Month of July – Sha’ir Manteel and Marduk’s Jubbah status

Yes, yes I know: July updates are long past due.  Please forgive me on that, but there is a reason for the delay that I’ll reveal soon-ish.

I’ll most likely merge July and August stuff together in the posts to follow.  I am using my screen shots folder as a guide since they’re categorized by month and day.  That above is from July 11, 2009.

My LS, Weekdays, had a bunch of Cashmere items– cloth and thread– leftover from our Bahamut v.2 fights but no Goldsmither in the LS high enough to make the Manteels.  It was decided by the sacks to craft them into Sha’ir Manteels and hand them to our members at 100 points each.  Honestly, it is a nice trade off.  For 100 points one earned in the LS, you get in return probably the second or third best Bard body there is without having to pay 4 million Gil (the current average price on Bismarck server).  Myself and a few other 75 Bards in the LS were picked to get the first ones crafted.  Again, thank you to Weekdays for the Manteel; it’s been one of my most wanted Bard body armors I’ve wanted since it was released.  My interest in it waned a little when Salvage was introduced and after getting Kirin’s Osode.  With this, it’ll tide me over until my Marduk’s Jubbah is completed.

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Speaking of Marduk’s Jubbah, a friend of mine, Sake, with his mule crafted the first 6 Imperial Wootz Ingots towards that Salvage body.  It will be twelve months come September since I have started upgrading this body.  That means approximately three months acquiring all three pieces and another nine months trying to get 12 Imperial Wootz Ingots.  Crafting the ores I had stashed away on mule freed up space for the next Ingots to be crafted.  I need another 11 more Khroma ores to go.

Now, you must be thinking to yourself: Why doesn’t my Linkshell help pay for it like other LSes?  Or, why don’t you do more ISNMs?  Or… or… or…

Yeah, I’ve heard it all including a harsh criticism where one suggested I go out and buy Gil just to finish this and Relic horn in one go.  Well, to the naysayers, here’s my middle finger: ..I..

As for why my Linkshell doesn’t help pay for it, well, there are many reasons.  One, I don’t get LS payouts regularly like other LSes.  Last LS payout was in December 2008.  Our LS bank currently sits at around 9 million Gil, which would not be enough in and of itself to do LS payouts to every member weekly or bi-weekly.  How about Einherjar?  Well, for the nearly one year that I’ve done Einherjar, I’ve yet to see one Imperial Wootz Ingot to even appear in the Treasure Chest after a Chamber is beaten.

Other options to finish it sooner?  ENM? ISNM? KSNM? BCNM? ANNM?

ENM, unlucky honestly.  I’m about as unlucky in ENM as I am in KSNM and BCNM.  As for ANNM, no way will a random group let me keep the Ingots for myself.  Remember, this game is about benefitting oneself, whether selfishly or screwing over another person, and not help another person out for no reward.  Yeah, I know, that’s harsh, but it’s true in many respects.  One would rather help another person if and only if they get something in return.  It’s sad, and I hate that concept.  I help others without asking anything in return, why can’t other players do the same?

Even my LS, Weekdays, encourages us to do more ENM, KS30, and BCNM over the weekends or after events to earn money if we can’t craft.  But, in all honesty, that’s asking a lot from our members given you have to be very damn lucky to get anything good.  No one should hold such high expectations that “xNM” is going to be the ONLY way a LS member should earn money in this game.  The largest payout I got from ENM was from last year when I had a static for the Antlion ENM in Boneyard Gully.  We had three Haguns drop then, but like all my statics, they end up dying for one reason or another.  I’ve wasted too much time and seals hoping for something good to come out of “xNM” and have yet to earn more than 150k (highest from last KSNM in the past three months) or more than 25k (highest from last BCNM in the past three months) to make anything of worth.  It’s true.  I’m completely out of options and will probably just rely on ISNM alone to get me the Khroma ores needed to make these godforsaken ingots that have been jacked up greedy Smithers on Bismarck looking to earn a quick Gil.  They went from 600k lowest last year to now bordering 1,400,000 Gil each, not per stack.

How about crafting?  Didn’t you have 80-plus Smithing?

Yes, I do.  It’s currently sitting at 83.2 Smithing and I only skill it up when, again, I have the money to spare.  I’ve decided to move away from Thick armor as a skill up and move towards Dark Adaman Ingots.  Thick armor doesn’t sell, and the Thick Mufflers I have on mule (10 to 14 total) have went from 25k when I started crafting them to now 15k and possibly less.  I could go craft Adaman ingots instead to 90, but Adaman ores have tripled in price.  They were 9,000 Gil each last year and now at 30,000 Gil each.  And, I need 3 Adaman ores and 1 Iron ore to make one Adaman ingot.  A critical failure meaning I lose all craft materials will leave me 90,000 Gil in the hole.  Therefore, I’ve resorted to Dark Adaman Ingots to 86 since they’re 1 Adaman ore, 2 Darksteel ores, and 1 Iron ore to craft them.  From 86 to 88, I’ll try making Adaman ingots just so I can take the Guild test, but I am not going to buy any Adaman ores for those two levels.  Hell no!  Why should I pay some crafter who’s been purposely jacking up prices and probably the same crafter who’s undercutted me in other items I’ve tried to sell?  Well, fuck them!

A couple LS mates suggested I try leveling another craft and make money from low level synths that sell.  I think my only other option would be Woodworking seeing that Shi-hei sells pretty well, but again I need money to level up crafting.  Like they say: “it takes money to make money.”  I’ve leveled Alchemy to 50 and still have to finish it to 60, and will most likely make Silver bullets as one alternative.  I haven’t gotten a skill up in that craft in a long time just like with Smithing.  This last option is probably the route I’ll take once I have some startup Gil to invest into them.

I know, I’ve ranted for too long, but it’s getting frustrating.  It’s as if I won’t get help at all– Linkshell or friends or strangers.  I’ve had one friend complete all Salvage bodies– Skadi’s, Morrigan’s, Ares’s, and Marduk’s– on Ramuh server within six months.  Two other friends on Bismarck completed their Marduk’s body within four months, with one having to borrow the last 6 million Gil from someone else in his LS.  Another friend on Bismarck as well finished his Usukane body within five months.  And, here I am, twelve months soon and counting.  I have 3,500 IS (Imperial Standing) points, after having burnt the last 27,000 IS approximately to get me a total of 3 Khroma ores, with 2 of them having been crafted already and another one just sitting on mule.  So, if I get 3 Khroma ores for every 27,000 IS, and with 11 more Khroma ores to go, that means I will need about 87,000 IS to finish Marduk’s body.

Sadly, I’m already looking towards my next Salvage body, and most likely it’ll be Skadi’s Cuirie.  It’s either that or Morrigan’s Robe.  But, I’m hoping that by the time I’m 3/3 on either of the two, I will have a steady income of Gil to upgrade them quickly instead of the year-plus I have waited on for Marduk’s Jubbah.

Luckily, I have a very good Salvage group and I hope they won’t break up on me.  I’ve already gone through four Salvage groups, with the fourth one I led myself.  I don’t want this fifth to die now since the only other way for me to do Salvage is join another LS.

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Thus the last point in this very wordy and long post: I’d like a static for ENM, KSNM, ANNM, and BCNM.  To anyone who reads this post and are looking to setup a “xNM” static, I’m very much interested in them.

I can be contacted in game by main character’s name, Aselin, or by posting a reply to this post.  I need help, and I’m at the point of desperation.  Just take note that the only times I can possible do it is Friday and Saturday before 6 PM PST/9 PM EST.  I can do them on Monday to Thursday, but it has to be after LS events are over, which is around 4 or 5 PM EST (1 or 2 PM PST for me).

Thank you, Aselin.