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Let’s get started, first off the stats for this hat. Accuracy +10 Ranged Accuracy +10 Evasion +10
Level 70 [Head] All Races Rare/Ex

This fugly looking hat is sought after by all melee jobs. Obtaining this hat is by far an easy task. First off, you will need to hunt down 5 different Hakutaku eyes, which are located throughout the world. The eyes are not 100% drops and eyes range from level 50 to 75. These eyes cannot be purchased from AH, but can be purchased via bazaars ranging in price from 9K to 200K depending on the eye. Once all the eyes have been obtained you will need to fight a high level alchemist to craft them into a Hakutaku Eye Cluster. This cluster sells for 800K-1.5 mil sometimes in bazaars. With this cluster, you will now be able to spawn Hakutaku in Den of Rancor. Once you kill this NM, optical hat will be yours. The hat is a 100% drop.

The mobs that drop the eyes are black mage type mobs. They will cast spikes, -ga spells and ancient spells. There level range is 50-75 and are can be taken down with a decent PT setup. The drop rate for the eyes isn’t too bad, an average of 1 eye per hr.

Golden Hakutaku Eye – This is located in Sea Serpent Grotto behind the Ornament Door. To get to the door, hug the left wall once you get into SSG. To get behind this door, you will need a Sahagin Key. This key can only be obtained via a separate quest in Norg. For details on the quest, http://www.koolaid-ffxi.org/linkshell/space/The+Sahagin+Key The key can only be used once, so you will need to get a key each time. the Golden Hakutaku Eye is dropped off Mindgazer. It’s a level 65-70 mob and is surrounded by Sahagin’s which link very easily. If you don’t feel like completing the quest, it is possible to pull 1 Mindgazer. If you continue to hug the left wall, past the ornament door. You will reach a fishing pond. If you look up, 1 mindgazer spawns on the cliff. You can pull it down and kill, the spawn cycle is 15min.

Earthern Hakutaku Eye – This eye is also located in SSG, except its behind the mythil coin door. To get to this door, again, hug the left wall once entering SSG and you will reach a fishing pond. Examine the door to the north and trade it a mythril coin and the door should open. Follow the path and you will see 6 blubber eye spawns. The level 50-55 blubbereye is the easiest of all the eyes to kill. You just need to clear the area of crabs and sahagin.

Burning Hakutaku Eye – This is located in King Rampere’s Tomb. To get to this location you will need to examine a ??? and be taken underground. You will need to sneak yourself before heading down because bat’s will agro. This is a pretty easy eye to get to and the camp is safe. All the Thousand Eyes are located in one spot, so just camp in front and pick them off slowly as they spawn.

Damp Hakutaku Eye – This eye is located in Ifrit’s Cauldron and is surrounded by bombs, bats and scorpions. Dodomeki is level 63-67 and isnt too difficult to get to. Ifriti’s Cauldron have bombs that agro to magic and they have a huge range. I suggest your party bring invis powders and silent oils.

Wooden Hakutaku eye – The most difficult and toughest eye to get. Dropped off Million Eyes in Den of Rancor, this mob spawns at the same location where you fight Hakutaku for your optical hat. Million Eyes are level 73-75 [decent challenge to a lvl 75] and is surrounded by tonberries. To get to Den of Rancor, you will need to head through Temple of Uggalepih. Enter the Temple and hug the right wall. This will zone you back to the jungle. Follow the corner and go back into the Temple. Head south where you will find a door which is protected by Temple Guardian. He’s a level 75 Doll, which isnt too hard, just make sure you stun when it does Melt Down.

If nobody already has the key item �Paintbrush of Souls,� you will have to get one. Luckily, it�s not too difficult to acquire, and you only need one for your entire party. The entrance level of the Temple of Uggalepih is filled with three kinds of tonberries: Cutters, Slashers and Harriers. The Tonberry Cutters periodically drop Uggalepih Keys, which is what you need. These are NOT coffer or chest keys, just �Uggalepih Keys.� Once you acquire one, you�ll want to go to F-7 of the first map. To get there from the front door of the temple, take a right (don�t go through the gate) at the bottom of the first stairs, follow that hallway through a couple of rooms until you have to turn north or south. Head north and follow that path straight until you come into a room with painting frames. Incidentally, you can complete the �A Question of Taste� quest in this room if you have reached that point in the quest.

In the NW corner of this room (down a little hallway), there is a locked door which needs an Uggalepih key (which, incidentally, will use up the key). Once in, you�ll find a room with a locked box and three books. Examine all the books until one drops a key. Use this key on the locked box and you will acquire the key item �Paintbrush of Souls.� Do not leave the room without acquiring the Paintbrush or you will have to get another key and do it again. Again, only one person needs the paintbrush. It is a permanent key item, however, and you will need it every time you ever need to go through the door to the Den of Rancor. (In short, it�s not a bad thing to have).

Ok, you know how have all 5 eyes. What now? You will need to find an alchemist with level 86 MINIMUM to make the cluster. The recipe is:
Burning, Damp, Earthen, Golden, Wooden, Fiend Blood and a Light crystal. Be warned, a critical fail will cause you to loose all the eyes. Even with 100+3 alchemy there is still a 2-3% chance of failing. It it possible to HQ the cluster, but it’s only animation and no special effects will be given to the NM or the hat.

Alright, you now have your cluster. Now bazaar it for 99 trillion gil and wait for an alliance to form. This part could take days, weeks or even months because Hakutaku IS NOT a cake walk. I don’t recommonend you go with random people because problems will occur. It’s best if you go with LS members. Hakutaku is a hecteye type mob and its very similiar to the mobs you have been killing eyes for. Except the NM itself has crazy evasion and defense. Head to Den of Rancor and head to H-8. You will see a ??? and you will trade your cluster and the NM will pop. K, now the actual battle.

Get everyone to gather in Jeuno and make sure all meele have sneak and invisible powders. I cannot stress this enough because it saves a lot of problems. I suggest you get a minimum of 2 Ninja tanks, 2-3 stunners, 2-3 mages and a few meele with /thf to keep hate on the ninja tanks. Pld cannot tank this thing, it will take too much damage from spells and AM and its a waste of MP for mages to heal. A stun order must be setup, a single -ga spell can take out tank and hit an alliance hard. Make sure you stun at the start because NM has been known to cast a -ga as soon as its spawned. Mages must be prepared to cast paralyna on tanks because he loves to spam it. Ninja tanks should be tanking it backwards, this prevents paralyze. Mnk’s should not be meeling, they should be Chi-Blasting. Every other meele should be SATING onto 2 ninja tanks. Meele’s should be attacking the mob from the side or behind, anyone facing the front of Haku will get paralyzed.

The NM area has 2-3 million eyes and 2 tonberries that spawn in the area. Have a separate tank and 2 meele to deal with addons. All meele should bring sushi. Or if your really lucky, bring a high level bst to move the addson for you. This fight can go wrong in a second. So stay calm and be prepared for anything. If something does go wrong, kite Hakutaku until alliance is ready to continue. Do not call for help on links because that will cause NM to go call for help mode as well. If alliance dies, Hakutaku will despawn and the cluster will be lost. Once Hakutaku is dead, Optical Hat will be yours. It’s a 100% drop. Thank God. Get the alliance to heal up because the ??? will respawn 15min after Hakutaku has been killed.

Well that’s about it, enjoy the hat and be the envy of all the noobs. If you get your cluster and cant seem to find an alliance, don’t worry about it. You’ll get your optical hat and when you do, you’ll be screaming your head off. Good luck.

As almost all players have already noted, it is a very lengthy process to obtain gil in Final Fantasy XI. There are, however, some quests which allow you to take “shortcuts” in the gil making process. Before you go any further in this guide, it is advisable that you obtain Level 4 fame in Bastok, Windurst, San d’Oria and Norg. If you are unsure how to do this, take a look at Tekkub’s fame guide, located here.

The following guide is divided up into 3 short sections. A Ninja section, which you will want to avoid if you plan on leveling Ninja, a White Mage section, which you will want to avoid if you plan on taking White Mage to 36, and a Black Mage section, which you will want to avoid if you plan on leveling Black Mage. Please note, that it is advised to use silent oils/prism powders for several of the quests detailed here.

-Note: As I play on the Phoenix server, all prices listed are based on that AH, actual prices on your server may vary-

Ninja

———-

When starting the Ninja quests, you will need rank 4 (or so) fame in Norg. This is easily obtained by doing either the Shady Business quest in Port Bastok or the Mihgo’s Amigos quest in Windurst Woods. You will need about 200 Yagudo Necklaces or 100 Zinc Ores to get to the required amount of fame.

Once you have obtained the proper amount of fame, travel to Norg (Jeuno > Kazham > Yuhtunga Jungle > Sea Serpent Grotto > Norg) and look for the following people: Keal, Heiji, Shivivi, Washu, and Laisrean. These five people will give you the money making quests in Norg.

-Many of these quests require leaving Norg and then coming back, so it is recommended that you set your Home Point in Norg-

1) Keal starts the Tonko: Ichi quest. Tonko: Ichi will net you about 15-20k on the AH. It is recommended, when you do the Tonko: Ichi quest, that you also do the Utsusemi: Ichi quest, as they both have you running around the Sea Serpent Grotto.

2) Heiji starts the Kurayami: Ichi quest. Shining Subligars will cost you anywhere from 400-650gil on the Bastok AH. Kurayami: Ichi, however, nets you about 15k on the AH, for a profit of about 7 or 8k (not a lot, but if you’re in Norg, you may as well do it anyway).

3) Shivivi starts the Jubaku: Ichi quest. A damp scroll will cost you anywhere from 3k-6k normally, which isn’t bad, considering the amount that Jubaku sells for. Jubaku: Ichi will get you about 40k on the AH, if not a little more. It is recommended you do this one last, as it ends at Horalis Peak (and doesn’t require a return trip to Norg)

4) Washu starts the Hojo: Ichi quest. This quest requires a trip into Yhoator Jungle, and then a return trip to Norg. Hojo: Ichi will go for another 40k on the AH.

5) Laisrean starts the most profitable of all the Ninja quests, Utsusemi: Ichi. As mentioned earlier, it is recommended that you do Tonko: Ichi and Utsusemi: Ichi at the same time. Utsusemi: Ichi will fetch anywhere from 110-120k on the AH normally.

For further information on the Ninja quests check this website.

(Total Profit From Ninja Quests: Approximately 220k)

White Mage

——————

There are three profitable quests designed for White Mages that can be undertaken, and completed, at any level (provided you have the proper sneak/invis medicines). They require, however, Rank 4 fame in Bastok, Windurst and Rabao.

Please note that the San d’Orian Teleport Scroll quest (Teleport-Holla) was deliberately left out, as it only sells for about 5k.

1) Windurst: You are looking for a man Gantineux in Windurst Waters. He starts the Teleport-Mea quest. I would recommend, while doing this quest, that you only go to three of the four possible entrances to Eldieme Necropolis, as the fourth entrance has you going through Rangemont Pass and the connecting Glacier. If you don’t find the right spot in any of those three entrances, try again later. Teleport-Mea will net you 60-70k on the AH.

2) Bastok: In the Bastok Mines you are looking for a priest named Virnage, who starts the Teleport-Dem quest. Teleport-Dem is fairly easy to do, as long as you don’t fall through the holes in the dungeon, and will get you about 30k on the AH.

3) Rabao: When you travel to Rabao, look for a man named Alfesar, Alfesar starts the Teleport-Altep quest. Teleport-Altep will fetch about 25k on the AH.

(Total Profit from White Mage quests: Approximately 135k)

Black Mage

——————-

There are four profitable quests that end with Black Mage spells. These four quests are based in Windurst, Bastok and San d’Oria, and once again requires Rank 4 Fame in Windurst, and around the same in San d’Oria and Bastok.

Windurst-

1) Shantotto, who is found in Windurst Walls, starts the Warp 2 quest. Though it requires a dangerous trip through Fei’Yin and Beaucedine Glacier, you’ll be fine with Silent Oil and Prism Powder. Completeing this quest results in obtaining the Warp 2 scroll, which can sell for around 40k.

2) Fuepepe, in Windurst Waters, begins the Aspir quest. Rather than fighting to obtain the Test Answers, it is recommended that you simply purchase them from the AH (Windurst’s or Jeuno’s typically has them in stock). Selling Aspir on the AH will get you another 40k.

Bastok-

1) Unlucky Rat, who is found in the Metalworks, starts the Warp quest. Similar to the Test Answers in Windurst, it is recommended you purchase the slime oil from the Bastok AH. Selling Warp on the AH will get you around 10k.

San d’Oria-

1) Novalmauge, who is inside the castle (Bostaunieux Oubliette), begins the Drain quest. Once again, as I become repetitive, it is recommend you buy the Vial of Beastman’s Blood to complete the quest. Drain goes for about 20k on the AH.

(Total Profit from Black Mage quests: Approximately 110k)

Once again, these quests are only recommend if you do not intend on playing that class, as the resulting scrolls are important spells needed for advancing that class. Doing all of the quests, though, should get a person around 465k, if everything sells for the maximum amount. So the next time you see an expensive Emperor’s Hairpin or Ochiudo’s Kote, and think to yourself “how am I ever going to afford that?,” just remember, a lot of money can come from questing.

HOW MOGHANCEMENTS WORK

Every item of furniture is associated to one element (fire, earth, water, wind, ice, thunder, light, dark). The element can be seen when viewing the furniture – it appears in the lower right using the same icons as used for elemental weather.

Every item of furniture also has a Moghancement associated with it. Although the element of the furniture will indicate some possible moghancements you will get, use the Furniture list below if you looking for a particular Moghancement.

The elemental strength of different types of furniture can vary from weak to strong. For example, the elemental strength of a flower pot is weaker than that of a bronze bed. In our research, we measured the elemental strength of each type of furniture against the weakest known furniture items – Rusty Buckets and Flowerpots (except porcelain). In the list below, the elemental strengths listed are relative to the Rusty Bucket/Flowerpot elemental strength of 1.

You can only have one Moghancement at a time. Which one you gets depends on which element is dominant in your furniture layout. To determine which element is dominant, add up elemental strength of each item of furniture (earth+2 is twice as strong as wind+1).

If no element is dominant in your layout, you will get no Moghancement effect. For example, if you have 2 flower pots and 1 flower stand in your house, the elemental effects are of equal strength and you get no Moghancement.

When you have more than one possible Moghancement for the dominant element in your layout, you still only get one Moghancement. You will get the Moghancement of the furniture with the most element strength among those in the dominant element. For example, if the dominate element in your layout is earth and if you have a workbench (earth+6), a brass flowerpot (earth+1) and a yellow jar (earth+2), you will the Moghancement associated with the furniture with the strongest elemental influence, the workbench (Moghancement: Gardening).

Placing many of the same furniture in your mog house will increase the Moghancement “aura” and will change the message your Moogle gives you:
1-50 faint elemental energy
51-100 powerful elemental energy
101+ filled with elemental energy
What effect the higher level of aura has is undetermined as yet. Adding other kinds of furniture to your layout may cancel the effect somewhat.

The elemental field in your moghouse can have hidden effects apart from the Moghancement. Crafters in particular should pay attention to this. For example, a strong water elemental field has been reported to have adverse effects on synthing with fire crystals.

MOGHANCEMENTS

Moghancement: Dark – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a dark crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Desynthesis – When you fail using lightning crystal less chance of losing material
Moghancement: Earth – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a earth crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Experience – Reduces the amount of experience lost when KO’d. Has no effect on Raise spells.
Moghancement: Fire – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a fire crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Fishing – Increases the chance of getting items when fishing.
Moghancement: Gardening – Reduces the chances of plants withering when gardening
Moghancement: Ice – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a ice crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Light – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a light crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Lightning – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a lightning crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Region – Raises amount of region points granted to your country during conquest.
Moghancement: Water – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a water crystal have failed.
Moghancement: Wind – Reduces the chances of losing materials when systhesis attempts utilizing a wind crystal have failed.

FURNITURE LIST

Acolyte’s Grief
Element: Dark+4
Moghancement: Desynthesis
Storage: 1
Purchased: Jeuno Duty-free shop (31,224 gil with fame 2)

Ancient Blood
Element: Dark+3
Moghancement: Desynthesis
Storage: 1
Quest: A Pose By Any Other Name

Armoire
Element: Water+16
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 5
Crafted: Woodworking (90) & Goldsmithing (??) – Earth Crystal, Ebony
Lumber*7, Gold Ingot
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you a Scroll: Protect IV after some time.

Armor Box
Element: Water+2
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 3
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Autumn’s End
Element: Dark+5
Moghancement: Dark
Storage: 1
Purchased: Jeuno Duty-free shop (36,000 gil with fame 2)

Book Holder
Element: Light+1
Moghancement: Desynthesis
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (31) – Earth Crystal, Holly Lumber, Lauan Lumber
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Bookshelf
Element: Fire+8
Moghancement: Fire
Storage: 4
Crafted: Woodworking (95) & Goldsmithing (??) – Earth Crystal, Ebony Lumber*2, Brass Ingot, Mahogany Lbr.*3, Lqr. Tree Lbr.*2

Brass Flowerpot
Element: Earth+1
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 1
Crafted: Goldsmithing (14) – Fire Brass Sheet*3
Purchased: Bastok Mines

Bronze Bed
Element: Ice+6
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 1
Crafted: Smithing (19) & Clothcraft (19) – Fire Crystal, Saruta Cotton, Bronze Ingot*4, Grass Thread, Cotton Cloth*2
Used for: Give a Moogle a Break Quest (Mog House Expansion #1)

Bureau
Element: Earth+3
Moghancement: Earth
Storage: 2
Crafted: Woodworking (75) & Smithing (??) – Earth Crystal, Darksteel
Sheet, Mahogany Lbr.*2, Rosewood Lbr.*2
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you a Scroll: Protectra IV after some time.

Cabinet
Element: Water+12
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 4
Crafted: Woodworking (81) – Earth Crystal, Holly Lumber, Oak Lumber*4
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Ceramic Flowerpot
Element: Earth+1
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 1
Purchased: San d’oria

Chest
Element: Water+4
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 2
Crafted: Woodworking (61) – Earth Crystal, Rattan Lumber*3, Lauan Lumber*2

Chiffonier
Element: Water+?
Moghancement: ?
Storage: 3
Crafted: Woodworking (73) & Smithing (??) – Earth Crystal, Iron Sheet*2, Rosewood Lbr.*3
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Coffer
Element: Water+?
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 3
Crafted: Woodworking (64) – Earth Crystal, Brass Sheet, Yew Lumber*5, Rosewood Lbr.
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop
Increased Moghouse Storage: 3

Commode
Element: Water+16
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 4
Crafted: Woodworking (77) – Earth Crystal, Rosewood Lbr.*5

Cupboard
Element: Fire+6
Moghancement: Fire
Storage: 2
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop
Quest : Royal Teacup

Desk
Element: Wind+5
Moghancement: Region
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (45) & Clothcraft (26) – Earth Crystal, Elm Lumber,
Lauan Lumber, Linen Cloth

Dresser
Element: Light+4
Moghancement: Light
Storage: 2
Crafted: Woodworking (85), Clothcraft (??) & Goldsmithing (??) – Earth
Crystal, Gold Ingot, Velvet Cloth, Mythril Sheet, Rosewood Lbr.*4, Gold
Thread
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Earthen Flowerpot
Element: Earth+1
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 1
Purchased: Windurst Waters

Flower Stand
Element: Lightning+2
Moghancement: Lightning
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (44) – Earth Crystal, Yew Lumber, Lauan Lumber
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop 713g

Mahogany Bed
Element: Light+10
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (60) & Clothcraft (53) – Earth Crystal, Crystal,
Mahogany Lbr.*4, Wool Thread, Wool Cloth*3
Used for: The Moogle’s Picnic Quest (Mog House Expansion #2)

Maple Table
Element: Earth+8
Moghancement: Gardening
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (16) – Earth Crystal, Maple Lumber*4

Noble’s Bed
Element: Lighting+12
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (78), Clothcraft (??) & Goldsmithing (49) – Earth Crystal, Crystal, Gold Ingot, Velvet Cloth, Mahogany Lbr., Rosewood Lbr.*3,
Gold Thread, Silk Cloth
Used for: Moogles in the Wild Quest (Mog House Expansion #3):

Oak Bed
Element: Wind+5
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (49) – Earth Crystal, Crystal, Oak Lumber*4, Linen Thread, Linen Cloth*3
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you an Ether after some time.

Oak Table
Element: Earth+10
Moghancement: Gardening
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (40) – Earth Crystal, Oak Lumber*4
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop

Porcelain Flowerpot
Element: Earth+2
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 1
Crafted: Alchemy (61) – Fire Crystal, Cermet Chunk

Red Jar
Element: Fire+5
Moghancement: Fire
Storage: 2
Chocobo Dug : Sauromugue Champaign, Rolanberry Fields, Batallia Downs

Royal Bed
Element: Dark+24
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 2
Crafted: Woodworking (87), Clothcraft (??) & Goldsmithing (??) – Earth
Crystal, Crystal, Ebony Lumber, Gold Ingot, Damascene Cloth, Mahogany Lbr.,
Ruby, Gold Thread, Silk Cloth, Ancient Lumber

Rusty Bucket
Element: Water+1
Moghancement: Fishing
Storage: 1
Fished
Used for: Buckets of Gold Quest

Secretaire
Element: Earth+2
Moghancement: Region
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (65) – Earth Crystal, Mahogany Lbr.*4

Simple Bed
Element: Water+3
Moghancement: Experience
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (20) & Clothcraft (20) – Earth Crystal, Crystal, Holly Lumber*2, Lauan Lumber*2, Grass Thread, Grass Cloth*3 Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you Iron Ore*4 after some time.

Star Globe
Element: Dark+10
Moghancement: Region
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (96), Goldsmithing (??) – Wind Crystal, Wisteria Lumber, Garnet, Animal Glue, Rosewood Lbr., Gold Thread, Bast Parchment*2

Stationary Set
Element: Ice+3
Moghancement: Ice
Storage: 1
Quested: Reap what you Sow
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, you will receive the song Scop’s Operetta after some time from your moogle.

Tableware Set
Element: Lighting+3
Moghancement: Lightning
Storage: 1
Quested: Expertise
Additional Effect: Rumored to improve cooking results

Tarutaru Desk
Element: Earth+4
Moghancement: Gardening
Storage: 2
Crafted:Woodworking (36) – Earth Crystal, Lauan Lumber*5, Linen Cloth Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you a Hi-Potion after some time.

Tarutaru Folding Screen
Element: Ice+6
Moghancement: Ice
Storage: 1
Crafted:Woodworking (72) – Earth Crystal, Rattan Lumber*3, Parchment*3
Purchased: Windurst Waters

Tarutaru Stool
Element: Lightning+2
Moghancement: Desynthesis
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (27) – Earth Crystal, Elm Lumber, Lauan Lumber
Purchased: Windurst Waters

Tea Set
Element: Water+3
Moghancement: Water
Storage: 1
Quested: The Basics
Additional Effect: Rumored to improve cooking results

Waste Basket (EX)
Element: Lightning+2
Moghancement: Desynthesis
Storage: 2
Quested: Donate to Recycling

Water Barrel
Element: Water+4
Moghancement: Water
Storage: 2
Crafted: Woodworking (71) – Earth Crystal, Iron Sheet, Oak Lumber*3

Water Jug
Element: Water+3
Moghancement: Water
Storage: 2
Purchased: Rabao

White Jar
Element: Light+5
Moghancement: Light
Storage: 2
Purchased: Windurst Waters

Wicker Box
Element: Wind+2
Moghancement: Wind
Storage: 2
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you a Horn Quiver after some time.

Workbench
Element: Earth+6
Moghancement: Gardening
Storage: 1
Crafted: Woodworking (7) Earth Crystal, Lauan Lumber*4
Purchased: North San D’Oria Furniture Shop 691g

Yellow Jar
Element: Earth+2
Moghancement: Earth
Storage: 1
Purchased: Windurst Waters
Additional Effect: If used to furnish your mog house, your Moogle will give you a Paralyze Potion after some time.

Many North American players, new to the game, have some terrible misconceptions about how the experience (exp) penalty works in parties, and also about the optimum level range within a party. All the time I see people on the boards saying that you should have no more than a 3-level range in a party, but the acceptable level ranges are actually much larger, once you get above level 20 or thereabouts. Heck, even the official strategy guide tells you that parties will not want beastmasters or summoners because the pets rob the party of exp. Again, this is just wrong information.

It can also be disconcerting to have one character in your party ding to the next level, and everyone else suddenly sees their exp per kill dropping by a huge amount. Also, in other MMOGs, the higher level mobs tend to give larger and larger amounts of experience points, but in FFXI it seems like you’re always getting the same low exp no matter what types of mobs you are fighting. This guide explains everything you ever wanted to know about how exp works in the game.

Warning, this is a loooooonnnnng guide, because the subject matter is complex and there is a lot to cover. If you are reading-challenged, I apologize in advance, but remember that knowledge = power in MMOGs.

Exp Basics

There are five different situations that each yeild different exp rates for players:

• You get one exp rate if you are solo
• You get a different exp rate if you are in a party (2 – 6 players)
• You get yet a different exp rate if you are in an alliance (7 players or more)
• Pet controllers get a special penalty to exp only for themselves
• Each player gets special bonuses pulling off an exp chain

Solo Exp Rates

Whether you are level 1 or level 70, a mob that checks as EVEN to a solo player is worth exactly 100 points to that player. If the mob checks as tougher than EVEN, then a solo player gets more than 100 points for the kill. If the mobs checks as easier than EVEN, a solo player gets less than 100 points for the kill.

Party Exp Rates

If you are in a party (2 to 6 players), things are different in two important ways:

• The exp per kill is based on how the mob checks to the highest level player in the party. If the mob checks as EVEN to the highest player, then the base experience will 100 for everyone in the group.
  Next, the base experience is multiplied depending on how many players are in the group:
  • 2 players = 1.2
  • 3 players = 1.35
  • 4 players = 1.6
  • 5 players = 1.85
  • 6 players = 2.1

  Finally, the multiplied total is then divided by the number of players in the group.
  For example, say a group of 4 players kills a mob that checks as VERY TOUGH to the highest player in the group, who happens to be level 29. The base experience is 350 points, which is then multiplied by 1.6 for a total of 560 points. This total is then divided by 4, yeilding 140 pre-penalty points for each player.

• An experience penalty is assessed for each player who has fewer levels than the highest player. This penalty is based on two different formulas:
  • Formula 1: ExpPenalty = 1 – (Your Level / Highest Player’s Level)
  • Formula 2: ExpPenalty = 1 – (Your NEXTLevel / Highest Player’s NEXTLevel)

  Formula 1 takes priority over Formula 2. Formula 1 is used when either of the following conditions exist:

  • The highest player in the group is level 51 or higher. This affects every player in the party regardless of their level.
  • The difference between your level and the highest player’s level is 8 or more.

  So continuing with our example of the 4-person party, where the highest player in the party is level 29, we are starting with 140 pre-penalty points for the other three players. If the other three players are all level 29 too, then they would each get 140 points. But let’s assume that one is level 28, one is level 26, and one is level 21. Here’s what their penalties would be:

  • Level 28 = 1 – (5800 / 5900) = 2% penalty. So .98 x 140 = 137 points
  • Level 26 = 1 – (5600 / 5900) = 5% penalty. So .95 x 140 = 133 points
  • Level 21 = 1 – (21 / 29) = 28% penalty. So .72 x 140 = 100 points

Alliance Exp Rates

If you are in alliance, (more than 7 players), then exp works similar to how it works for parties, with one important exception: the multiplier for everyone is always 1.85. This may lead you to think that you could exploit a higher exp rate by joining two small parties together in an alliance to get a higher multiplier (for example two parties of 4 each to jump from a 1.6 multiplier to a 1.85 multiplier), but remember that you still divide the post-multiplier exp by the total number of players in the alliance, so you end up with a lower exp rate in an alliance no matter how you slice it:

• 4 players in a party, all the same level, kill a 100 point monster: (1.6 x 100) / 4 = 40 pre-penalty points each.
• 8 players in an alliance, all the same level, kill a 100 point monster: (1.85 x 100) / 8 = 23 pre-penalty points each.

Exp Penalties for Pets

Unfortunately many people believe that pets hurt a party’s exp rate. This is caused in part by the fact that the official strategy guide says so. However, the pet penalty really applies only to the player that controls the pet; it does not affect your other party members.

What is still unclear is whether the pet penalty is applied before or after your party-level exp penalty and exp chain bonuses. So I can’t give you a concrete example. The bottom line is that somewhere in your personal exp calculation for a given kill, an additional 30% is shaved off because of your pet. Again, this affects only you–not anyone else.

So party leaders, give those beastmasters, summoners, and dragoons a break and let them in if they can help your party. Their pets will NOT steal exp from the party; only from their controller.

Exp Chains

Now for the fun stuff. If you kill a mob that checks as EVEN or tougher to you within a given amount of time, you are awarded an exp chain. It’s important to note that this applies only to you–not to any other player in the party. It doesn’t matter what the mob checks to other members of the party. All that matters is that the mob be your own level or higher.

When this is the case, you get an exp bonus for killing the monster fast. The faster you kill it, the higher the exp chain number, and the more of a bonus that you, personally, will receive. Actually calculating the exp chain bonus is labyrinthine and not worth the effort. You can check the Chain Bonus section of http://www.geocities.com/bside_ffxi/index.html#exp if you want to play with the tables yourself, but here’s a quick summary:

• Say you have a party of 6 people. The mob you’re killing checks as VERY TOUGH to you. (Remember, it doesn’t matter what it checks to other people in the party.) You’re all between levels 31 and 36. You manage to kill the mob in less than 120 seconds. In this case, you get your normal exp for the mob, and you personally receive an additional message in your chat window saying #3 Exp Chain!. This translates to an additional bonus to you (not anyone else), of 182 points!

The moral of the story? Just know that killing mobs fast is a good thing, and the higher the exp chain number, the more of a bonus you’re getting. The faster you kill it, the higher an exp chain number you will receive.

The Trouble with Dings

We’ve all seen it. One player in the party dings to the next level, and suddenly, it’s as if everyone else’s exp per kill takes a huge nosedive. What’s going on here?

The problem stems from the fact that, as described above, all exp calculations are based on how a mob checks to the highest-level player in the group. Say you’re in a group of four level 10 players, for example, and one of you dings to 11. The mobs that might have previously checked as VERY TOUGH to all of you probably now check as only TOUGH to the player that just dinged to 11. So the base exp of 350 that you get for a VERY TOUGH mob has suddenly been reduced to at most a base value of 200 exp for a +4 TOUGH mob. That’s a huge drop in exp per kill right there.

On top of that 150-point drop in base exp for the mob, you now have to factor in the exp penalty for the level 10 players in the party, which would be 1 – (2600 / 2800), which is an 8% penalty. So, when all four of you were level 10, killing VERY TOUGH mobs, you were each getting (350 x 1.6 ) / 4 = 140 points each. After one of you dings to level 11, here’s what the exp for each of you looks like:

• Level 11 (mob now checks as +4 TOUGH): (200 x 1.6) / 4 = 80 points
• Level 10: 80 x .92 = 73 points

The party is not really all that much stronger, because only one of you have dinged to the next level. Yet your exp per mob has literally dropped to almost HALF of what it was before. This is unfortunate, but it’s how it works. Until more of you ding to 11 and have the strength to take on mobs that now check as VERY TOUGH to the level 11s in the party, you’re just going to have to deal with sucky exp flow.

Optimum Party Level Ranges

So what are the optimum level ranges you can fit into a party? I see grouping guides by well known experts that claim emphatically that you should never have a spread greater than 3 levels in a group. I see this same myth propagated on the forums too. Wrong. The real story is laid out in the following table.

CAUTION: Remember that these tables are based on the two exp formulas used in the game. You should still use common sense when building a party. While you could theoretically add a couple players into your group who might be 6 levels beneath your highest level character (or more), it’s not always a good idea. You might be able to get away with this for back-line support characters, but it would be a horrible idea for a group with four level 30 mages to have two level 23 WAR tanks, for example. The tanks simply wouldn’t do a good job of holding aggro against the kinds of mobs such a group would be hunting. The general rule of thumb is this: it’s okay to add one or two characters that are LOWER than the bulk of your party, but it’s a terrible idea to add even one player who is HIGHER than the bulk of your party.

The table is based on a spreadsheet that I built using the formulas found here: http://www.geocities.com/bside_ffxi/index.html#exp, and using a NEXTlevel exp chart found here: http://ffvault.ign.com/?dir=guides&content=leveldata. These seem to be established formulas and exp charts, so my table data should be trustworthy. Again, the formulas work like this:

• If you are under level 51 and the party level range is 7 or less, then Formula #2 applies. This formula is based on values in the NEXTlevel chart that correspond to each player’s primary job..
• If the party level range is 8 or more, or if anyone in the party is greater than level 50, then Formula #1 applies instead. This formula is based only on the level of each player’s primary job.

Using The Table

The table contains four columns:

• The Lowest Level column is the level of the LOWEST-Level player in the group
• The 10% Penalty column is the level range UP from the lowest-level player, if the lowest character wants to get 90% or better of the exp earned by the highest-level player for each party kill.
• The15% Penalty column is the level range UP from the lowest character if the lowest character wants to get 85% or better of the exp earned by the highest player.
• The 20% Penalty column is the level range UP from the lowest character if the lowest character wants to get 80% or better of the exp earned by the highest player.
• The 25% Penalty column is the level range UP from the lowest character if the lowest character wants to get 75% or better of the exp earned by the highest player.

The easiest way to apply this table to your party is this:

1. Look at the lowest-level member who wants into your party.
2. Determine what exp penalty the lowest member will find acceptable (10%, 15%, or 20%)
3. Find that player’s level in the Lowest Level column.
4. Look across to the 10% Penalty, 15% Penalty, 20% Penalty, or 25% Penalty columns as appropriate.
5. Add the indicated value to the lowest player’s level. The result is the optimum highest level of the party.

Example 1: A party is forming, and they are all powergamers who will be satisfied with nothing more than a 10% exp penalty for the lowest-level player in the party. The lowest player is level 18. Looking in the 10% Penalty column, we see a value of 2, so the highest level player can be no more than level 20.

Example 2: A full mid-level party is out hunting, and their White Mage is about to log out for the night. A lowbie White Mage is in the vicinity with his LFG flag set. The party asks the lowbie mage to join them, but the low mage wants to know whether the exp penalty will be worth it to join the party. The highest level in the party is level 33. The lowbie White Mage is level 20, which would make for a party level range of 13. Looking across the columns for the Lowest Level value of 20, we see that 13 is much larger than any of the listed values, so we know that the lowbie will take a greater than 20% exp penalty if he joins the party. (In fact, he would take a huge 40% penalty, but you have to know the formulas to calculate that.). The lowbie decides it’s better to wait for another group that is closer to his optimum level range.

FFXI is very group-oriented, if you wish to obtain xp at the fastest rate, grouping is the way to go.
However, if you find yourself in a poorly configured group, you may gain xp at a very slow rate, or worse, end up with negative xp.

XP / Hour Ratio:
Below 1000: Bad
1000-2000: Average
2000-4000: Good
4000-6000: Excellent
Above 6000 : Phenomenal, yes this is possible

So what is the secret to getting a good xp / hr
ratio?
I. Party Configuration
II. Party Level Range
III. XPing in the right area
IV. Working together as a TEAM

I. Party Configuration:
Making a PT is more than just grabbing first 6 people you see. It takes some time to fill out a well rounded PT, but it will pay off in the end. A basic
party requires two elements, a tank, and a source of healing. As long as you have these two elements, you have a functional party. A successful party will have those 2 elements covered, then squeeze in as much damage dealing jobs as possible. Finally, there are the catalyst jobs, they act as multipliers for your damage and healing source, and help reduce downtime.

Tanks:
A tank has two roles: one is to absorb damage, two is generate Hate, as in keeping the monster’ attention on you. A person that can absorb damage well, but can not hold agro does not make a good tank. A tank should always have up to date Armor, less Defense = more damage taken = less Hate. See Section III for more details in Hate management. If you don’t have a good primary tank, then you’ll need a “secondary tank” so you can take some heat off your primary tank.

Having a “secondary tank” is not a requirement, and is redundant in most cases. For the early levels(pre 40), anyone with high Defense and Provoke will work as Tank, at the later stages of the game it’s usually PLD/WAR, NIN/WAR, WAR/NIN.

Healing:
On the surface, this appears to be fairly straight forward, keep everyone alive through heals, but it’s actually more intricate than that. For a good xp PT,
you’ll need one major healing source and a backup healing source, or 3 or more minor sources of healing.

Jobs that fit into this category are: Major(WHM, RDM, SMN/WHM), Minor(BLM/WHM, BRD/WHM, PLD). Don’t forget your debuffs(i.e. paralyze, slow, blind), mitigated
damage = less healing. Contrary to popular belief, a WHM is not required for a successful PT. WHM is a great source of healing, however, the job does not
contribute much to the party in any other way. As long as you have a steady source of healing, your PT will be fine. e.g. A PLD with 2 BLM/WHM as healers,
not only is this a functional group, it’s a great group, because your healers double as damage dealer as well. Finally, factor in player mentality, just
because a job can heal, doesn’t mean the player will heal. See Section III, Working as a TEAM for more details.

Damage Dealers:
More damage = faster monster death = more XP.
However, you do not want to deal so much damage in one fell swoop that the agro is drawn from the tank to yourself. Jobs that fill in this role are RNG, DRG,
BLM, THF, DRK, MNK, SAM. Just remember that your job is to deal damage, not take damage. Hate decreases over time, that’s why you want to deal damage in a
steady stream, not in one fell swoop. See Section III for more details in Hate management.

Catalysts:
Finally we have the Catalysts, also known as downtime reducers. Jobs that fill in these roles are BRD and RDM, these classes can effectively double the
efficiency of your group. Mana regen keeps downtime to minimal, key elements here are Ballad1(25), Ballad2(55), and Refresh(41). Post 41, you’ll find
your “best xp PTs” will have at least one of these jobs.

Sample Party Configurations and Analysis:

WAR, MNK, WAR, THF, BLM, WHM
This party can work, but your xp rate will most likely be slow because you will have massive downtime with only one source of healing.

Pld/War, Drk/War, Drg/War, Blm/Whm, Blm/Rdm, Brd/Whm
This PT appears to be lacking in healers, however, you have 4 minor sources of Healing. This is a very functional Party, and it’s loaded with fire power.

Pld/War, War/Mnk, War/Thf, Whm/Blm, Whm/Rdm, Rdm/Whm.
This appears to be a very safe party, with so many healers, how can you go wrong? The problem with this party is it’s lacking in true damage dealers. You’ll take quite a bit of time to kill mobs.

Remember I broke things down into “elements”(tank, healer, dmg) and not specific jobs. I want to be as broad as possible when filling out a PT because you can have certain job combos that cover multiple elements. Some combos can fill duo roles, most “support classes” are healers, blm/whm is damage/healer, pld/war is tank/healer. Damage is damage, you dont have to limit yourself to melee damage instead of magic damage.

This is a generic outline of your standard xp group, you’ll be following this pattern most of the time. However, there are other party combos out there that
will work, and some might work even better. Some examples are: Pet group, multiple BSTs and Summoners; Mass AOE BLM group; a PT of all BLMs and RNGs for
fighting worms. Don’t limit yourself, do try different combos, as long as the xp keeps rolling in.

II. Party Level Range
Simply speaking, xp is gained by checking the level of mob against the highest lvl member of your PT. The ideal party would be where everyone has the same
level, any disparity would cause the party to be weaker/less efficient. However, we can’t always fill out a group where everyone is the same level. When a disparity in level exists, the frontline melee jobs, especially the Tank, should be highest level. Support classes and mages can get away with being at much lower level, Healers would heal same amount, BLMs would nuke for less, but still do significant damage if using the correct elemental spell. On the other hand, melees would miss a lot and tank would take a lot of damage if they’re low level. General rule of thumb is to keep all members within 2 levels of each other, the higher level you go, the more this rule can
be relaxed.

Sample Party Configurations and Analysis, subjobs ignored for sake of brevity:

PLD(20), DRG(20), DRK(20), RDM(20), BLM(20), WHM(20)
This is a very well rounded PT with all elements covered, and loaded with firepower. This group should do very well.

PLD(24), DRG(20), DRK(20), RDM(20), BLM(20), WHM(20)
This is a general problem I see with alot of newbie PTs, they have ONE member that’s way above the rest. You’ll end up with either mobs being too difficult or
xp will be too low on mob. Explain the situation to the “offending” member, and replace the member with another within level range.

PLD(16), DRG(20), DRK(20), RDM(20), BLM(20), WHM(20)
In this PT, you have a tank that’s way below the rest of the PT, the PLD would not be able to tank well for the team, you’re better off finding a higher level
tank. This PT would not do very well.

PLD(20), DRG(20), DRK(20), RDM(20), BLM(20), WHM(16)
In this PT, you have a primary healer that’s way below the rest of the PT. However, this would not hinder the group’s performance too much. This PT would
still do very well.

PLD(50), DRG(50), DRK(50), RDM(45), BRD(45), WHM(45)
In this PT, half of your PT’s members are way below the rest of the PT. However, all of these are support classes, this PT would still do fairly well facing such an enormous disparity in level range. If you’d reverse the disparity, and have PLD DRG DRK at 45 while the rest at 50, the PT would not work at all.

III. XPing in the right area

Level of mobs to fight
“We’re better off chaining evens and tough cons”. I cringe every time I hear that, because that’s the sign that I got myself into a poor xp group. Another
simple litmus test is almost every kill that your Party (PT) makes should net you at least 100 xp. If your PT is not able to do that, then there’s something
wrong with the PT. Mobs in an area usually have ranges of 3 to 4 levels. You want to fight mobs that are in the “XP sweet spot”. The level of monsters
you’d take on will be Very Tough(VT), Incredibly Tough, and IT+. Your PT will level up(hopefully), when you get to the point where most of the stuff is
Tough, and an occasional VT, it’s time to move on to new mobs or a new area. Xp difference between VeryTough and Tough is quite dramatic, and because of
that, you want to keep your grp’s level range as close as possible, sometimes even 1 level can make a big difference.

What mobs to fight
Generally , you want to fight stuff that is easy for your group to take, avoid stuff with nasty Area of Effect attacks. Pay attention to your PT’s setup. A
PT with 2 Rangers is very powerful, but you don’t want to take that PT to fight skeleton type mobs, a PT with 2 monks on the other hand, would be perfect.
Also be aware of mobs that are “overcon” and “undercon”:

Overcon – Mobs that are very weak for their level.
You want to fight as many of these as possible.
e.g. worms, mandragoras

Undercon – Mobs that are very powerful for their
level. You want to avoid fighting these.
e.g. ghosts, marlboros

Where to level
You want to fight in an area where you have a steady stream of mobs to pull from. People like to XP in areas that have easy mobs and next to towns. Kazham
is an example of a great leveling spot turn bad because of overcrowding. Even your favorite “secret” leveling spot may not be available the next time you
go there. When a place is too crowded, it’s better off going to another area, rather than trying to compete with another group, you’ll just end up with 2
PTs screaming at each other because there’s not enough mobs to support 2 groups.

IV. Working together as a TEAM
There is no “I” in TEAM. Remember you’re in a group, it’s not about personal glory, you do whatever is best for your team. No one really cares about how uber you are, you dont need to keep reminding your team, “LOOK!
I just did 200 pts of dmg!!!!”. If you do SO much damage that you’re taking agro away from tank, you’re not helping your team, you’re being a hindrance. I’ll try to list some common mistakes for each class. If you find yourself in a bad xp group next time, ask yourself, am I doing whatever is best for my team? If you’re not sure, ask your PT, what can you do to make things better. If someone has more experience in the game(Rank 5+ is a good indication), listen to what they have to say, it just might make you a better player.

WAR – If you’re the main tank, use Provoke as soon as mob reaches your PT, and use it every 30 secs after it cycles, do NOT try to “save it” until the mob charges your caster. As a tank, you’re suppose to die before anyone else. If don’t like that idea, don’t play a WAR.

THF – Your damage comes from Sneak Attacks and Trick Attacks, you’re worthless to a group if you can’t get any of those in. If your group doesn’t understand how those 2 attacks work, take some time to explain it to your group.

WHM – Your best Cure spell may NOT be your highest Cure spell. By using the highest Cure spell, you will be less efficient mana-wise, and generate more
Hate because you’re getting hate in huge bursts.

BLM – The best damage spell may NOT be your highest level spell. Whenever possible, use ONLY elemental damage spells that are strong to the mob you’re
fighting. This is very important if you want to be as efficient as possible with your mana. If you dont know what the mob’s weakness is, ask your PT. Magic Burst is expected, if you don’t know how to MB, learn it as soon as possible. Remember you have elemental debuffs also, learn how each of them work. Control your Hate, you should not be tanking! BLM/WHM is a very capable healer, don’t restrict yourself to a damage dealer only. 2 BLM/WHM + another minor healing source will keep a party covered in the healing
department.

RDM – You’re a Red MAGE, not a Red Warrior. As you level up, this will become more and more apparent, you will be casting more than meleeing. If you want to
play a Melee class, don’t play a RDM. Don’t be afraid to be the primary Healer, you can heal almost as good as a WHM. Post 41, you’ll be loved for your Refresh. However, don’t forget your other roles, debuff, MB, healing. You will be the busiest class in the game.

PLD – If you’re the main tank, use Provoke, and use it as often as you can. As a tank, you’re suppose to die before anyone else. If don’t like that idea,
don’t play a PLD. Have up to date Armor. You generate hate by using Heals on yourself and others. You should be resting between fights to regenerate Mana, forget about your TP, you’re there for tanking, not doing damage.

DRG – Keep your Wyvern alive, it contributes a significant amount of damage. If your Wyvern is about to die and your Call Wyvern ability is not ready. Consider sacrificing TP between fights to keep it alive. With the new Spirit Link ability, you should always have a wyvern fighting beside you.

DRK – Don’t abuse Souleater. The most glaring mistake in the game is the abuse of Souleater, think twice before using it. Remember you’re there to deal
damage, not receive damage. Don’t abuse Souleater at the expense of your Healers. Did I mention don’t abuse Souleater?

BRD – Learn to play different songs for melee and mage. Make sure your PT has the melee and mage adequately separated and spend your time running between the two. This job requires the most running. Pass lvl 25, your mana should not be at 100%, because you’re always regenning mana with your own ballad.

SMN – The advanced class of advanced classes. Don’t bother getting summoner pass 25 if all you got is Carbuncle. Mass Blink, Mass Stoneskin will be your
primary role in a PT.

Disclaimer:
This game is not all about leveling, but when I want to level, I want to level at the most efficient manner. What I wish to accomplish is to cure the “Low
xp is better than no xp” mentality. By following the outlines above and with a little common sense, there’s no reason not to have a decent XP party(2000 xp/hr), nothing fancy. Dont group for the sake of grouping, gaining xp at a snail’s pace, if you cant find a good PT, go do quests, farm Gil, or just take a walk outside. However, some people don’t care about leveling, each person has their own way of enjoying the game. If you find yourself into a bad PT, just take a bow(make up an excuse :P) and find yourself a new one, forcing the issue would just make a bad situation worse. This guide does not take into
consideration of personal feelings. Sometimes the best thing to do is to kick someone out of PT when they level or else you’ll get a huge dip in XP. You’d not have many friends if you did that. Explain the situation, maybe they will listen. Sometimes it’s not possible to XP together with your closest friends
simply because of level range, you’d be grouping for the camaraderie.

What is clamming?

Clamming is searching the beach for items as I understand it, you need a clamming kit to do so and go dig up stuff, it can be both trilling and frustrating, this guide explains why.

Where can I clam?

You can clam at an isle called Purgonorgo Isle, it�s a area that is a part of Bibiki Bay.

To enter Bibiki Bay you need to go to Buburimu Peninsula. Go to Khoonia Dunes at G-10 there is a �secret� path find that and go trough it to second beach after that find F-10 where there is a cave zone to Bibiki Bay. If you don�t have a map of Bibiki Bay you can buy one in Mhaura from map vendor Ludwig at H-9.

Bibiki Bay has aggroing mobs so ride a Chocobo to be safe if you are below level 45 or you can use sneak for sea creatures in there and invis for gobs (only few gobs where we are going)

Now when you are in Bibiki Bay go to Sunset Dock at H-7. There you will find a mithra at the dock who sells Manaclipper tickets. One costs 80gil; a multi ticket with 10 uses costs 500gil. Now wait for Manaclipper to arrive, it don�t necessarily take you to Purgonorgo Isle at first trip but if not you will go there at second trip.

On Manaclipper there are different mobs. Most won’t agro but be careful if you fish, you may catch a NM level 75 called Harajnite or Cyclopean Conch, these mobs have bad area of effect gas and can kill a level 51 player easy without Poisona.

Ok now to the fun part, we are now in Purgonorgo Isle a pretty Hawaii-like place with a pretty beach, sand, water and some black mandys.

When you arrive talk to the Mithra Toh Zonikki at position H-7 she will offer you a clamming kit for 500gil but just a loan.

Now follow the beach a little bit from NPC and find a clamming point, you click on it and dig for an item. Every item has a weight, if you put too many items in the bucket it will break and the items will be lost. Weight is measured in so-called Ponzes.

If you manage to get close to 50-100-150-200 etc you can go to Toh Zonikki chose �I am all clammed out� and she will offer a bigger bucket that can hold more weight and maybe a more expensive item can be found.

To get a 100 ponzes bucket you need a weight of 45-50

To get a 150 ponzes bucket you need a weight of 95-100

To get a 200 ponzes bucket you need a weight of 145-150

To get a 250 ponzes bucket you need a weight of 195-200 (I think but have only managed to get a bucket for 200 ponzes)

Every item has a different weight so here is a list of their weights. You simply calculate what you find and stop if you get in range for a new bucket. You can also lose items if you overfill your bucket, so this is an art of luck.

If you have the Gillet+1 and Trunks+1 you will have an edge because it has these two stats.

Trunks+1 = Improves clamming result.

Gillet + 1 = Reduces clamming �incidents�

The way to obtain +1 beach cloth is to do the quest for them in another city then the one you gained your normal trunks + gillet.

That�s my guide, you all have fun clamming. Below here you can find the list of items, it is not complete but feel free to add more in forum if you find it.

Igneous Rock = 35 ponzes (These suckers can be bad.)
Bibiki slug = 3 ponzes
Bibiki urchin = 6 ponzes
Fish scales = 6 ponzes
Broken willow fishing rod = 6 ponzes
Shell shell = 6 ponzes
Petrified log = 6 ponzes
Crab shell = 6 ponzes
Pantam kelp = 6 ponzes
Pebble = 7 ponzes
Maple log = 6 ponzes
Jacknife = 11 ponzes
Hobgoblin bread = 6 ponzes
Hobgoblin pie = 6 ponzes
Goblin Armour = 6 ponzes
Goblin mail = 6 ponzes
Rock salt = 6 ponzes
H.Q Pugil scales = 6 ponzes

I must warn you that is a LONG Road ahead, and if you don’t go on material hunt, long travels for the best price this is not for you, neither if you have heart problems or are pregnant, and you must be this tall >>
to enter…

First, you don’t want to get overwhelmed. Start off slow, pick one guild and stick with it for a while. At first crafting is an expensive practice, but think about all the Gil you will make when you become an expert. So don’t get discouraged!

Anyways, back to picking your guild. You can choose from Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Carpenter, Alchemist, BoneCraft, Leathersmith, Taylor, Cooking, or Fisherman. Many people say the fishermen’s guild is not good for anything but they do give discounts to members on all the supplies. All the guilds have members who are willing to help new recruits. Just talk to them, you would be amazed how much you will learn.

Now that you have chosen a profession, it is now time to learn some of the basics, for that you need to seek the Grand Master of the profession of your choice. Name in Parethesis is where the guild are located.

Alchemy (Bastok)

A guild which plays mainly with chemicals and potion types with odd ingredients. Main focus on guild is medicine and special potions, but it also makes special weapons.
Although compound skill is not really needed, woodwork, a black smith, and gold smith skill are a great plus for bows, arrows and bullet type synthesizing.

Black Smith (Bastok / 8-23hours, San D’oria, Mhaura / 8-23hours)

Main focus on ore, metal material, etc. Creates many types of weapons and armors for usage in battle field.
Woodwork, gold smith, and leather works compounding skills are great plus for this guild.

Bone Worker (Windurst – holiday on Wind)

Main focus will be weapons which are made of bone type of material.
Leather works coumpounding skills would be a great plus for this guild.

Carpenter (San D’oria)

Weapons made out of wood is the main focus of this guild. Most weapons created will be useful for many type of Mages.
Bone worker and black smith skills would be a great plus for this guild

Cooking (Windurst)

Main focus of this guild is making food to greatly improve the performances of many adventurers in battle fields, and also makes good baits for fishing.
Cooking skill by itself can work very well. No other skills are depended on when synthesizing food.

Gold Smith (Bastok/ 8-23hours, Mhaura / 8-23hours)

Ore and precious-metals material are mainly used. Main focus of this guild is making jewels, rings, necklace, and earrings which adds improved points to the owner.
Other skills won’t be needed much when synthesizing. Beware, this guild is known for one of high costing in synthesizing items.

Leather Smith (S. San D’Oria at the opposite side of the resident area)

Leather material is mainly used. Main focus is armors non-heavyduty job type.
Black smith, gold smith, and sewing skills are a great plus for this guild.

Sewing (Guild in Windurst, shop in Selbina)

Mainly focuses on making clothing for mage and monk type.
High level gold smith skill is highly recommended to be successful in Sewing guild.

Last but not least

Fishing (Guild in Windurst, shop in Selbina)

Basically all it will help greatly in improving your Fishing Skills. You may also buy fish and bait at low costs.

Tip: Every guild there is a “teacher” who can cast a temporary “boost” to help you success on synthesizing item. It is always best idea to synthesize with the same element crystal as the day’s element.

Our world is a world of magic, so don’t be looking for a hammer to learn your trade. We use crystals! You can obtain these and your materials by either buying them or hunting monsters that carry them. Once you have your materials use your synthesize list to decide what to make.

After you reach certain levels, you may decide to take a test that’ll put you 1 step higher in the skill title. The following table is the list of Titles along with Skill Level and Promotion Test Level:

Title             Skill Level    Promotion Test Level

------------------------------------------------------ 

Amateur              0-10        8 

Intern               10-20       18 

Apprentice           20-30       28 

Junior craftsman     30-40       38 

Named                40-50       48 

Listed               50-60       58 

Permited / Approved  60-70       68

Tip: After you reach the Promotion test level, you should speak with the GuildMaster of yout job, then he/she will ask that you make one item, after you give that item to him/her you advance to next Title

I. Introduction

II. What crystal/on what day

III. Directions in Synthing.

IV. A Quick Note on Sub-crafts

V. Craft Timer

VI. Tips On Quick Crafting Skill-ups

VII. Last Notes

———————————————————————–

I. Welcome to my First guide For Final Fantasy XI.

I was doing a lot of research on the Crafting Skills and and the Crystals used. I had heard that the Crystals were affected by the days of the week and the directions you face. Through many trials and many more lost crystals, I found out the days and direction needed for the success or Skill ups for the use of certain cystals. Here are my Findings hope they help everyone.

The Days on my Server “Asura” go in the order of:

Lightsday, Darksday, Firesday, Earthsday, Watersday, Windsday, Icesday, then Lightningsday.

II. Here is a somewhat brief explanation of

“What crystal/on what day“:

• Lightsday= Light crystals,

  Other Crystals- Good Day for success

• Darksday= Dark crystals,

  Other Crystals- Success rate is down, Good for HQ chances<–{Rumor}

• Firesday= Fire crystals,

  Water(strong)- Better success,

  Ice (weak)- Better Skill ups

• Icesday= Ice crystals,

  Fire(strong)- Better success,

  Wind (weak)- Better Skill ups

• Windsday= Wind crystals,

  Ice(strong)- Better success,

  Earth (weak)- Better Skill ups

• Earthsday= Earth crystals,

  Wind(strong)- Better success,

  Lightning(weak)- Better Skill ups

• Watersday= Water crystals,

  Lightning(strong)- Better success,

  Fire(weak)- Better Skills ups

• Lightningsday= Lightning crystals,

  Earth(strong)- Better success,

  Water(weak)- Better Skill ups

The only exception I have found is the Light and Dark Crystals. They have their on issues with each other.

The HQ rates I have not tested yet but Rumor. I repeat “RUMOR” has that the weak crystal has a good HQ chance. I have not tested it and I repeat it is a “RUMOR“.

Now When combined with facing the right directions, success or skills ups are easier. Many of you, also, have heard that facing certain directions will help with Synthing.

III. Directions in Synthing.

I have tested and checked with the Star Chart (in game).

I found out that these directions are accurate and I face the way I need for success or skill ups. Again I am saying I have not tested for the HQ rate when using the weak crystals.

Now what direction to face for what crystal:

Direction [Constellation] (Element)

 
• North [Odin] (Dark)= Dark- For better success, Light(weak)- For better chance on Skill ups
• Northeast [Alexander] (Light)= Light- For better success, and Dark(weak)- For better chance on Skill ups Now we get complicated……
• East [Shiva] (Ice)= Ice- Better success rate, Fire(strong)- Greater success rate, Wind(weak)- For better Skill ups
• Southeast [Garuda] (Wind)= Wind- Better success rate, Ice(strong)- Greater success rate, Earth(weak)- For better skill ups
• South] [Titan] (Earth)= Earth- Better success rate, Wind(strong)- Greater success rate, Lightning(weak)- For better skill ups
• Southwest [Ramuh] (Lightning)= Lightning- Better success rate, Earth(strong)- Greater success rate, Water(weak)- Better skill ups
• West [Leviathan] (Water)= Water- For better success, Lightning(strong)- Greater success, Fire(weak)- For better skill ups
• Northwest [Ifrit] (Fire)= Fire- for better success, Water(strong)= greater success, Ice(weak)=for better skill ups

I do hope this helps many of you become better craftsman to be the best you can for the sake of success and prices.

IV. A Quick Note on Sub-crafts:

The sub-crafts do level. The sub-craft that is needed, just means that if your sub-craft is leveled that your success rate improves on top of crytals and directions your facing. I was doing Simple Beds a lv20 cap in Wood, and a sub cap of cloth lv11. I took my cloth from lv 2 to lv 4 just with the beds. As with Power Bows, They require a sub of Bonecraft lv 8. My bonecraft lv is 2, atm. I was failing on them, even tho my Woodworking was 31, and The Power bows wood lv capps at 28. I also took my smithing from lv 4 to 6 making spears, a wood cap of 31. Smithing was 12 thanks to Bronze Sheets and Scales to lv 10, and Tin ingot to 15.

V. Craft Timer Site

Long After I had this Guide submitted, I found a Great lil Site with a Craft Timer. I hold no liability on the Site the Creator was very good and I do recommend the Site to get started with.

http://ffxi.lokyst.net/index.html

I will Give kudos to the Creater of this Timer it is very good and accurate.

VI. Tips On Quick Crafting Skill-ups

The best and quickest way to get Skills that i found and used to lv 60 Woodworking, Talk to certain Guild Personal. their Recpipes they give actually skill-up quicker than others, but a lower percent of success (the Trade-off). A nyhow you can Sell these Items on AH and wait for them to sell, or sell to guild for lil higher than a Shop NPC prices.

The Guild Personal are as follows:

• Alchemy: Titus
• Boneworking: Ronana
• Smithing in Sandy: Pinok-Morok
• Smithing in Basty: Hugues
• Goldsmithing: Wulfnoth
• Woodworking: Amarefice
• Clothcrafting: Nikkoko
• Leathercrafting: Kipopo
• Cooking: Jacodau

*Fishing levels differantly than other crafts. i will excluded it til i understand it better.*

Also if you are not in a town with your guild or if you do not want to use their recipes, i suggest doing Synthes that are 2 lvls above your current Craft level, ex. if your craft is Woodworking lv 4 do a Synth with a level cap of 6 such as Maple Wand (Maple Lumber+Chocobo Feather and a Wind crystal) and I suggest a printed list of recipes for your craft.

VII. Last Notes:

I will update my guide as the new info is tested and proven if anyone would like to send information I will test it and you will recieve credit for it in future revisions.

Any Questions or “Constructive Comments” send them to my email. Title the E-Mail ” Your Guide, (Question or Comment) ” I will not accept any E-mails with attachments, and do not add me to your buddy list. Or simply Reply down below i will check them semi-daily. I will reply to your post with the Answer for queston, or a comment or Email you back. A quick note as of June 29, 2006. My Craft Levels are:

• Woodworking lv 60
• Smithing lv 50
• Alchemy lv 50
• Cookin lv 50
• Goldsmithing lv 50
• Clothcraft lv 20
• Leathercraft lv 18
• Bonecraft lv 18
• Fishing lv 5

To people that have already read this guide: this is an update to the guide I had done way back when I had 9 or so fishing skill. I now have 39.3, and realized I could improve on this guide by both correcting old mistakes, and adding in new information. So I did. Most of the guide is unchanged, but a few portions have had new information stealthily planted inside, have been completely redone, or have had new sections added. Enjoy!

The guild members will tell you that fishing is a contest of willpower between you and the fish. While the guild member is correct in that fishing takes willpower of patience on your part, the main battle is one of knowledge. So, to my friends, I offer the knowledge that I have learned in my months (in Vana’diel time) of fishing.

When many people hear of fishing, they think that it simply involves buying a pole and some random bait and casting their lines in the water. This cannot be farther from the truth.

In Vana’diel, there are many components that influence fishing success, many of which cannot be helped. Included in these are the moon phase, the weather conditions, and the time of day. This guide will focus on the factors that you CAN change. These include the fishing rod used, the type of bait and lure, and the location. Bringing the right supply and type of these, and plenty of patience, is the key to your success.

This guide will cover the different aspects of fishing. For a quick guide to fishing (if you can call fishing quick), scroll down to the bottom of the guide, or search for quick guide.

WARNING: Without patience, you will not enjoy fishing at all! You will have many dry spells that no amount of preparation and skill can deal with, due to other factors like the weather, the moon phase, and the tide. If you cannot handle this, fishing may not be for you.

Note: Starting from the guild in Windurst will give you an advantage, as the guild shop sells several forms of bait and rods. The guild also offers fishing support, which will temporarily raise your skill ‘a little,’ allowing you to pull in the fish more often. And now, on with the show.
HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER: THE BASICS OF FISHING EQUIPMENT
RODS:

Sure, buying the first beauty you lay your eyes on may sound like a good idea, but resist the temptation! To choose the right rod, you must know what type of fish you’re hunting for. But first, here is some information on fishing rods. The rod is one of the major parts of fishing. In general, the pricier the rod, the stronger it is, thus resulting in less breakage and a wider range of fish you can catch with it. Cheaper rods can support less weight, and will break when you try to reel in bigger fish!

There are two classes of both fish and rod – small/normal and ‘big’ fish. There are rods and bait designed for both classes. How do you know what fish your rod and bait are designed for? Simply check the item descriptions. If they are for big fish they will specify on the item description (I.E. a rod designed to catch big fish, or ‘Big fish bait’).

But here is the catch (pun not intended) ‘ a rod designed for big fish will catch smaller fish at a reduced rate. Meaning a Single Hook rod (specifically designed for big fish) will occasionally lose some Bastore sardines (a small fish). You will know when this happens as a different message is given (whatever caught the hook was too small for this rod).

Beginning rods:Willow rods break easy, while yew rods are fairly sturdy. I recommend at least a bamboo rod if you can spare a little bit of gil near the beginning (330 or so from the guild, prices fluctuate).

For the fisherman on a larger budget a stronger small fish rod is suggested ‘ a glass fiber or carbon rod should meet the need while breaking less often.
Big fish rods:As you reach the mid-teens you’ll probably start going after some big fish.

First, a bit about the highly-acclaimed mithran rod: On carbuncle server the price of the mithran fishing rod suddenly jumped from roughly 7k (compared to 8k for the composite) to 22k (compared to STILL 8k for the composite). Similar price fluctuations have been reported on other servers. This is due to many rumors that have been spreading about the mithran being ‘the best’ rod other than the lu shang rod. In my trials with the mithran rod I noticed no super-powers, nor did the fish just leap out of the river at me and bow before my almighty mithran rod. There seems to be nothing exceptional about it when compared to the composite rod. In fact, there are several fish (shining trout are one example) that will break a mithran rod while a composite rod will keep reeling them in. I believe any indication of the mithran rod’s superiority is a placebo effect on part of the fisherman or simple chance.

The cheaper big fish rods are single hook and clothespole, but by the time you need to use the big fish rods, most fisherman have had moat carp up the wazoo and can afford the pricier big fish rods, such as the composite. I recommend the composite over the others as the mithran rods are now greatly overpriced and a composite is pretty hard to break.

BAIT:
Any good fisherman knows that just any bait simply will not do! Here is some suggested bait for the beginner:

Here is some bait suggested for use by beginning fisherman:

Little worms: Cheaper form of bait, will usually run you 3 gil per worm from item shops and the fisherman’s guild. This type of bait will catch a very wide range of fish ‘ choose your location with caution (more on that later). Suggested areas for use: Knightswell (west ronfaure).

Lugworms: Relatively cheap form of bait, these are designed to catch salt water fish such as quus, bastore sardines, and yellow globe. Suggested areas: Port jeuno (need airship pass), port windurst.

Balls of insect paste: More expensive bait ‘ will usually run higher than 30 per at the guild (up to about 65). Compare with auction house prices to save yourself some gil. This bait will catch a variety of fish ‘ some bass types (like dark bass) but mostly the carp family of fish (moat carp, tricolored carp, and gold carp). Suggested areas for use: Knightswell pond (west ronfaure) and zeruhn mines river (in bastok).

LURES:
Lures are generally more expensive than bait, but are re-useable. Lures differ from bait in many ways:

Bait is lost when a fish is hooked, regardless of whether it escapes or is reeled in. The ONLY way to lose a lure is if your rod or line breaks. When you catch a fish, you keep your lure.

Lures do not stack, while normal bait does (1 lure vs. 12 bait, but bait is lost on each hook).

Some lures are designed to catch more than one fish at a time (the ‘rig’ type lures – sabiki rig and rogue rig).

Basically, the duration of your lure depends on the rest of your gear. If you use a cheap rod with a lure, it is more likely to break resulting in a lost lure. Different lures, of course, attract different types of fish.

Lures become more useful in the low teens and up. Lures will usually catch a wider variety of fish, while bait becomes a way to weed out individual types of fish. Some lures can be purchased from the guild for cheaper than most craftsman will sell them (sinking minnow in particular are sold cheaply on the selbina-mhaura ferry at around 650 gil while most auction houses ask around 2000 EACH).

Sabiki rig: Specialized lure, catches small salt-water fish up to three at a time. Recommended for low levels, use with a strong rod or may lose your lure to rusty items.

Rogue rig: This is worth mentioning ‘ anybody serious about fishing has noticed these in the auction houses at one point or another, but they are fairly expensive and most don’t seem to know what they do. The rogue rig’s usefulness can be divided into two different sections, depending on skill:

0-50: The rogue rig will catch rusty items and a limited selection of fish. So far I have caught shall shell and cobalt jellyfish. Don’t underestimate the value of rusty items. While they don’t give skill gains, some are worth around 2500 gil each, and rusty greatswords sell on the auction house for roughly 10k.

50+: The rogue rig begins to catch actual fish. The type of fish it can catch are widely varied. Use of a strong big fish rod is highly suggested, or you may lose your rig. Can catch small fish in groups of three (similar to sabiki, but can also catch large fish in singles and has a much wider spread; it can also catch freshwater fish).

FISHING GEAR
No, I don’t mean the rod and bait. These are your stylin’ fishing threads. But unlike regular old clothes, these will enhance your ability to fish by giving you extra points to skill as long as you wear the gear. These are optional purchases, but they do help a lot, especially with the first few points of skill. These must be made my crafters, and there are four pieces that each boost your skill by one point. There are pieces for the body, hands, legs, and feet. These can be found in auction houses under their respective positions under the armor heading (armor -> feet for the boots for example).

FISH: THE REASON WE’RE HERE!
I’ve caught a lot more than I had when I first wrote this. I’ll try to list what I found most useful. Bastore sardines can be found in the south seas, and can be caught with lugworms (sabiki rig hooks these as well). A good place is right off the dock next to the fisherman’s guild boat. A small fish.
Quus can be caught in the same place as the sardines (along the south seas), but are a bit harder to catch. Also small fish, they can be caught with the same bait (lugworms). The sabiki rig also hooks these.

Yellow globes can be found in much of the south seas. I personally have not caught any, but hear they are great to skill up on. These bite lugworms or the sabiki rig as well. They are small fish.

Moat carp can be caught in most freshwater, which includes ponds, moats (rivers in cities) and other rivers and lakes. While they can be caught with small worms, the best bait for these guys are balls of insect paste. I used to fish for these near the fountain in Windurst Woods. Knightswell (a pond in W Ronfaure) has proven to be a much better spot, as a strong small fish rod will not break there as they had in Windurst (due to gold carp biting the insect paste as well). These are basically gil in fish form ‘ on Carbuncle they currently sell around 4k gil per stack of 12, and most servers are either 3-4k. These are small fish.

Cheval salmon can be caught in several places. They are commonly accompanied by shining trout in the same waters. I used these to skill up to around 18 skill using a fly lure and composite rod (anything less than a composite will break ‘ this includes the mithran rod). These fish don’t have very much use, as indicated by their low price in auction halls, but are worth good skill ups. A good stepping stone on the way up.

Giant catfish can be caught in ponds all over Vana’diel. These are bottom feeders, so a sinking minnow lure will draw them out. I used these to skill up to around 28 or so (they cap around 31 I believe). Keep in mind these are a large fish. You will need a good large fish rod to pull them out. I would recommend the composite rod for all large fishing.

Nebimonites ‘ finally another gil fish. These can be caught on the selbina-mhaura ferry, and they are the only fish on the ferry that bites crayfish balls. While these are small fish, they make it a point to be as tough as nails and eat any small fish rod that tries to pull them up (excepting lu shang’s rod), so pack a composite rod and a nice supply of crayfish balls. As with any ferry fishing, beware the occasional pirate attacks and sea horror. Stacks of these will sell anywhere between 13-15k on carbuncle. They are used in cooking and alchemy. These also skill cap around 31.

Keep in mind these are just some examples of what to catch. I encourage everyone to forge their own path, do some research, and figure out for yourself where you want to fish.

Got the gear! But’what next?

So, now you know what fish you want and you have everything ready to go. First, ensure that you equip your rod in the ranged weapon slot (the slot where a bow would go) and your bait or lure in the ranged ammunition/throwing weapon slot. Now you find a body of water. The type of water is also important.

WATER TYPES:
The guild hints at several different types of water. Since the type of water that each fish can be caught in has already been discussed, that will not be included here.

The guild members refer to the ocean near Windurst as the ‘south seas’ which would seem to reason that each region of the sea has it’s own type of fish. I have not confirmed this yet, but don’t be shocked if this happens.
First, there are two types of water, fresh and salt water. This seems to follow the pattern of real life in that oceans are salt water, and most lakes, rivers, and ponds are fresh water.

Rivers in cities are referred to as ‘moats.’ These are obviously a good place to catch moat carp. There are also swamps and other areas (an ice lake in the qufim islands for instance) that I have not tested yet.

There are also some areas with their own types of fish ‘ for exampke, Beadaucine glacier is the only place that the icefish can be caught.

And now the part we’ve all been waiting for:

THE ACTUAL FISHING
(I forgot this section in the first guide. Oops.)
Slowly approach the water to avoid startling the fish. Make sure everything is in order. Now, be very careful ‘ this is the most important step. Type /fish. Wait. Keep waiting. Wait some more.

After any amount of time between two and twenty seconds, you will receive one of the following:

The boring ‘You didn’t catch anything.’ ‘ You will also get this message if you pressed enter (confirm) before having gotten a bite.

The more exciting ‘Something caught the hook!’

When you get a bite, simply press the confirm button (enter key on default controls).If you caught something, you will get a message similar to ‘Obtained: Moat Carp’ and you will lose one unit of bait. If you are using a lure, you get to keep it. Yay for you.

Or you may get another message ‘ ‘You lost your catch.’ and you still lose your bait, unfortunately. If you are using a lure, you still get to keep it. Yay for you. Sometimes ‘Bad Things’ (TM) will happen:’Your line broke.’ ‘ You will lose one unit of bait ‘ not bad for bait users, but if you are losing a lure you can kiss it goodbye now. Oops.’Your rod broke.’ – I hope you weren’t using a lu shang’ If you’re unlucky enough to receive this message, your rod is removed from your inventory and replaced with ‘Broken X rod’ where X is rod type (mithran, composite, carbon, etc), and you lose one unit of bait or your lure. Commonly the broken rod can be sold for about half as much or as much as the rod itself. Usually this is more of an inconvenience than a direct financial loss.
After you get your result, there is a cooldown period before you can cast again ‘ there is a reduction to this depending on your skill, where ten full points seem to reduce the time between casts by one second (this may smooth out at higher fishing levels, but have not had the chance to ask). The reduction is based on each skill point, so a .1 gain would mean .01 less of a second between casts. The base time is 13 seconds after the compass re-appears after a cast. It is recommended to make a macro that takes advantage of this that you can press as soon as the compass re-appears. Since my skill is about 40 my macro looks like this:
/wait 9/fish

This makes it easier to do other things while fishing in safe areas, such as chat, do homework, or play Disgaea (woohoo), and ensures that you will make the most of your time fishing. Make sure to adjust your macro as you rise in skill!
If you have a controller with a vibration function connected to your PC, the controller will vibrate whenever you hook a fish ‘ this is helpful to avoid losing fish from being inattentive.

QUICK GUIDE TO FISHING ‘ an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one
For the quickest skill gains in the beginning, purchase a glass fiber rod (about 2k in the auction house(AH)) and a sabiki rig lure (about 1.5k in the AH). These can be found in the weapons -> ammunition&misc -> fishing gear section of the AH. Equip both of these and take them somewhere with access to the southern seas. A good spot is in Port Windurst right next to the fishing guild. At the guild you can receive fishing support to help you catch fish more often. If you don’t have enough money for these, a cheap rod (willow(cheapest), yew, or bamboo(best, more expensive)) and some lugworms will do.

After you’ve gained some skill, or if you just want to hurry to moat carp for a greater return, start buying some balls of insect paste (little worms will work, but you may catch smaller fish (crayfish) instead) from the guild or the AH, and head over to a freshwater river in a town (a ‘moat’) or to the pond in West Ronfaure. Here you can catch moat carp and sell them in the AH for 3-4k (please follow the prices already in place on your server ‘ moat carp sell fast, there is no need to undercut prices). If you have more cash to spend, I would suggest a Carbon rod for knightswell (West Ronfaure pond) or a composite rod for windurst areas as there is the chance to hook gold carp and break small fish rods.

Note that when you reach 8 skill in fishing, you will need to go back to the guild and take a ‘test’ which involves handing the guildmaster (the mithra) a moat carp. Easy. You will then become a recruit in the fisherman guild! Your title will change in your character stats for crafting skills from amateur to recruit, and’um’nothing else that I’ve noticed so far other than the ever-important ability to go above 10 skill points.

There is a test every ten skill levels above the first one (at 8) to raise the cap another ten points above. So at 18 you can take the test to raise your cap above 20, at 28 you can test to raise your cap above 30, etc. Note that you don’t HAVE to take this test at *8 ‘ you will continue gaining until the next cap (up to 10 if you didn’t complete any tests), but to go above that you will need to take the test. The game also does not keep track of whether or not you caught the fish so it’s entire possible to just buy your way through, and is recommended for some of the harder to catch fish.

Testing skill Fish required
8 Moat carp
18 Cheval salmon
28 Giant catfish
38 Gugru tuna
48 Monke-Onke
58 Bhefhel Marlin
68 Bladefish
78 Three eyed fish
88 ?

(Information on skill cap fish above 38 was taken from www.fishermanrods.net ‘ thank them, not me)

I didn’t know where to stick this, so here it is: http://www.fishermanrods.net/database_e.cfm. This site contains lots of great information on the various type of fish, what they can be caught with, and where. It even includes a tool that allows you to select a rod/bait combination and test if it will break! There is also a link near the bottom of the page labeled fishing map that lets you choose which region and area and lists the fish in it. Using this site to plan fishing trips will save you a lot of gil on broken rods and time wasted looking for just the right spot. Please note that I in no way had anything to do with the development of this site, and thus should not receive any credit for it’s information ‘ I just recommend it as an excellent fishing tool.

I hope this guide really helps out some new fisherman. I know my information has already helped many start on the path to fishing greatness, and maybe it will help you as well!