Well well well.

The other day.. I was planning to get on and help my DRG friend get his Quicksand Coffer by being a sneak monkey. So.. I pop on and group with him.. didn't notice where everyone else is, and about 10 seconds later get a /tell from my LS leader.. "Hey.. can you come to Sea Serpent Grotto? This is.. kinda a life or death thing". I INSTANTLY knew what was going on. There had just been a maintenance, and they were obviously getting Charybdis. 'Course, I love my LS, so I brought my DRG friend out to watch so we could go do his coffer after. I Tele-Yhoat and get to the Grotto as fast as I can while I am litterally getting SPAMMED with /tells "Please hurry" "Go faster" "This is important" from everyone there. But I digress...

I get there and make my way to them with some help. As soon as we're ready we go for Charyb. Then the fun begins...

Setup: WHM(me), NIN, NIN, PLD, PLD, PLD, BLM, BLM, RDM, THF.

I... the Taru 60WHM/30SMN... am the ONLY WHM there. Thus I'm dubbed main healer at an HNM, and this is my first experience ever. When Charyb is at about 80% it one shots one of our two NINs. One of the NINs wasn't to the Grotto yet, so one of the PLDs takes over and starts kiting him around while I spam cures (Charyb has perma Hundred Fists). Now, the spot that Charyb spawns is kinda a big room, and the PLD starts getting out of my range. So I started chasing him around the room and curing to keep him alive. He tries bouncing hate off onto another PLD so he can rest.. but in the process hate goes kind out of control... and in order to stop Charyb from going bat**** on the BLMs he binds it.. right on top of me. Charyb slams through my Blink and Stoneskin and owns me. No biggie... I had RR2 up... and I (stupidly) get up as Charyb's bind wears and it slams me once more, I die again.. this time I level down to 59. I was miffed, but I got a tractor and a R1, and I was 60 again. I started main healing weakened (fun).. when I learn another tragic truth. Charyb's AOE range is just RIDICULOUSLY large. I get slammed with a Maelstrom when I was barely inside cure range. And die. Die again, but get my level back with RR2. I go on healing weakened as the second NIN arrives and the first gets raised and they take over again. Soon I'm slammed by another AOE while hasting the NINs and die.. this time a perma level down. Ooooh boy ooh boy. The RDM sent me a /tell apologizing for it, though I wasn't really mad at anyone. Charyb dies and we get Joyeuse. Hoorah!

As an apology, I guess, the LS brought me on Crawler's Nest escort, and I level back up to 60 just as a DRK in my static goes for his AF Helm.. and I go.

The weapon's AOE got me into yellow on the first try and I get aggro from the other two AF skele mobs.. one of which starts casting flood. <.< Now.. I was waiting for someone to stun his ass.. but instead of stunning the DRK voked it and I got slammed, 1 hit kill. (The joys of Taru). Perma level down and RR2 doesn't save me. I can't do escort again so soon.

So I went up for a mannequin run.. and get royally owned by the mannequin getting 200 TP on every roll and spamming me with Seraph Strike. =\ So I've wasted over 30k on items and whatnot. YEEHAW.

Now, I know many of you are going to say right off the bat "Go get an exp party!"... my static is 2000 into 60... now, I'm the kind of person who joins a party for 3 hours or until it ends. I hate it when people leave soon after we've started. 3 hours makes me 9k exp EASY.. but I can't pass my static. It complicates things in odd ways for us..

After dying 5 times in one day for my LS you'd think I could bribe a few to come out for 2 or 3 escorts, but no melees have been showing up because they can't activate it, or don't want to. Or they aren't logged on atm when everyone else is.


So I'm stuck and.. rather irritated that I can't get a foolish 3k to catch up to my static, and that I can't rip a few people away from some things to help me for like 2 hours to get escorts. I tried one today with a few people and got royally owned due to lack of melee/tank. This isn't anyone's fault, everyone is very busy in real life... but I'm still irritated about being stuck. I guess I could get a party and hope for a quick break or a crappy party, but I don't want to spend 20k on mushroom stew for a crap party. :| This all comes down to money and time. Gah.



Not to mention even after dying 5 times I STILL can't get help with 83574 things I need done. =P Who has ever been in my position?


And yes, that was horrendously long.

If this is what you are asking yourself then you really need to rethink your position in your LS and where you stand in it. Do you help enough in your LS and does your LS help you back in return. It's a two way street for both the LS and you. If the LS does help you a lot before but don't seem so now then you need to think maybe it's because they are started to realize that you're not returning the favor. On the other hand if you help your LS a lot and they not helping back then maybe you need to examine whether or not this is the LS for you and why you continue to stay in it.

LS are sort of broken down to three categories.

Social LS where people just come in and out and talk to everyone. They like the people there but they don't generally as a whole do anything together as a group.
This game is about socializing with other players so there are many social LS out there.

Event LS are base on LS that's geared more toward one particular events for people looking to achieve something. Still social but less social but it requires more of your participation to attend certain events. These LS usually have requirements to join them as oppose to a social LS.

Multi-purpose LS is sort of a combo of the two LS where people do use LS as a social LS and yet at the same time have events in it.

At mid level to low level social LS is mostly what gamers look for due to the fact they are new and like to meet new friends in the game. You don't really rely too much on other gamers to help you with from the 50s and below.

As you reach 50+ you're going to start to realize that you're going to need more than just a social LS as your requirements in the game changes. Especially in the mid 60s as you start to look toward end game events.

Well stuff happens =P

But seriously, a crap party will have to do, or you can just stay behind for awhile until some of your friends can help you get that stinky 3k to catch up. But if you are heading into a crap party just take apple pies instead =P

Well i can say i have been stuck in your position for a month or so trying to get to rank 5. I have been waiting for a friend, and now my bf to come and help me do it. As I am told a lvl 42 can't handle beaudeax (sp?) So i wait..... and wait... and i have been waiting over a month to do this. I really want an airship pass so i can buy flax flowers and go synth happy for some extra gil when i need it and i want to start leveling goldsmithing and an airship pass really helps cut costs... :/

Side note: I just got cooking to level 42, /hurray! ^.^

I can't really categorize my LS. It's gone through SO many changes over the months (it was one of the first NA LS's, made on day 2 of the NA release). When I first joined it was VERY small and homey and was more of a social LS than anything. We can and helped each other with things like subjob quests, and low rank missions.


But as we all levelled it's taking a weird turn. Recently our LS leader and another LS leader made a Dynamis shell together. Now 2 or 3 nights a week the LS is almost completely empty except for me and a few other pre-65 people.

And the funny thing is that a lot of the people who do Dynamis don't seem to want to be there. As if it's an obligation. Meh, do what you want with the time you're paying for, I say.

I'm getting off-topic. Me and a few other LS members are concerned the entry of the Dynamis LS is taking away from the helpful aspects of our LS. They're either doing Dynamis or exping to make up for the mad deaths.

Though recently we have gotten LOADS done due to the vacation weekend, I'm thinking, I'm still getting concerned. I'm a pearlsack holder, and so people tend to send me /tells if they're worried about something. I've had 5 members recently /telling me they don't want our LS pulled apart by Dynamis or other things like that. =\ Some people have been having major issue getting help, it's not just me.

I personally go out of my way to help LS members. It's just how an LS is supposed to work in my opinion. And I think, they too want to help me. But other commitments (HMN, Dynamis, etc.) are pushing the low levels out of mind.

I don't think it's anyone's fault, it's just how it works when people start wanting AFv2, and whatnot. =\




XD Shan: Apple Pies for the win! =P

I solo'd my level back. >.>; Gogo 20 exp/kill on EP! I have no buffer though =P

Glad you got your level back! ^^ Hope your Ls stuff gets worked out. ^^