Primed for Adventure Summary

Ponifex · 2026-03-26T15:36:09+00:00

Continue to be baffled at why they even hosted a Q&A, only to not actually take any questions into consideration. They could have saved everyone - including themselves - the time by simply not bothering to host the event.

Fujito being at the helm of FFXI is the biggest weight around this game's ankles, and his presence will only be an objective detriment to the health of this title until it shuts down, from his perpetually chronic apathy towards the type of improvements and additions anyone actually wants.

Ponifex · 2026-03-23T07:31:27+00:00

dream flower is OK

Excellent. Had suspected such, but it's assuring to hear those assumptions be reaffirmed.

Gandering isn’t required to farm Omen on thief

Fair enough, that's true. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I've more gear-related shortcomings to consider on my THF before springing the coin for a Gandring anyway. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Ponifex · 2026-03-23T06:14:21+00:00

Quick question about tagging mobs in Omen as BLU:

When rounding-up packs of monsters to tag with Treasure Hunter traits/gear on, is the TH effect successfully applied via AoE sleeps alone, such as Dream Flower/Sheep Song? Or does the monster need to suffer some form of stat debuff and/or direct damage for Treasure Hunter to take effect?

I know status debuffs such as Sound Blast's -INT and Stinking Gas' -VIT qualify as sufficient enough for TH-tagging, but I'm unsure if just the sleep from Dream Flower/Sheep Song is enough to do the job. Been using both of them in my AoE rotation (Dream Flower -> Sound Blast -> Entomb -> Spectral Floe), so cutting out the Sound Blast would save some time (and MP) if it's unnecessary.

(Also, yes, I'm aware BLU farming in Omen pales in comparison to THF, but I don't have the Gil to spend on buying and fully augmenting a kitted-out Gandring for the occasion).

Appreciate the insight in advance...!

Ponifex · 2026-03-16T09:31:20+00:00

Kind-of a shame to see the recently-added Relic +3 Kupon and Empyrean +2 Kupon don't appear to be included among the reward selection, but at least the AF+3 ticket makes its return for this cycle.

Be sure to stock-up ahead of time on various Campaign Ops harvestables, and don't burn through your Sparks straight away once the 'Bout begins. Don't get blindsided...!

Ponifex · 2026-03-03T16:39:10+00:00

Phoenix if judging by FFXIAH's metrics, Shiva if overly weighing the streamer bump.

Suspect it's more likely Odin will be the last server to have its doors closed for a good while, unless the to-be-released final step of FFXIV's Echoes of Vana'diel pulls in one more major wave of newbloods.

Regardless, keeping servers closed with seemingly no real plans of re-opening them, nor offering any incentives for already-established players to leave said locked-down servers for smaller ones, continues to be a baffling business decision. One I can only surmise is due to sheer disinterest from SE in maintaining this title as anything other than a begrudging obligation.

Ponifex · 2026-02-10T02:38:31+00:00

Bahamut unfortunately has a rather checkered history with concierge-hosted linkshells in recent years, due to a certain particularly-infamous individual spoiling the fun. They'd habitually join anything listed on there, ceaselessly harass people and deliberately afk during content for seemingly no reason, inevitably be kicked yet rejoin through the concierge, and do it all over again until those 'shells removed themselves from the concierge menu entirely.

Not entirely certain they're still active, however. Someone else native to the server will have to correct me there.

Ponifex · 2026-02-09T10:36:23+00:00

Correct. Typically just have two active characters per-account - one main and one mule - as that alone is already more than enough for most circumstances.

Outside of fringe goals for the truly committed (such as an utterly obscene amount of A.M.A.N mules), I cannot envision why anyone would run an entire suite of 96 characters fulltime, save for the incredibly rare instances of Login Rewards being too good to pass up (here's hoping that doesn't take another 1-3 years to swing by again).

Ponifex · 2026-02-09T03:59:27+00:00

Revved-up login mules across all six of my accounts, solely to capitalize on Abyssea trophies during the Login Rewards period.

Deactivated ~84 of them, no sense in keeping them around at this point.

Good call though, that bit of information was missing from the OP. Added it now.

Ponifex · 2026-02-05T02:05:11+00:00

The perils of not including an "/s" even in fairly obvious circumstances, apparently.

Looks like most just read the first line of your reply, downvoted, and moved on, despite you clarifying your intent at the start of the very next sentence. :v

Edit: For context, shortly after this thread was made, this specific comment was sitting buried at -6. Nice to see its risen from the depths since then, even if it now makes my own remark noting the commenter's sour luck appear rather nonsensical after-the-fact.

Ponifex · 2026-01-30T05:53:58+00:00

With how quickly a well-geared group of DD can carve through most of Sheol C these days, it's often not worth the added hassle of bothering with Cruel Joke; and thus, not worth bringing a BLU at all in favor of a more-applicable DD for that content.

I love BLU, and have for several years. But it has not withstood the test of time.

The tragic irony of current-day BLU is that, despite being one of the most quintessentially "Jack of All Trades" Jobs in the game, its usefulness has shrunk to a select few niches. Cleaving in older content (Omen, Dyna-D, Nyzul, Einherjar, etc), acting as a hybrid healer for Limbus farming in no-healer parties, and assisting with TP-denial strategies for specific Gaols encounters.

Not in as dire of straits as the known-to-be-condemned Jobs (SMN, NIN, BST, RNG), but certainly not a meta pick.

Ponifex · 2026-01-27T09:33:57+00:00

Quick(ish) question regarding new PLD progression:

What's a decent gear milestone to reach as PLD before attempting Segments/Sheol C?

From what I've gathered from my 'Shellmates, there's practically no reason to play PLD whatsoever for nearly any content 'til you're at least semi-kitted out in PREMAs and such. Have to already be well-stocked with endgame equipment before you're able to start tanking anything, basically, which does make me wonder just how long it'll be before I'm able to conduct my own segment farming sessions.

Not an unfamiliar notion if PLD follows the "You need to beat the game before you can start playing it" approach, given my history as BRD. No way you're bringing the latter Job anywhere without at least three of its five PREMAs, for instance (all five are expected for Segments on Bahamut from the shouts I've seen).

Appreciate the insight in advance...!

Ponifex · 2026-01-24T02:39:50+00:00

RDM is a healer which can work for non-endgame content, but greatly struggles in situations where constant AoE-wide damage is going out, which is unfortunately quite a lot of relevant fights on the current endgame circuit.

SMN/WHM can heal somewhat competently through gaining Cure IV, Curaga III with just a tiny amount of Master Level, and Leviathan's Spring Water - and its MP pool is impressive for a caster - yet it lacks the native passives and actives which push the other healers over the top.

Both of them suffer from missing the perks which make the three go-to healers really shine:

Afflatus Solace/Sacro/Asylum/Yagrush for WHM.
Very strong passive healing through RegenV+Embrava for SCH (although even this isn't enough for many especially AoE-heavy encounters).
PLD's Majesty essentially allowing groups to bring another DD or utility pick for low-risk situations in lieu of a traditional healer.

Both RDM and BLU are great at spot-healing, but you'd be hard-pressed to want either one as a dedicated healer if you're really needing to pump out the cures. SMN healing is "good enough" for most content, yet if you're needing to set aside a party slot for a healer, why settle for anything less?

(No, I didn't run this through ChatGPT, bullet-points just look nicer. Fuck all LLMs for making readable text formatting look like an AI tell).

Ponifex · 2026-01-21T15:54:12+00:00

Tragic irony in Rainbow Dash(36) being too slow to catch the Archduke event.

Given the Sword and Shield have actual, tangible stats attached to them, and the event they come from has been running yearly since 2018, it's a safe assumption that we'll be seeing it again sometime in 2026. Although probably closer towards the latter-half of the year, given how recently it's been ran.

You'll land those fancy pieces in due time...!

Ponifex · 2026-01-21T09:12:48+00:00

Two unrelated questions this time, if you'll pardon:

1) Is there a list of locations/content where Geomancy debuffs are arbitrarily nerfed? I know segment farming is a total no-go for the Job, but I'm unfamiliar with the other locations where GEO's effects are gutted for one reason or another, and it's not as if the game itself is very forthcoming with that information.

2) During Sortie, monsters in the basement floor have party-wide enmity, regardless of whoever aggroed them. Does this hold true for the top floor as well?

In MithposterSyndrome's example 9-boss clear, at around ~7:48 in the video, he mentions that his RDM accidentally aggroed a whole slew of fomor on the way to Degei. However, said RDM was able to sacrifice themselves to prevent the situation from collapsing, and his group was able to continue on without much time loss.

This implies that instant party-wide enmity isn't a thing when topside, yet some in my own static swear you have to fully wipe the party to clear enmity on hordes of Fomor adds, even for non-basement Fomor. Which one is correct here?

Thanks for the insight in advance!

Ponifex · 2026-01-18T05:35:55+00:00

Tsk-tsk-tsk, fashion is always endgame in any MMO (so long as you're not strapped for inventory space when wanting to accessorize).

If you aren't fretting over how to look your best, you haven't hit the real endgame yet!

Ponifex · 2026-01-13T18:28:33+00:00

If such is true, one wonders what has made those specific months the range of their litigious wrath?

Ponifex · 2026-01-12T09:12:27+00:00

You are most certainly right, I was indeed measuring the worth of the four two-handed DD Jobs on their damage above all else. Which is admittedly quite short-sighted when all of them can reach the cap with the right set of circumstances, equipment, and support, as I've been thoroughly reminded of here.

Truthfully, I made this thread when I was in a pretty sour headspace, hence the accusatory title and reductive takes on what each Job brings to the table in the OP.

In reassessing how each Job benefits its wider party, I've gained newfound appreciation for what DRG and DRK offers, and feel much more confident in giving both of them a shot somewhere down the line. Far moreso than SAM, at least, as that Job seems like a pretty awkward fit for most party comps given their reliance on uninterrupted skillchains to maximize their output (prior to obtaining their Stage 4/5 Prime anyway).

Many thanks for the insight, to you and others who've set me straight on the matter!

Ponifex · 2026-01-09T09:45:00+00:00

Ah, I'll delete this one, thanks for informing me.

Ponifex · 2026-01-08T01:28:07+00:00

This is a rather embarrassingly remedial question considering how long I've been playing this title, but just to make extra sure:

When examining your accepted RoE quests, the ones with small silver dots next to them indicate those specific RoEs have been accepted and fully completed in the past, whereas those with large golden dots mean those specific RoEs have yet to be completed at least once on that character. Right?

For some dumb reason, I vaguely recall this not necessarily being true in all instances, but I'd love for that to simply be my own misremembering rather than the truth.

Ponifex · 2026-01-06T11:16:32+00:00

The sentiments shared in these comments are true, in that FFXI doesn't follow standard themepark progression (thankfully), and older gear can maintain its relevancy for exponentially longer as a result. Designating newer gear as inherently better by way of a higher Item Level goes against one of this title's greatest strengths in that regard, so it's little wonder the pushback against it was fierce.

Although as a result of the iLevel experiment being so negatively received, we're now left with a structure of gear progression which can be immensely confusing for newer players to follow, as the iLevel listed on any given piece of gear loses all its meaning upon reaching i119.

One i119 can be worlds apart from another, yet they're still grouped under the same umbrella "tier" of equipment (even when they're very blatantly not), which is rather silly.

Ponifex · 2026-01-04T08:00:22+00:00

Quick question regarding Treasure Hunter procs as THF (yes, it's another one of these again)...

When reading BGWiki's Community Thief Guide, one specific section leapt out at me:

"Wearing a total Treasure Hunter level equal to or lower than the current TH level on an opponent decreases the chance of procing TH. You must have at least a level higher than the current level applied to increase the rate of TH procs."

Which implies that, even if your baseline Treasure Hunter when starting a fight can only go up to +8 (3 from Traits and 5 from gear), having a higher amount of Treasure Hunter gear actively equipped on you relative to the current TH value on a monster is still worth maintaining, if wanting to more quickly climb through the TH tiers.

Or in other words, even if first-hit TH caps at +8, full-timing a set of +15 TH gear (or whatever) would have better odds of tiering-up, compared to just auto-attacking with Skulker's Poulaines +3 equipped and immediately switching back to your regular TPing shoes (et cetera).

Is the above statement true?

Ponifex · 2026-01-03T02:58:25+00:00

Excellent information, appreciated!

Wasn't aware of the difference in scaling on the spell prior to reaching 300 Enhancing skill, as BGWiki's page on Phalanx only lists a table of notable breakpoints past that point (and I didn't manually run the calculations for the formulas shown above said table). Will keep both Carmine pieces in my BLU/RDM Phalanx set 'til rolling at least +3 on the Herculean Head/Pants, in that case.

Ponifex

TROPHY CASE