Spoilt Red Mage ^^

Granted, the following doesn't happen very often, but it's a rather amusing look into just how easily a Red Mage or a Bard can waltz into a ready-made, good-to-go party setup in...well, take a look for yourself:



I've encircled the relevant parts to take note of.

Yes, that is two separate invitations within seconds of logging in. Granted, they were from the same party, but still, it's quite astounding what the demand for a MP refresher can be. I'd imagine BRD75s come across this quite often as well. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing a Bard seeking for more than five minutes at 75.

It's also quite scary to think what might've happened had I been someone else, maybe one of those Red Mages who really disgrace all that the job can do. You know the type I'm talking about. :P

Anyway, I'm glad I accepted. The party setup was NIN THF DRG RDM SMN BLM, between 45 and 48. We weren't quite sure where to go- both Rumble Crawlers and Anticans in the Crawler's Nest and Quicksand Caves were taken, when Katoke suggested Garlaige Citadel.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first, since the Chamber Beetles are good to Level 51, which really is a tad too high for our party's level, especially since it was the BLM who was Level 45, so she'd encounter a whole lot of resists. In the end though, we went on the premise of "might as well find out", and I'm glad we did.

We were the only party there, camping at the bottom of the steps in the Garlaige Citadel basement. We started off a little clumsy, with Chamber Beetles really being a little too hard for us to take on with any regularity, so instead we focused on killing the Funnel Bats instead, which were much easier to deal with, and occasionally throw in the Chamber Beetle or two for a nice xp boost.

How nice, you say? Well...



^^

That wasn't the only time we hit the insane xp numbers. At least three chains ended with a finishing mob of 250+xp on the last kill, so we were quite a happy party. That, and the fact that we were the only ones in the basement probably helped out a lot there, too. ^^

Anyway, this party was also the first time I had partied with a Summoner in a long while, and from a Red Mage's perspective, the addition of a Summoner really changes things. Even down to positioning, I found myself endging closer and closer to the mob so as to gain the benefits of Garuda's Hastega. That, in turn meant that melee'ing was a more viable option, especially with both Katoke (NIN) and myself covering the basic enfeebles. I meleed a lot that fight- my Sword skill actually went from 115 to 120. :D

In the end, I got two levels in that party, and I am now sitting very happily at RDM49. Just a few more levels to go before I get to re-equip my beloved HQ Staves collection. Definitely looking forward to that. :D

For future reference, I don't see too much problems with a 45-47 party coming down here to xp off the Funnel Bats, if they are good. Later on, as party members approach 49, and especially 50, the xp gained from Funnel Bats take a severe hit, and that's when to start focusing on Chamber Beetles instead. Good to keep in mind for future reference. ^^