gugrusaurus's for the item needed for quest.
2. WHM's going for their clubs. this can help you out because if you know pirates are coming before they actually show up, you can cast re-raise, buff up, and rest up before you even know if they are coming. Also, if they aren’t coming, this gives you a full boat trip to go AFK and just watch some tv and help lighten the bourdon of camping this piece of gear. Also lets say you already got one of the clubs and only need the other one now. Well one club is gotten from selbina to mhuara trip and other is from mhuara to selbina trip. So if you have the S to M one then all you need to do is take the M to S boat trip to make sure you dont miss the NM. But if you don’t have a BLM to warp 2 you to a home point set in Mhuara, then you will have to teleport mea and run to Mhuara again before the boat takes off. If you know if pirates are coming right away, this can make this trip a little less risky of missing a boat trip cause you can teleport right away.
WHM TIP: (if the NM is going to pop, the middle pirate on the ship will be wearing a vermillion cloak. So be watching for that :) ).
Below is a picture of Blackbeard Courtesy of JamesX (ty James^^)
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1804/blackbeard3to.jpg
Below is a Proof of vermilion cloak with blackbeard courtesy of Metah (ty Metah^^)
http://www.dexter-b.org/metah/images/Blackbeard1.jpg
3. Anyone else who just wants to know if pirates are coming. Anyone looking for the sand charm ca go AFK on non-pirate trips etc etc.
Way That DONT work to tell if pirates comeing
- Different name of the capatain driving the boat
- Weather or time of day (gloomy has nothign to do with it)
- The shop sells a certain fish that it didnt sell before
- No music plays when you zone
- Sea horror poped the ride before
- Phantom is on deck when you come up.
- you prayed to god to please have them pop this ride :P
Some FAQ's
1. Does this work for PS2 and PC vertion of the game?
YES :). Some internet connections make it harder to tell becuase the door will open before you load it, but still try and target another door (maybe the back door that leads to the little jail cell compartment looking area lol (little hallway you enter the boat on) this will also have the same targeting rules.
2. What if i'm AFK when we zone, or get DC. I'm i SOL?
Not at all. If you are AFK or DC while you zone, then when you sighn back on, the trick still works anytime the zone is loaded in. So you can just loggout and back in really fast (although it might at that point just be faster to go up and wait to see :/. But its an option if you want :)
3. What is an Ebisu rod?
Ebisu rod is a new rod that is rare/ex. Its harder to get than the lu shang and suposidly its unbreakable (but there arent many reported recived yet, and non on my server yet that i know of) Actaully i only know of on Ebisu rod received so far across all the servers, but i'm sure there are a few more. If you are a fisherman, here is a place to go for some good fishing info (the link is direct link to ebisu rod guide made by Huckster. Its an awsome guide, he did a great job with it)
http://www.lisaarndt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3798&highlight=ebisus+rod
Anyway, hope this helps some of you out there. Good luck to everyone and happy journeys in Vana :)
P.S.
Sorry to anyone on lakshmi that i wouldnt tell this trick to and now read this guide :P. I didnt mean to be a jerk, lol. I just didnt think it was as important to know before. And its ALOT more fun if you figure it out yourself. But now its more needed info and not just a fun trick :P.lol
**edit for some more info and FAQ**
Edited, Fri Aug 19 15:25:39 2005 by Enneisevoli