The Dynamis shell I joined is pretty nooby... So I posted this on their forum in hopes to enlighten them on how to improve. Ignore the forum code, I don't want to fix it. /lazy
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I know I am new to this linkshell and you guys [the leaders] most likely want to do things your own way, but as a person who has over 3 years dynamis experience, I'd like to give suggestions on how to improve and see this LS really become phenomenal. In this post, I'll cover some topics about issues I noticed during the latest run in Windurst.
I hope that everyone will read this post to get a better understanding of how to make your Dynamis experience better. Some of you may read this and find parts to be trivial, but many in the Linkshell are inexperienced and don't know what to expect. Please read with an open mind, this isn't to say that my way is better and that you need to adhere to my suggestions; I am posting this from my experiences in Dynamis these past three years as something to think about. I will try to write the topics in a sequence that makes sense as to why they are important to each other.
Topics:
[b]Time is of the Essence:[/b] Time is very important in Dynamis as most of you know. Small things, like taking too long to pull, or resleeping a mob that the main assist just hit to bring back to camp will become a set back in time for the overall run. Little time sinks such as these will add up, possibly making the Linkshell lose a run.
[b]1a)What is my role in Dynamis?[/b] This is a very important question when it comes to Dynamis. Most melee will know exactly what their job is (we hit stuff, right?). But other jobs have more important roles to follow. I won't cover every job, but I will talk about the important ones.
[b]1b)Job Versatility:[/b] Many in the linkshell have more than one job capable of attending Dynamis. It is good to let your LS leaders know which jobs you have (preferably ones that have equipment, no sense in bringing a naked 75 in). While you may prefer to bring a certain job to Dynamis, it is ultimately the Leader's choice if a specific job is needed. Be prepared to change your job at a whim.
[b]2)Defining Job Roles[/b]
[b]Thief:[/b] Thief is the ideal puller. Hands down. You have the highest evasion. You have flee. You have shadows from Utsusemi. It is wise to designate one or two thieves to be main pullers. The pullers should look up maps of every zone and learn exactly what pops from what and in what order to pull. Only one thief will be pulling at a time, but it is good to have two or three who know the zone in case of death, sac-pulling, or being absent to a run. Having to wait on res-sickness only slows down the Linkshell in the long run. A thief's secondary job is for treasure hunter. So while the BLMs are nuking statues, the additional thief(s) can be hitting statues to help improve drops of 100 pieces. Only the main puller pulls, no one else should touch a mob except those called out by the main assist to attack (more on Main Assists below).
[b]Red Mage:[/b] It is important to have at least 4-5 rdms present at every run. Your job is to sleep any incoming mobs [besides statues] near the melee. Your job also includes keeping avatars slept, and Beastmaster pets silenced. Subbing Black Mage is also important in order to have Sleepga. Red Mages under the level of 70 may have a hard time sleeping things, so it will be wise to have those with a 70+ RDM come instead of someone who is below that if they have another job they can attend Dynamis with. A Red Mage's secondary job is to keep refresh up on the mages in their party (yes I know that is a given). The only time a Red Mage should sub anything besides Black Mage is in Xarcabard if the Linkshell is aiming for Shadow Lord, in which case two Red Mages (74+) should sub Dark Knight for chainspell Stun.
[b]Paladin:[/b] Paladin have two roles. The first is designated as [u]Main Assist[/u]. In normal situations, there should only be need for one Main Assist as it prevents confusion for melee as to what mob to attack. The Main Assist Paladin will have a macro for every mob they engage said in both /linkshell and /party so everyone knows what to attack. There should also be a heirarchy of Main Assist Paladins in case the first is to die, a 2nd [3rd, 4th, etc.] can take over. Paladins who are not the Main Assist have the job of voking [and babysitting] statues for the Mages, as well as voking slept mobs so they don't chase after whomever slept them. Besides the Main Assist, no other Paladin should be meleeing. Paladins are the ideal job to provoke Statues because they can cure themselves and have the highest defense. Warriors shouldn't be used in this scenario because their role is better suited for DD. The Paladins should voke the statues off of the puller as the thief brings them to the melee.
[b]Ninja:[/b] Ninja have two roles, though one is optional. If there aren't enough Paladins, they will also have the role of voking statues and slept mobs. It is good that they bring an earth/terra staff and as much evasion/haste gear as they can so they can easily babysit mobs if they are unslept. A ninja's second job is meleeing,
[b]Black Mage:[/b] Black Mages primarily have one job and that is to nuke and stun statues. In order to improve the role of BLM, having the Black Mages sub red mage is ideal for fast cast as well as phalanx. In less experienced Linkshells, it is common to have a primary Black Mage Main Assist. The Main Assist Black Mage, much like the Paladin Main Assist, will engage a mob [draw their weapon] on a monster and call out for the BLMs to nuke a particular mob. This is ideal for small groups of BLM so they can focus on individual statues. All blms should be in the same alliance so the Main Assist BLM only needs to use /party for their assist macro. This will help streamline and speed up killing of statues. Black Mages can also conserve their MP by not having to take on the role of sleeper. A stun order may also come in handy for certain NMs that need to be killed. The Main Assist or most experienced black mage, should take responsibility to set this up before entering Dynamis.
[b]Melee (you know who you are, I hope):[/b]Your job is to kill the mob, and do it fast. It is beneficial to have /autotarget off set to prevent hitting slept mobs. Only attack the mob that the Main Assist has called.
[quote][u]Making an Assist Macro (for BLM and DD)[/u]
/assist "Name"
It's that simple. Melee will set theirs to the name of the Paladin Main Assist, and Black Mages will set theirs to the BLM Main Assist. When the macro is pressed, you will automatically target the mob that is being targeted by your Main Assist person.[/quote]
[b]Bard:[/b]Your job will vary slightly, depending on which party you get placed in. If you are placed in tank or black mage party, you'll use ballad. If you're in melee, then either mambo, minuet, etc. Other roles a bard will have are helping sleep mobs, especially Beastmaster pets (be expected to babysit hecteyes pets even if you can't cast your party buff songs). On top of this, you should also help cure your party members. Ideally, a set of MP gear is nice to have for Dynamis (even if its a couple rings and a belt). If you are able to cast Raise while weakened, you'll be helping the Linkshell immensely. Bard should also elegy mobs being attacked. Threnody can be used on Statues at Black Mage request. Bard should never be needed to pull in Dynamis because Thief is the more capable job for that as mentioned above.
[b]White Mage:[/b]This should be self explanatory. Keep the people in your party alive. Raise those who are dead. If the linkshell isn't strained for time, then a Raise III should be utilized. If the linkshell just wiped, then cycle your raises. Usually it is customary to give 75 BLMs who have deleveled a Raise III so they can utilize their merited Ancient Magic II. White Mage can also Repose monsters that may have woken up as well has Repose party members who have become charmed. (It seems that WHM has the easiest time at sleeping a Paladin even if they have gimp Divine skill). Another job that a designated [experienced] White Mage may have is subbing thief and being a sac-puller for Dynamis Xarcabard. Being able to have flee and Reraise III is beneficial for certain pulls.
[b]Summoner:[/b] Usually summoners (from my experience) will use their avatars as DD and also help with party buffs like stoneskin and haste, and help out as needed. In Dynamis Beaucideine, they have a specific job of planting Carbuncle on the final boss because it teleports.
[b]Jobs not mentioned:[/b] For other jobs such as Cor, Sch, Dnc, etc, Fit into the category you feel best exemplifies your job traits.
[b]3)Following Instructions is Key:[/b] No matter what, listen to the leaders who are giving orders. Your puller will tell you how far you can move up, who should move where, who is needed for what pull. If you are called, then be prompt and go. Normally, BLMs will be in front of melee in order to start nuking statues. The other Paladins should be between the Black Mages and the Melee in order to voke statues that are coming in. And the Red Mages should be in front of melee in order to sleep the incoming mobs.
[b]4)Helping your puller:[/b] If you are standing on a narrow area, like the bridges in Windurst, then stay to the side so your puller can run through. It is very difficult to pull mobs through a large group of people.
[b]5)When to rest (MP and otherwise):[/b] The main rule of thumb, never be resting when mobs are being pulled through. You'll get agro from mobs as you rest causing yourself and possibly others to die.
[b]6)Items:[/b]It is always beneficial to bring appropriate items for Dynamis. Reraise, Echo Drops, Poison Pots, just to name a few. The Linkshell Leader should mention what is needed before each run. Reraise items will help speed up the progress of the shell so white mages don't need to use their much needed MP.
[b]7)Where to Sleep Mobs:[/b] Mainly for Red Mage, but anyone else who might have to sleep a mob. The one thing I noticed during Dynamis Windurst was that everything was being slept up by black mages and the Main Assist Paladin had to run ages just to get a mob and then most of the time, having the mob reslept by the Black Mages, making the Paladins have to run back to get it again. This really slows down the run, wasting your precious Dynamis time. Mobs should instead be pulled all the way back to where the melee are and slept by the red mages so that the main assist paladin can easily pick and chose a mob to kill. This will speed up killing dramatically.
[b]8)Use of Linkshell Channel:[/b] Try to keep linkshell channel free from excessive, unneeded chatter. Leave this open for important messages from your puller and Main Assist so that the messages don't get drowned out. If you need to post in it, it should be important. We are all in the same area, you can use /shout, /say, /tell, or /party to get a message across to anyone else.
[b]9)Lotting stuff:[/b] The main rule of thumb. If you are unsure whether or not you should lot something, then don't lot at all. Every linkshell I've been in uses some sort of point system to keep track of who gets to lot. The leaders will determine who gets to lot the item and that person will then get to lot. Don't complain if you don't get to lot, there is a point system for a reason. I have been in linkshells where lotting something when not told to would be an instant kick from the linkshell.
[b]10)Lost Experience Points:[/b] You will die, it'll happen. If you want gear from Dynamis, you're going to have to make that sacrifice at some point. If you don't want to take a Raise 1, then bring your own Reraise items. As the linkshell becomes more experienced, you'll find that you die less and less because everyone will know exactly what their job is.
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Other Suggestions:
[b]About bazaaring hourglasses:[/b] From personal experience, putting hour glasses in the bazaar for one gil can be a VERY bad idea if you happen to get some asshat in your linkshell. I've seen it happen where someone bought hourglasses from half the shell forcing those players to be kicked out, essentially ruining that day's Dynamis run.
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[b]An Idea for a better point system:[/b]
You guys don't have to use it, just a suggestion.
This is the system that my previous linkshell used. It is very fair and allows everyone in the linkshell to get 5/5 on their gear quickly and efficiently. For example, when I first started dynamis, it took me 2 years to get one bard item. However, while in the last dynamis shell I was in, it took me about four months to get the remaining four pieces (that includes Beauc and Xarc), and it is all because of this system.
Now let me explain it.
Everyone will gain points like normal. However, each member will choose a main job they want to get 5/5 on first. For example, I chose bard as my main job. Each person in the Linkshell would choose a job and everyone's name would be listed in a spreadsheet based on their job category (all the PLDs together, all the RDMs together, etc).
As people accrue points for the month, they'll be displayed in the spreadsheet. (Like normal)
Now for a difference. Say there are three red mages set as main lot for RDM and a red mage piece drops. The Leader can easily look at the spreadsheet and see who has the highest points for that item. When that red mage gets their piece, their points will drop to 0. This will allow the next Red Mage in line to get the next piece of red mage equip that drops. If all the main lot red mages have that particular piece of armor, then the Leader will designate it as half-point lot 70+ [then 60+ if no 70s want it]. If someone has the job level requested, then they may try to lot the piece with the others but spend half their accumulated points for it. If there are no 60+ red mages that want it, then it will go freelot for the entire shell in which no points will be used for it. (This is how I got most of the relic I can't even wear lol)
This method will prevent future drama and problems later on down the road where older players acquire massive amounts of points and are able to lot on EVERYTHING they want.
Other rules to the system. New players are given a trial period (this can be determined as see fit) but my previous LS used two runs as the trial period. During this time, the new members may not lot on anything, even if it is freelot.
After someone obtains 5/5 or wishes to lot a different job, they may select a new job to lot, but will also go on the two day trial period.
This method makes it so you don't have to buy a piece of armor for [insert number of points] but rather spend all your accumulated points and have to re-amass them for your next piece.
It allows everyone to get 5/5 on their preferred job quickly as well as lot other pieces for other jobs. The only way someone would accumulate loads of points in their job is if they are 4/5 and waiting for the last piece of their relic to drop.
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In closing, I hope that everyone finds this post to be beneficial in some
way. ^_^ I'm in no way trying to take over leadership or anything. I just want to see this Linkshell become more successful and fun.
If you get to the point where you laugh when a taru dies in hopes more AF will drop and can have fun MPKing each other at the end of a run and not care about losing XP, then you know you're in a good shell.
Dynamis is just a high level playground after all where we go to have fun. Once everyone has mastered the art of poking things to death, then it really does become a blast.
- Mood:
Pestered - Listening to: iTunes radio
- Playing: Final Fantasy XI
- Drinking: pepsi
Bollocks
Rage
Joy
Optimism
