April Update On Fields Of Valor & Treasure Caskets

There are many fine camps that people don't use.

Besides that, SE has made it so that a good 2-4 person party can EXP just as well as a 6-person party.

A duo can do 15-23 in Buburimu Peninsula and 23-27 in Jugner Forest pulling down 6k/hr. Make it a trio and drop those levels a shade, and you just avoided Valkurm Dunes and Qufim Island.

Signet gives an EXP bonus to lowman parties, and jobs like DNC and SCH really lend themselves to lowmanning, as do jobs like BST (especially with the EXP adjustments) and PUP that usually get cast aside for parties.

All it takes is some imagination and experimentation and you can do just fine. I look at some of the places that we used to EXP back on Hydra (360 Beta Server) and while some of them kinda stunk, others would still be great places to EXP now that no one uses.

I never want to go to Qufim to party, nor do I ever want to do to the Dunes. You just end up stuck in those sh*tholes because that's the "established" place to go.

There are places that I prefer and when I go through those levels now, I lowman and build my own groups, often times syncing with friends to round out the group. I have hinted at a few, but I'll let people find their own places or deal with the status quo.

Qufim is ruined just as much by synced burn parties with multiple PLs as it is by people soloing FoV.

I only have a problem with qufim if I've ever tried to EXP 23+ (which by then you should be heading to Kazham anyways). In fact lately I have been in a few roaming pts in Qufim (killing crabs and worms or w/e aggros) without a PL and I'm still pulling down 6k+ an hour. It's all about being flexable. I mean who says you even need to "camp" (i.e. read above).

Especially Garliage Citadel, I had parties go to Behemoth Dominion and thr is good xp for those mid 30 levels.

I try to solo mostly out of those levels than xp in dunes, qufim, and kazham.

I remember when I partied in bibiki bay and the bohyada tree, those gave good xp too. Just ppl i think became more lazy and find closer routes than wanting to run or choco.

Although alot of zones are getting alot more (sometimes excessive) amounts of attention for both exp parties, soloers and low man parties, I feel the expansion of FoV in multiple zones outside of the original FFXI zones will help spread the trend abit thinner making it easier on everyone.

After all you can only take advantage of FoV in a certain zone for so long, and if more options are available, then people will surely take advantage of the zones that give more exp over time instead of being level 40 in qufim getting crap exp per kill but taking in 700ish exp per regime.

But really there are many alternatives to the three hells that every player goes by based on accepted trend. I soloed on my dancer to 27+ in pashhow and jugner and it was almost empty every time. I was very happy I skipped the hustle and bustle of Qufim and even Yuhtunga Jungle.

That or juse like the "party job req" they have mostly become closeminded. My JP friend and I always pt in Beh. Dom.; excellent exp camp there. Bibiki bay is still a good camp, expecially the 2nd regin for 63+, only problem is again, closeminded players ; ;.

I don't believe it's the close mindedness nor laziness that keeps us from wanting to find new camps so much as we've been using the same camps for years and just like eating at the same restaurant because you like the food - we go to the same camps because we know we used to hit high chains and get great xp from x-z levels.

I'm just hoping that once Kazham turns into the next qufim that SE doesn't decide it would be great to add FOV to every zone.

Sure, FOV allows solo - but being solo (except for BST) wasn't really how jobs were “expected” to level and high-xp is really built around a well built full party doing their jobs well..

XP aside though - I can’t wait to see what happens to things like tele-yhoat scrolls when you have to kill 10 ivory lizards and 3 people are soloing them all to complete their quota.. (Can you say 250k scrolls?)

Oh and on a lighter note.. Am I the only one that feels like I'm camping a NM every time I log into FOV? I mean jeeze the competition and people mob stealing is hilarious - its like I'm NM camping to get a damn giant in qufim LOL

Only problem is that since most servers have such a limited population now, Soloing has almost HAD to become norm. Gone are the days of 4k+ ppl on at one time.

BTW Who else thinks we should have a few server conversions?

What exactly is Fields of Valor? I've never done it, and I'm wondering what the hoo ha is all about.

Kill x amount of monster a and, but not always y number of monster b and then get a set amount of exp, gil, and tabs which you can exchange for buffs. Can only be done once a game day and is cancelled by changing jobs.

Try to get into dynamis or limbus during NA prime time and tell me you want to still combine servers. Even with 2000~3000 people on at any given time, endgame events are packed to high hell. If you doubled the endgame population on most servers you might as well quit.

I do, but I doubt it's a very popular idea with many people. Endgamers/HNM campers/etc are all about less competition (understandable), while people that haven't gotten to that point would like more people around to exp/do missions/quests with.

Then you factor the crafters/farmers that have a particular market cornered, merging servers potentially introduces competition there as well, something high level crafters may not be too thrilled about.

I peronally say people will just have to adapt in that case, but when it comes to pass expect A LOT of Q_Q'ing about it. I mean, 3-5 years ago when the servers were 2-3 times more populated people got by, but there was also the massive inflation and huge payoffs that "softened the blow" that came with competing for drops and such. With gil so much harder to come by nowadays, I expect there to be LOTS of drama when that day comes. And it WILL come...it's inevitable, really.

EDIT:



I rest my case lol

I'm not talking cut in half. There are still over 20 servers. If you cut 3-4 your not going to double the endgamers. Besides there isn't just endgamers, why does it always have to be about the elite :P

Guess what it's going to happen sooner or later. Wether its 1-4 or the whole game, SE will not operate all the servers. They are going to get to a point where the lack of subscriptions will force them to do it to save money.

Endgame =/= Elite. But yeah it will have to happen at some point, but idk if that point is as close as so many others believe. Too many people feel that just because they are tired of the game or that they have decided to quit that everyone feels the way they do. SE clearly has recognized the problem of not enough low level people and have done much to solve that, FOV,Sync,Campaing,signet boosts.

As the game operates atm though any sort of combination of servers would be a terrible terrible idea, as most events are already seriously overcrowded.

INC completion of the gothic set?

Considering how many ppl I have to compete against during camping most nm's - I'd have to say I'd hate it if my server merged with another.. 2-3k on at any given time is rough enough for competition lol.

Hell Syplh is lucky to have 1.5k on at any moment, even during peak. Not all servers have camping/endgame time issues.