Since I'm taking a miniature "break" if you will from this game, I'm also focusing on more tangible things, so I'm going to be posting to my new live journal account more often now. You don't have to read it, but I'm just putting it out there.

braingoo544.livejournal.com/

Ok, I've given this a lot of thought, and I want to try it out and see if something like this is doable, and even if it isn't, it'll at least be fun.

The setup:

4x BRD/NIN and 2x BRD/WHM

The songs:
Minuet IV
Minuet III
Minuet II
Minuet
Blade Madrigal
Sword Madrigal
Victory March
Advancing March
Ballad II
Ballad
Paeon V
Paeon IV

All of the BRDs will main hand a dagger for evisceration for maximum damage, but the ones subbing Ninja can use Joyeuse as a sub weapon for tp gain. The BRDs subbing WHM will cure (obviously).

The problem(s) I see with this are as follows:

1) BRDs usually don't have dagger capped (myself included)
2) This setup should only really work on colibri
3) Some BRDs don't have DD gear for the job
4) There's probably some more that I haven't posted, but w/e

Well, I've had this job for many months now, and since then, I've basically been playing it the same way and kinda skimping on merits.. but recently, I've bought an Engetsuto, which has reawakened my love for the job. With my normal STP gear for Hagun/Soboro, I can make a 5hit build for the Engetsuto (which has 480 delay compared to the 450 of the other two.) The only draw back is that polearm skill caps at 240 meaning I need a lot more accuracy to keep up my hit ratio. Knowing this, I've worked my hauby into tp gear and switched out my sarutobi kyahan for hachiman sune-ate sacrificing 3 haste. :( The cool part, however, is that I can basically spam penta thrust off of meditates and lucky double attacks. I haven't used this in a merit situation, but I am very eager to try it out (assuming of course I can get it skilled from 224 >> 240.)

Also, last night, I realized the awesomeness of overwhelm merits. I only had 2 SC partners at Fafnir, but pulling off 600-800 damage Gekkos and Kashas made it so I was tanking a lot of the fight and messed up my tp gain with annoying terrors. The only real toy I'm yet to get for my sam is Usukane Sune-ate. 7 acc + 2 haste + 7 stp is no joke when it comes to SAM.. my polearm will be stronger than ever!

I've also started leveling NIN, but I'm not exactly sure why. It's not that great endgame except for NIN/DRK tanking, and stuff that I can tank/solo on NIN, I could probably still tank/solo on BLU since I have superior gear for that job atm. Oh well, I have to level new jobs anyways, and NIN is just fine.

Speaking of BLU, I've been doing salvage in hopes of getting Morrigan's Robe for it. Essentially, Morrigan's is a great way to get 1 mp/tick refresh without sacrificing too much accuracy and having the ability to use a head piece (ohithere 5% haste and 30 hp/mp.) Not to mention it looks sick. Not only am I looking forward to Morrigan's Robe, but I've awakened a drive inside me I've never really cared for before.. and that is BLU/THF. With my initial tests (in campaign, so don't take it too seriously,) I've gotten Vertical Cleave to easily out-damage Disseverment only using Sneak Attack. This is very good because Vertical Cleave is a 1-hit spell meaning it'd do much better on HNMs than Disseverment ever would without feeding too much tp to the mob.

A typical BLU/THF fight would be:

Get TP
CASA(TA) Vertical Cleave
Get TP
SA(TA) Vertical Cleave
Get TP
CASA(TA) Vertical Cleave

SA and TA are on a 1-minute timer while CA is on a 2-minute timer meaning I can only use my tp once every 2 minutes for the nice, cushy damage boost, but still, SA adds enough damage to the spell to make it worthwhile to be used alone. However, until I've found a useful outlet for this spell, there's really nothing I can do. Maybe I'll bring BLU/THF to the next Cerberus..

Like always, my BRD and SMN are left in the dust... oh well ;P

Ok, since Drod asked me, and I'm bored, here goes:

~~SAMURAI~~

--TP--

Main: Hagun
Sub: Pole Grip
Ammo: Smart Grenade
Head: Ace's Helm
Neck: Peacock Charm
Ear1: Brutal Earring
Ear2: Merman's Earring
Body: Askar Korazin
Hands: Dusk Gloves
Ring1: Rajas Ring
Ring2: Ulthalam's Ring
Back: Cerberus Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt
Legs: Byakko's Haidate
Feet: Sarutobi Kyahan

--WS--
Neck: Chivalrous Chain
Body: Haubergeon
Hands: Pallas Bracelets (; ;)
Waist: Potent Belt
Legs: Shura Haidate
Feet: Hachiman Sune-ate

--Meditate--
Head: Myochin Kabuto
Hands: Saotome Kote



~~Bard~~

--Idle--

Main: Terra's Staff
Sub: Staff Strap
Ranged: Mary's Horn
Neck: Wind Torque
Ear1: Loquacious Earring
Ear2: Magnetic/Musical Earring
Body: Ixion Cloak
Hands: Choral Cuffs +1
Ring1: Omega Ring
Ring2: Ether Ring
Back: Astute Cape
Waist: Gleeman's Belt
Legs: Bard's Cannions +1
Feet: Rostrum Pumps

--Buff Gear--

Ranged: appropriate instrument
Head: Walahra Turban
Body: Yigit Gomlek

--Debuff Gear--

Main: appropriate staff
Ranged: appropriate instrument
Body: Ixion Cloak

--Instruments--
Mary's  Horn - Lullaby +1
Piccolo +1 - Threnody +2
Cornette +1 - Minuet +2
Requiem Flute - Requiem +4
Ebony Harp +1 - Paeon +2
Crumhorn +1 - Carol +2
Gemshorn +1 - Mambo +2
Horn +1 - Elegy +2
Faerie Piccolo - March +2
Traversiere +1 - Madrigal +2
Storm Fife - Assault: Ballad +1

Well, I really don't know what to say, but it really has been a while since I last updated. Basically, I finally maxed out my Blue Mage equipment slots with my brand new Homam Cosciales. They are pretty. Here is my BLU:

-TP Gear-

Main: Perdu Hanger
Sub: Hofud
Ranged: Rogetsurin
Head: Walahra Turban
Neck: Fortitude Torque
Ear1: Brutal Earring
Ear2: Suppanomimi
Body: Homam Corazza
Hands: Homam Manopolas
Ring1: Rajas Ring
Ring2: Ulthalam's Ring
Back: Cerberus Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt
Legs: Homam Cosciales
Feet: Homam Gambieras

-WS Gear-

Waist: Potent Belt
Legs: Denali Kecks
Feet: Denali Gamashes

-Accuracy Spell Gear-

Neck: Peacock Charm
Ear1: Loquacious Earring
Ear2: Magnetic Earring
Body: Magus Jubbah
Waist: Potent Belt
Legs: Denali Kecks
Feet: Denali Gamashes

-Debuff/Drainkiss Gear-

Head: Homam Zuchetto
Ear1: Loquacious Earring
Ear2: Magnetic Earring
Body: Magus Jubbah
Ring2: Omega Ring
Legs: Denali Kecks
Feet: Denali Gamashes

-Utsusemi Gear-

Ear1: Loquacious Earring
Ear2: Magnetic Earring

I realize I don't have a 6% haste belt or one or more acc +7 ring, but my slots are basically full at the price range. Comments, Suggestions, w/e? idc, back in my hole

Well, I've started leveling PLD. This decision isn't just because I want Homam Cosciales for my BLU. The reason for this is because I always wanted to tank, which is why I geared up my BLU for it, but I rarely get the chance to do so. Another reason is because I already have a lot of the gear (Homam Hands, feet, Askar feet, Aegish, Cerb mantle, etc, etc.) After clearing that up, if you still think I have an ulterior motive, keep making stuff up about me, k? I love hearing stuff about myself that I didn't know before.

Like the subject line says, I am apalled right now. About a year ago, Argantes, a RDM and DRK, left the Linkshell because he did not like how we zerged certain fights with DRKs. He thought that it wasn't worth being in our Linkshell, so he quits and starts his own. As it turns out, he turns around and RMTs an assload of gil to buy himself a Kraken Club so his DRK could do exactly what he left our shell for. He continues to RMT assloads of gil so that he can upgrade an Apocalypse for himself and an Aegis for his brother.

Recently, Belkin, our Linkshell leader, decides to help Argantes by using one of his Omega chip sets since Argantes's Linkshell can't kill Omega on their own. Basically, the deal was that Arg could choose any one homam piece that dropped for his Linkshell. If you know the Omega fight, you know that it usually only drops one really good piece and a head or two heads most of the time. Well, we still needed feet, legs, and body pieces, so belkin said what the hell and took him up on the deal.

After he told the Linkshell of this, he was met with a sea of outrage. Most of the people were against this because they were in the Linkshell when Argantes left and were against the idea of anybody in their LS getting a piece of good Homam. Among the dissenters were two of the leaders: Ilysium and I. Knowing he was outnumbered in the leader department, Belkin did not care which is exactly what his attitude always is and continued with his plan anyways knowing full well it was incredibly unpopular.

Why am I so bitter? Because Belkin sold our Linkshell out to get pure scum gear that they could not get themselves. It does not matter if we get any chips pods, the fact of the matter is we could have NOT helped Argantes and farmed those runs that we needed instead, but this makes way too much sense. Belkin, stop ignoring people's opinions as if yours is the only one that's important.

Well, I finally got it to 75 a few weeks ago, and it's been going well since then. I've almost maxed out all my inventory slots except dusk gloves +1, Speed Belt, and/or AV items. The only think I'm really working towards getting atm is Ace's Helm and enough merits to finish Store TP :/ My setup is:

Hagun
Pole Strap
Smart Bomb
Walahra Turban
Peacock Charm
Brutal Earring
Merman's Earring
Askar Korazin
Hachiman Kote
Rajas Ring
Ulthalam's Ring
Foragers Mantle
Swift Belt
Byakko's Haidate
Sarutobi Kyahan

When I finish Store TP merits, I'm using Dusk Gloves full time and WS in Pallas's(lol) bracelets. (Help me get Alky's Drod) D:

Anyways, I still like my BLU more, but now I have a DD job more suited for actual HNMs, so I guess that's pretty nifty.

Well, there's not much to explain about the title. This post is basically a rant by me to explain why I should be able to bid on Homam Cosciales for my BLU.

First of all, it was intended for PLD to be on first tier because they can use it to tank, but there are several problems with this idea:

1: While this is the best piece of leg armor for PLD, it is also the best piece of leg armor for basically every job that can use it. Claiming that PLDs deserve it more than any other job is just stupid because we've had PLDs tank just fine without them. It's really just a luxury item, and prioritizing tanks over other jobs is just not fair.

2: PLDs who never use PLD can use their tier to get first dibs on it even if they're never going to tank using it. Because I realize it'd be unfair to tell certain people that they can't lot simply because they don't use the job enough, I find letting any job that can wear bid on it is the better solution.

3: PLD isn't the only job that can tank with this on. I know I've shown that my BLU can tank just fine if I have enough refresh. You might say "you can tank just fine without it too," but my reply would be "so could you."

In conclusion, remove the tier restrictions for this item because it is possibly the best leg armor for any of the jobs that can wear it.

The main purpose of this post is to explain why I feel discouraged recently. It's just that it seems people just dismiss me as goofy or whatever and naturally assume that my ideas and theories are baseless. I'm not saying that of everybody, but the fact that people laugh at me when I think of something new really irritates me. They don't even want to hear what I have to say.

Since the beginning of my time in this game, I have not been interested in the traditional way of doing things, but I've done them anyways because other people had done the testing and concluded that this is how it's supposed to be. On the other hand, people do not play Blue Mage as much, and I think this job is the most interesting of them all. This post is not about me asking to come BLU more to events because I realize that most of the time my BRD is needed, but all I'm saying is that people naturally assume all Blue Mages are gimp and therefore they shouldn't be in more conventional setups for fighting things.

Please do not dismiss me. My experience comes from actually leveling the job, and just assuming I'm wrong is not helpful. You cannot conclude that something is useless from just a few tests. That's why they're called tests so you can tweak what doesn't work. By no means do I want to come to every HNM as BLU tank, but I'm just saying that I'm not crazy. My ideas do work, but if you read this blog, you can see that.

Another thing that's been bothering me is the fact that I've been in this shell for 1.5 years and still don't seem to command much respect. In the beginning, I had to lead countless sea, sky, and forced pop events because that's what shells do when they're first born. I had to put up with many people who had no idea what was going on and deal with dozens of tells asking what they're supposed to do. Still today, I go to events as what is needed and do not put up a fuss about it. Would I like to do things on a job other than BRD? Sure I would, but sometimes that's not what is needed.

This is the reason I'm leveling SAM. It's so I have a choice to attend events on something different. I've never been on the melee/SC side of an HNM before, and I'm curious as to how it is.

All-in-all, please do not discount me. I've been playing this game for almost four years and am still dedicated to a shell that doesn't seem to give as much respect as I think I deserve, but it doesn't matter. I will still go to events as BRD when needed.