My inventory is completely packed out from water crystals, land crab meat and a nice amount of beastmen and kindred seals, so I head back to town to offload some equipment. I have also collected 6 crawler cocoons, which do not stack, I take 3 lightning crystals and turn these into silk threads and pass them onto Paul. I also have 2 H.Q. crab shells which I also pass on. Paul puts these all onto the AH and as Jay is around we decide to go off to complete this week's Tactics Pearl quest - I cannot forget I still need to complete my Chocobo Race as well before Sunday.


We enter and make up our way up to the second floor where we know we can get some nice EXP for the NPCs. We tally off around 30 mobs and are proceeding to collect the ??? when we come up against a real challenge and eventually I end up dying. Thankfully, Jay finishes the mob off and collects 2,100 EXP for his NPC. I HP back to Aht Urhgan knowing that I will have to wait until after 16:00 tomorrow before I can try again.

This is not a problem so I head back to The Boyahda Tree and skill up club to 190 - this will do for the moment on club - the skill ups are slowing down for some reason. Epi is about 70% through 61 and I am 15,234 TNL now.

Ok, suggestions for this website: create an auto-save function so 3 hours worth of writing is not lost when I press the backspace key :(.

To bring myself up to date:

PET: Aht Urhgan Attercop

ENEMY: Puk
Attacks: Crosswind (Front Attack), Zephr Mantle (Shadows), Wind Shear (AoE knockback and damage), Obfuscate (Flash)
ENEMY: Aht Urghan Attercop
Attacks: Spider Web (AoE Slow), Sicklet Slash (High damage, one target), Acid Spray (Poison and damage, one target)


I am at 13,568 TNL - I am over 50% of the way through 66 now and am in possesion of a total of 7 spider webs, which equates to 70,000 Gil from the AH shortly.


My Sanction runs off at an appropriate time as there is another Besieged event about to occur shortly in Al Zahbi. I leave my postion and head back and quickly sort some inventory stuff back onto Paul. The two hi-potions sold so I can put 3 spider webs up for sale and move some more puk items out of the way.


I have renewed my Sanction and stand ready. To be absolutely honest, I cannot hit anything normally - I am not prepped on this job to be fighting IT++ mobs, so I just run around throwing some Cures out and I Dia everything so I can get lots of EXP, lol.


Ultimately, as I have to go afk half way through it, I only get 300 or so EXP and about the same in IP. Still, the day is saved yet again and my EXP bonus on Sanction will remain intact.

I go back out into the Woodlands and continue to EXP - I am about 7,000 TNL now.


It has been a continuous run and with about 1,000 TNL, my Sanction and food fade away again. I continue on and very happily hit BST 67 shortly after! Whilst I have been leveling, Arquis wants to do some more Avatar Prime fights. I am glad to help because I need all the Primes, then Fenrir and Diabolos before I will even think about heading on with my SMN.

We agree to complete Shiva (which I need) and Ramuh (which I need to re-do for my first whisper for Fenrir), so I head over to Mhuara for a new Tuning Fork of Lightning and then to Fei'Yin.


We are ready to start with Shiva now, I hope this goes well...

Within 9 minutes, I have acquired a brand new summon to add to Carbuncle and Ramuh - well it will be mine when I get back to San d'Oria anyhow.

We head over to the Cloister of Storms, where we were yesterday so that we can start our Ramuh fight - I'm glad to start the Fenrir trail as well now.

This also goes well, even with just 3 of us - Ballpointpen is a SAM75 and subs NIN for the shadows. I quickly get the Whisper for this one and now we're off to the Cloister of Gales up by Cape Terrigan, again where we were yesterday.

I take the OP Warp from the Sanctuary and head into Cape Terrigan. Before I know it, I have been aggroed by a goblin sheperd and it's pet rabbit which then links with another rabbit.

In my panic, I try charming the pet of the goblin's instead of the other one and just find a quiet place to die... I de-level but thankfully still have my Re-raise 2 up so only need about 500 EXP to get back to 67.

I am fairly annoyed at something that does seem incredibly unfair - it's one thing to get aggroed, it's quite another not even to realise it is there.

I head up to the Protocrystal and await the Garuda fight.

I decide that the way to move Goldsmithing forward from 41 will not require any more mythril ingots so I change them all into mythril sheets and begin to get rid of them on the AH. This requires a warp into Jeuno, where the taxes are much lower than here in Al Zahbi.

I am becoming more and more of the opinion that I will soon require a third mule - I have a name already - I'm getting more and more stuck in terms of rotation of items but I'm not sure how I will spread items across the 3 of them - 1 for armour, 1 for stacked items and 1 for...?  I need a system that makes it easy for me to know where stuff is so I can collect it quickly. Need to think this part through again.

Whilst I think about this more, the two malboro vines I intended to sell are more profitable in a hi-potion synth so I collect the other items from the Alchemy guild in Whitegate and make two of them. It's very useful having a lot of items available in one place, rather than moving around the world trying to get stuff.


The idea for a third mule, which I think would work, would be for Paul to stay looking after items, David to look after the top 8 slots of equipment, and a new mule to look after the bottom 8. In this case, I think I will keep this mule in Bastok - I have much better access then to all 3 cities, much more quickly.

This is something I will complete today - if the US$ versus UK£ continues the way it is, this works out at about 65p for an extra 80 (I think) slots per month. Exchange rates - gotta love them!


I consider myself prepared now for some EXP - it is time to test out spiders against these puks - this should be easier as the spiders are a higher level.

PET: Aht Urhgan Attercop

ENEMY: Puk
Attacks: Crosswind (Front Attack), Zephr Mantle (Shadows), Wind Shear (AoE knockback and damage), Obfuscate (Flash)

This is a little easier now: with full help from me, an EM spider can defeat a VT puk and I can also kill T spiders - they drop a nice item called a spider's web.


Going very smoothly - it's great the way the spiders here neither aggro nor link and they make good inbetween EXP when there are no EM pets around. I am now 21,087 TNL.

One problem I am having is trying to create enough EM pets as a lot seem to spawn as T. It's just a matter of Charming them and then Leaving them outside of their spawn radius. They then re-spawn about a minute later, hopefully as EM. This does force a drop in my EXP/min though.


A bad 30 mins, with only 1,292 EXP - too much time spent de-spawning pets and then eradicating chains. Then within a few minutes I am killed by a VT puk after failing a re-Charm on a spider. My Reraise 2 is still up so I am able to reclaim all but 500-600 of the EXP from the death.

I decide now that this is a good time to head back to Al Zahbi and start some more NPC leveling with the lesser colibri, also in Wajaom Woods.

However... NPCs cannot be used in ToAU areas - this is disappointing for sure. I re-check Allakhazam for some other BST leveling spots back in the Conquest areas and am debating head over to Cape Terrigan to try out some time with getting a Beastmaster Testimony - the goblins over there should be quite easy for Epi as she is only 58 presently.


As I get out to Cape Terrigan, I test out some of the mobs - specifically the goblin BSTs and by my second one, I have acquired a Beastmaster Testimony! I am ready now to face Maat but do I wait until 69 or attempt it now? For the moment, I will focus on some more EXP and begin to level Epi again.


Hmm, the mobs here are a little too far apart to make this decent and although not all of them aggro, all of them do link on each other. Ultimately, I gain 450 EXP here and put myself at 19,780 TNL.

I hope the update in these coming weeks allows the use of NPCs in the new areas - it will make it a lot easier, certainly.

I debate what to do now... should I return to Wajaom Woodlands and be grateful of some fairly decent EXP or attempt somewhere else? I decide that I will take some time off for the present and come back later.


I return a little more relaxed and more motivated: I shall return to Wajaom Woodlands and gain EXP there - it's faster than anywhere else, obvioulsy made easier with the Sanction EXP bonus.


Before I really get to go anywhere with it (and the zone is full of BSTs), Arquis, from my LS is asking for help with his SMN head piece. I check up on the details from Alla and Somepage and it is two seperate fights. We start to piece together a party of 6 for the Cloister of Storms in Boyahda Tree.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, because not that much happened, but Aquarius was up so 3 of us tried to kill it. To be clear, when I was 63 BST, myself and two other BSTs in 63-66 range killed this crab. Tonight, we barely made a dent and only just got to zone.

I felt bad for the 75 Taru there who was AFK and promptly got killed :(.


We finally enter the battle and complete it in just over 4 minutes - total overkill in the end but it's done.

From here we head over to the Cloister of Gales for the second boss battle. This will be my first time here.

The journey takes us back through Cape Terrigan and around manticores that are IT to me still (75-78 as I recall). We wait for the rest of the team by the Wind Protocrystal.

The battle is easy again with no problems and Jay lets me borrow his Warp Cudgel to get back into Al Zahbi. It's time to call it a night as I do want to continue EXPing on BST tomorrow - I just don't know how I did not die this evening with so much going on.

Ah, the luck of BST I guess...

And..., I'm back! As I log back in, I check up on both Paul and David to update their Gil totals for the end of June. I also, very happily, note that San d'Oria is in 1st place in Conquest - I can finally move Goldsmithing a little further forward.

On David, a Chakram that I must have sold 3 or 4 weeks ago finally has it's Gil deposited in my Delivery Box - I had forgotten all about this. I also move 12 silver beastcoins to synthesize into some ingots - I will now have enough to make a stack of them for sale shortly.

I log back into Wajaom Woods, of course, but there is little point in EXPing presently: I have no charges left on my EXP ring and I need to check out my equipment for BST 66. Therefore, I return to Al Zahbi - with a first place Conquest, there will be a lot to do this week.

Once back at Al Zahbi, I check for any more Gil from the AH and find 20,000 from the Chain Gorget sold last week. I finish June only 27,966 Gil up from May - an increase of just 0.21% (yes, I track this all). However, I have also spent a considerable amount of time leveling and have a much stronger THF now.

I start by synthing off my 12 beastcoins, gaining the necessary 3 silver ingots from this. I send these back to David, go and get a imperial bronze piece to re-open my Mog Locker to get all the fire crystals out then head off to Jeuno to see what a level 66 Beastmaster can use...


BST continues to still be relatively cheap as there is nothing new that I need. Although I do get hit quite hard when I have hate, this is normally just temporary because pets will always be so much more stronger. My primary focus must be on CHR, because a mis-charm is almost always fatal.

With nothing else to do, I have at least 50 minutes before my Chocobo race for this week, so I head off to San d'Oria and some Goldsmithing skill ups.


All set up at the Airship shop in Port San d'Oria:

Goldsmithing

Fire + 1 x mythril ingot = mythril sheet (41)

I have to drop a lot of Gil to make the synths but there is considerable profit in this, because the synth cannot be HQ'd. This will be a good synth to return to when in need of some Gil.

It takes about 16-17 synths to get up to level 41 and this synth is now capped. I head off to a Chocobo to gain some free EXP.


A time of 19 mins and 13 secs gains me 815 EXP which goes straight onto my BST - need to get out of buffer area as soon as possible. I warp back into Al Zahbi to contemplate my next move.


I am unable to do anything as a Besieged event is about to occur so I decide to get involved in this. At the height of battle, there are only 450 people in the event and it takes a long time, losing 3 of the 5 Generals in the process.

We win and I gain more IP and another 700 EXP. I am now 26,000 TNL and intend to make a start on this tomorrow.

For the moment, I decide to call it a night and start afresh with more Puks early in the day.

Another early start - I am eager to crack on with this level. This, however, is not to be the case as I just cannot get logged in! It will eventually take about 3 hours to do, although, I do watch some TV in between. Finally...


Another charge of my Empress Ring is used and the EXP shoots up past 400-500 again. I end up gaining over 3000 EXP in 34 minutes when the Dedication effect comes off. Same pets and monsters as yesterday:

PET: Worker Pephredo and Soldier Pephredo

ENEMY: Puk
Attacks: Crosswind (Front Attack), Zephr Mantle (Shadows), Wind Shear (AoE knockback and damage), Obfuscate (Flash)


Sanction runs out at a good time so I head beak to the AH in Whitegate to pick up a new Reraise Gorget and some Accuracy enhancing food: these VT cause lots of misses, so it takes longer to gain EXP and reduces chances of chains.


The Jack-o-lantern is great and really improves speed of kills against VTs, so long as my pet has hate already, otherwise it has a tendency to turn to me. At this point I am now 12,700 TNL - I am past the half way point of this level. I am keeping Reraise up presently but I am much more accustomed to this camp now - I don't think it helped taking a lot of time out with THF but I feel much more in my stride now.


I take another break and crack on now - certainly, this does get repetitive but it does keep you on your toes - lots that a BST has to be aware of.


BSTs can be very silly, plus greedy - instead of taking the 30% cut and getting some EXP, we would rather Leave our pets to risk full EXP. This costs us, as it has just done me, with a death - I'm just thankful that Reraise 2 was up - my EXP loss was only about 500, instead of being closer to 2,000. Within two mobs, that I let my pets attack whilst I rest, I have made back the lost EXP. Really, the worst thing about this is the loss of my 3 hour food - I shall have to return to the AH again at some point.


I close off the early evening with no more deaths and only 5,413 TNL. I have returned to Aht Urghan to pick up a new Sanction effect and purchase some more Jack'o'lanterns for consumption. I will go back out this evening so I have at the most 3,000 EXP left and then I can use my EXP ring from 04:00 to take 66. We'll see what the later evening brings, however.


I am back on and have cleared Paul's Delivery Box, so I can put more stuff in it but I actually end up just sending crystals back to myself. I check the prices on the AH for the drop items from these dragons I have been killng (they're not birds - my mistake) and there is not much Gil in them at all. This has been a very expensive month and I've barely made much against May but then, I don't spend much either on equipment - BST is good that way, I guess.


My Protect and Shell fade so I call it a night at 3,162 TNL - without death, this is doable in 45 mins tomorrow morning. One thing I have noticed about these mobs is that if you cast an elemental spell the same as the current day on them (i.e. Dia on Lightsday) they get 1 free TP move immediately. This point here was the first time I leveled during Lightsday to find this out. What a cool thing to have in a game - it doesn't affect me so much but it would mean you would be hard pushed to do a Distortion skillchain on Iceday, lol.

On and straight to Paul - the beeswax has now sold for 48,000. I have nothing left to sell presently.

Once that's done I grab the airship back to Nashmau for Caedarva Mire - we'll get this EXP back in no time... I hope.

PET: Caedarva Leech and Treant Sapling

ENEMY: Marsh Murre
Attacks: Helldive (Attack at one enemy), Wing Cutter (Elemental wind attack, front)


Yup - the EXP was great here last time and still is - I gain the EXP back very quickly and put an extra 1,100 on it to start a buffer off.

I will try Wajaom Woodlands one last time - at least I know where I can exit it to this time.


Not tonight, however: I am required in Castle Oztroja for Brittywitty's PLD AF quest involving a pugil NM. We get there quickly enough and defeat the monster in no time at all. Now it is off to The Eldieme Necropolis for a piece of Thorpe's BRD AF - ironically in the same place as one of my BST pieces (now that was a pain that quest).


Still setting up and waiting to get started, I remind myself that BST is now 65 again and I have time off from work for the next two weeks - I just hope I can make some good progress on this.


Well the NMs were much easier than the impression given with a good group ranging in 50-75, so it was no real problem. We even got a Papyrus drop from a skeleton - if we'd needed it, it would never have dropped.

I log out ready to make my way back to San d'Oria ready for Conquest rollover tomorrow.

Quickly onto Paul to discover my beeswax had not sold so I put it back up again.

More luck with my bolts so I head back into Wajaom Woodlands and back to where I was yesterday. I put up a Reraise II just in case and proceed with the same as yesterday.

PET: Worker Pephredo and Soldier Pephredo

ENEMY: Puk
Attacks: Crosswind (AoE knockback), Zephr Mantle (Shadows), Wind Shear (Front attack), Obfuscate (Flash)

However, within a couple of kills I get aggro from a huge range again so I attempt to use the bees to kill both at the same time. I go through 4 seperate pets, letting them Leave so they can regain HP again but they birds hit hard and I am soon taken down.

I also note that there is an exit to another zone not far from my position - there really is no need to take these fights like this.

In another moment of stupidty, I HP instead of waiting for the Reraise effect...

I am now BST 64 again.


I elect to head of to Caedarva Mire to regain my level with the leeches and birds there - there does appear to be some worth to staying there for 65 potentially, but I may have to leave Aht Urghan - and it's wonderful EXP - to head back to other areas - plus, my NPC always needs leveling.

PET: Caedarva Leech and Treant Sapling

ENEMY: Marsh Murre
Attacks: Helldive (Attack at one enemy), Wing Cutter (Elemental wind attack, front)

5 fights later and I have BST 65 back so I retire from my position as there is another BST there before me. The birds there are still T to me...


As I exit the area, the other BST says he is logging off so I head back in to put some buffer on the level. I am stupid in not running for a pet early enough and wind up failing a Charm, taming the second bird but not being able to get a Cure 3 in before I am dead again.

I am now 1,700 TNL on 65 so I think this is a very good time to call it a night and re-focus my efforts over the next couple of days.