How to: Summoner latent breaking

Latent breaking involves doing skillchain after skillchain after skillchain, until a latent is broken.  When that happens, it will make the weapon more powerful or unlock powerful new weaponskills.  Usually, to unlock a latent in a timely involves getting a "skill up" party.  Usually, 2 people are needed to form a skillchain, and go from there.  However, there are a few jobs that can do skillchains solo, and Summoner is one of those jobs because a Summoner can have their avatars do a Rage Bloodpact followed by a weaponskill to form a skillchains (Puppetmasters can do this too, and perhaps Dragoon and Samurai, although not quite as efficiently).  This little post is a guide on how to unlock a latent weapon as a Summoner.

Gear

To start off with, good melee gear is a must.  Since most summoners who were only Summoners to begin with, most summoners don't have good melee gear that they can wear (it's not like there's a huge selection to begin with...).

I recommend getting the following before beginning:

- Wahalara Turban - This turban is a really popular piece of equipment that can be bought for about 1000 bronze coins (10 gold coins) in Aht Urghan.  The good thing here is that all jobs can equip it, and it has a +5% haste to it, something that's rare for Summoner.

- Battle Gloves - Battle gloves is a low level piece of equipment that has a good accuracy boost.  Since Summoners don't have much in way of accuracy equipment, we need as much accuracy as we can get.  These can be replaced, however, with Goliard cuffs if accuracy is okay for more haste.

- Yingyang robe - Failing that, Summoner's Doublet also works, as well as Austere/Penance robe.  This is one of the few slots that I dedicated to avatar perpetuation, which is strongly recommended for efficient latent breaking.

- Volunteer's Brais - This legs equipment is rather ugly, I know, but it has a sizable accuracy boost that isn't found elsewhere that Summoners can equip.  This piece of equipment can be bought with IS, but the proper rank is required.

- Evoker's Pigaches +1 - There aren't many choices for meleeing in the feet slot, so I dedicated this slot for avatar perpetuation.  Again, the less perpetuation, the less resting is needed, and the more time can be focused on breaking latent.

- Brutal Earring - Double Attack is good here, and it will help in TP gain.  The other earring can be used for standard Summoner equipment.

- Rajas/Ulthalam's Ring - Obviously, these are the end of storyline rings, and if they're available use them.  If not, just use standard summoning equipment.

- Evoker's Ring - Yeah, every Summoner should have this.  Anyway, use this as a means to boost summoning skill and the -2 avatar perpetuation.

- Life belt - +10 Accuracy.  'nough said.

- Chivalrous Chain - This piece of equipment adds in both accuracy and Store TP, both which help TP gain.  It can be bought for 8,000 Lebros points in assault.  It's a good piece to have for all melee jobs.

In short, melee gear should focus on getting accuracy, haste, and Store TP.  The purpose of the melee gear isn't to kill the target quickly, but to build TP in the most efficient manner possible.  I also recommend getting Summoning Magic skill for extra accuracy for bloodpacts and extra time for wards and extra MP from Elemental Siphon.  Make two macros so that the two can be switched easily, one for summoning magic, and the other for TP.

Subjob

Needless to say, Samurai is the best subjob for this.  Not only can Samurai can pull out TP out of thin air, but it has the Store TP trait, and Hasso, which adds in extra accuracy and speed for even more TP.  It even has Zanshin so that each hit will pull in TP more often than not.  I recommend to have Samurai to at least 30, if not 35, before trying this.  Failing this, Dragoon is a good replacement, especially if one has the Wyvern Earring, as well as Ranger or even Dancer.  Suffice it to say that a melee subjob is strongly recommended over a mage subjob.

Location

In order for the weaponskill to count for unlocking, it must be done on an enemy that checks as "Easy Prey" or above.  My best recommendation are the Goobues outside in Rolanberry Fields[S].  They fall pretty quick (but not too quick), don't have too many threatening moves, and fairly close to Jeuno, so it's not a long walk at all.  Add to the fact that no one ever farms these things, so targets are rather plentiful.  Do keep in mind that there are things that are aggressive to level 75 characters, so tread carefully.  A good alternate spot would be in Wajaoum Woodlands right outside of Al Zhabi, but the birds are a bit tougher than the Goobue, and they're also hunted more frequently, and they have very annoying Feather tickle, which erases TP.  Failing that, crabs in Boyhada Tree is also a good spot.

Tactics

When reaching the area, first equip the melee gear, including the weapon, and then summon Garuda.  Why Garuda?  Because a level 2 skillchain can be formed with Garuda (I'll explain later), as well as Garuda has Hastega (something VERY helpful for TP gain) and Whispering Wind (healing move for if things go wrong).  Use Meditate and Hasso AFTER summoning (especially Hasso.  Having Hasso adds in the time it takes to summon by 2 seconds!), and then send in Garuda first and then attack.  Use Hastega if it hasn't been used before, and then wait for 100% TP.  At 100% TP, use the Claw Bloodpact.  When Garuda uses Claw, count to three and use Starburst.  This will create a Gravitation skillchain and add in 3 weaponskill points.  Done right, and it's possible to do two skillchains per enemy, by doing a skillchain near the start, and then do a second near the end.  Just make sure that the enemy has enough life to not get killed.  If this is the case, retreat the avatar, and wait for either the bloodpact timer or the TP to reach 100% to get the skillchain.  Then use the bloodpact and weapon skill to create the second skillchain.

In between fights, feel free to use elemental siphon, or rest between fights.  Note that changing weapons will reset TP to 0%, and thus, make sure to change back to the weapon in question before going to fight or using Meditate.

Done right, a latent in a few hours with Summoner.  It's really all about efficiency.

Summoner as a subjob

As I write this post, I find myself asking if Summoner as a subjob could work for any job.  The advantages is that there is a ready made skillchain partner that can go at almost any time (assuming the bloodpact rage timer is ready).  Add to the fact that pretty much, a level 2 skillchain can be made anywhere with the right avatar, it would make Summoner the ideal subjob for unlocking a latent.  

The real question is that if the avatar is level 37, will the accuracy of the avatar be an issue?  If the bloodpacts are constantly missing, then the advantages would effectively be nullified.

I will be happy to take any questions from the peanut gallery, and everybody else.  ;)

How to: SMN/COR

So, I'm going to be talking about something that I've been toying with for a while now.  This is what might be known as the "unusual" subjob.

When it comes to subjobs, the standard for Summoner is White Mage and Scholar, mostly because of the spells those two subjobs bring.  While in most situations those two subjobs are fine for what they do, I find myself asking if there's something better.  A good subjob, by definition, should support and enhance the main job.  So, what's another job that can enhance Summoner?  I present Corsair.

What does Corsair have that other subjobs don't have?  Rolls.  Specifically, rolls that enhance pet abilities.  One thing to be aware of with Summoner is that it isn't really a mage job at all, but a pet job, and at most times, should be viewed as such.  So, as a pet job, there are very few things that can enhance pets directly.  Fortunately, COR has just such a thing in both the Puppet Roll and the Beast Roll.

There are a couple of downsides, however, when using COR as a subjob.  First is that only one roll can be active when playing as a /COR.  This means that only one effect can be used, so only pet accuracy or pet attack can be enhanced, but not both.  Second, and this relates to the first, is that a bust is perhaps worse on a /COR than a main COR.  A bust amounts to not only not being able to roll, but actually puts on a Negative effect.  So, busting on a Puppet roll means not only not being able to roll for five minutes, but it also means that the avatar will actually lose accuracy.

There is also one more side effect to consider when playing /COR, and that is Healer's Roll.  Healer's Roll will increase the amount of MP per tick when resting.  This is important as it cuts down the amount of down time that the Summoner faces.

So, where would I use /COR?  In large man events like Dynamis or Limbus (or pretty much any event where there will be more than one alliance).  In events like these, pet performance matters more than what the Summoner does, and remember, COR is the only subjob that can directly affect pet performance more than anything else.  Another place where I would use it is in a Summoner burn party where these rolls won't just help the player himself, but everyone around him too.

Where wouldn't I use /COR?  Soloing, where running out of MP is tantamount to death.  Since while soloing, I can't rest, having another sub, such as SCH would help better in the long run as it can restore MP directly.  I would also not use it in small man events such as Assaults and Nyzule Isle.  There, I might need the utility of WHM and SCH to help move things along and to help keep my party alive.

Like everything else, COR does have it uses, and it's great in some spots, and not so great in other spots.  It's situational, and it depends on if there's a need for the pet to perform rather than the master.

I'd be happy to answer any questions that pop up.

Soloing avatars for fun and profit

Didn't do too much, as I really wasn't feeling well yesterday.  I did some campaigning, and I now have the Wings of Altana SSSS!  :D

Got enough merit points now to max out Stormsurge, and now I'll be the permanent SCH in BLM parties casting out Hailstorm to everyone.  >.>  Not sure what to merit next.

Anyway, that's all of the report, now on to the lesson of the week.

Soloing Avatars for fun and profit!

Soloing a prime isn't really something new, as it's been shown that most any job can do it, especially subbing NIN and using resistance gear.  But what if it could be done using no items, no Astral Flow, Fox only, Final Destination *cough*.  I mean, doing it while using as few resources as possible.  The general idea is to defeat the avatars using only the abilities and spells that cost nothing to use.

There are two things that make this possible, first is the Sublimation from /SCH that allows MP to be stored in exchange for an HP drain.  The second is the Elemental Siphon that allows the Summoner to get MP from the spirits.

Having WHM up to 38 also helps in teleporting around to the various towns to pick up and drop off forks.  Now, obviously, there shouldn't be a fame problem, but do be aware that level 8 fame is required to even get the forks.  

For me, timing is important, as it allows me to fight the avatars at their weakest.  So, fighting Shiva on Fireday gives me an edge, as does fighting Ramuh and Earthday, and so on.  Pretty much, when I decide to fight an avatar, I take in account what day it is, and then fight the avatar that is weak to the day.

One of the most important thing is avatar perpetuation.  Pretty much the less MP used in fights, the longer the fight can go.  When a summoner runs out of MP, pretty much that's the end of the fight.  So, keeping up MP is really important, and running out is paramount to death.

During the fight, using Sublimation takes approxiamately 5 minutes to fill out.  During that time, it's important to keep HP up.  If the HP gets below 50%, Sublimation stops working, and it will automatically appear as filled.  I suggest using Penury (50% cost) and Regen II to keep up HP, and be sure to use Earthen Warp before the fight, as it'll help prevent HP loss.

Another tool to keep up MP is Elemental Siphon.  Elemental Siphon will allow the Summoner to take MP from the elemental spirit summoned by the Summoner.  There are two important things to keep in mind with Elemental Siphon.  First is that the amount of MP is influenced by both day and weather.  In these battlefields, there is a constant double weather, and this should be a guiding factor in which spirit to summon.  For example, if fighting Ramuh on Earthday, a Thunder spirit should be used because of the double thunder weather.  The other thing to be aware of is the timing.  First is to move as far away as possible from the prime so as to not get beaten.  Second is that if release is used, wait 3 seconds before using the elemental siphon macro.  Hopefully, if enough distance is between the summoner and the prime, then there can be plenty of time to do an elemental siphon, and get the avatar out for the next round.

One final note to make is that when soloing primes, it's important to realize that this is not a race to see how fast to kill these primes, but an endurance race to outlast the primes.  So, the key is MP conservation.  When using bloodpacts, be aware of how much MP they use, and use them conservatively.  Remember that running out of MP is paramount to death, especially since the Summoner has absolutely nothing else to fall back upon if the MP runs out.

And finally, it never hurts to be prepared for the worst.  It's a good idea to come with an elixir or three for instant MP boost, and Astral Flow, while not needed, is very useful, especially if MP is low, and time is running short.  An Astral Flow BP can do up to 15% of the prime's HP, so use it to end a fight quickly!  But if things are running the way they should, this shouldn't be needed.

I'd have a video up, but it's about 15 minutes long, and about 3 gigs in size.  I'm working on splitting it up and sharing it on Youtube, but I have no idea if or when I'll be done.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.