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The Summoner's Encyclopaedia to Soloing

this guide was made by

Spira of Ragnarok Server

The Summoner's Encyclopaedia to Soloing


Here it is, a whole bunch of information I've compiled about SMN soloing.
The target audience is mainly Lv 51+, but that doesn't mean you can't try anything at lower levels. ( If it works for you, tell us! We'd like to know too )
Included are:
My guide to soloing bombs/snolls
Map references - credits to Tomiko and Cendus for providing some of them
Additional information about soloing other stuff from fellow SMN in KI forums.

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Well, for most of us, I think you should all feel the same in that we SMN dont get invites that often.. (I live on JST and its worse..) So one day i got bored and I read somewhere that SMN can sorta solo for a decent rate albeit slower than a possible average EXP pt. (i was lv55+ then)

This is what being desperate for exp does to you.. heh...

Soloing Bomb and Snolls

Aim of this guide: To spread knowledge of SMN soloing above lv 51, and to share the information we've gathered to aid other SMN. SMN is a job not simply confined to party exp, and its to our advantage.

Level Requirement:
To be safe, lv 51 onwards. Reason: Free Carbuncle is possible from that level.

Equipment Requirements:
Any set of eq that gives free carbuncle is preferred.
The most common set would be (@lv 51-62) Light Staff + Carbuncle Mitts.
Carbuncle Mitts plays a key role in helping SMN to solo, so try to get it.
Vermillion Cloak is helpful too as it helps you get back MP with Carby out.
Its possible to do this without free Carbuncle, but the risk is somewhat higher especially if you run out of MP

Soloing Requirement:
Space to run.. enough space to run far enough from Carbuncle that you cannot see his HP bar anymore, and a little bit more than that. Carby also has to be strong enough to hold off enough hits until his recast timer is up.

Type of Mob:
Bomb, Snoll.
(The aim is to get them to blow up.)

How to do it in 10 Easy Steps:

1) Go to a safe spot (with no magic aggro)
2) Summon Carbuncle.
3) Run near to the snoll/bomb
4) /ja Assault on the snoll/bomb
5) Run away until you cannot see Carbuncles HP bar anymore.
6) Run a slight bit more.
7) Stop.
8 ) Wait for Carbuncle to die. (Carbuncle's name where the pet HP bar is will disappear)
9) /ma Carbuncle <me> (recast Carbuncle) Carbuncle will automatically run towards the bomb and attempt engage it.
10) Repeat steps 5-10 until the bomb is dead.

(use this as a general guide to suit whatever style you are comfortable with)

How to know the bomb is dead?
1) Carbuncle will run back to you with a little life left. This means the bomb blew up and didn't kill him.
2) Carbuncle dies. You resummon him and instead of running away he stays by your side. This means the bomb died, and Carby died from the blast.
3) You see it die from a distance while running from it. Or you see the blow up WS in the log. At that point just run from it. The range isn't that big.

Buffs to use when soloing:
1) Barfira/Barblizzara (assuming you're /WHM and you should be, casting the appropriate buff can safe your life if you're unlucky enough for the bomb to blow up very near you)
2) Reraise (Lv 66+. Another precautionary measure.) Or you can invest in a Reraise Hairpin and use its enchant when you know you're in trouble.
3) Blink (If you have aggro, this buys you time for Carby to steal it back from you. Otherwise its not necessary to keep this buff up)
4) Protect (just in case. If you do it right, and theres no lag, you wont get hit by the bomb at all)
5) Stoneskin (helps abit)

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Useful Macros to have:

1) /ma Carbuncle <me>
I would call this a compulsory one. Lol

2) /ja Assault <t>
Another pretty standard macro you should use.

3) /ja Release <pet>
Any good Summoner should have this one by now.

4) /ta <bt>
This one is useful to check the distance between you and the bomb, and when after Carby is dead, to check if anything is coming at you.

5) /ma "(element) Spirit" <me>
(contributed by Tomiko) On standby if Carby's recast timer is not yet up, or if you get avatar-death lag.

6) /ma Barblizzara/Barfira <me>
Its a useful buff to keep up if your kiting 'circuit' involves passing by the mob itself. For the extreme case when it might explode in your face.

7) /ma Blink <me>
This one isn't much of a necessity but is useful - Better to use this if you had gotten hate. Stoneskin doesnt cut it.

Findings:

Note 1: If you get aggro from the bomb (meaning that after Carby dies, and you resummon and it hits you before Carby can attack it. Or if carby misses and it comes for you cos you have hate) don't run from the bomb. Let Carby steal the hate from you with its attacks. Having blink at this point is very useful. If you absolutely cannot afford to wait, get Carby to Meteorite, but try not to do this as much as it will build more hate on you in the long run.

Note 2: Sometimes because FFXI has certain Summoner job glitches even after Carby is dead you wont be able to summon an avatar for a while. This lag is potentially dangerous and there are certain ways to counter this.
If you do happen to get the lag, instead of calling for Carby, call an elemental spirit (preferably the cheapest perpetuation cost one for you - for me its LightSpirit) because you wont have enough time to cast Carbuncle before the bomb gets too close, or in magic aggro range. Use it to tank just like Carby would, run to your next spot where you would cast, release the spirit and recast Carby (for MP efficiency).
This would be safer than if you cast Carby after the lag period, and it gains hate with the bomb, and it'll come for you first each subsequent time you recast Carby.

Note 3: If you have never gotten hate on yourself from the bomb directly, each time you cast Carbuncle, the hate that is gained from Carbuncle simply going to attack the bomb is enough to make the Bomb head for Carby first instead of you. It may not make sense here, but if you have soloed them its easier to understand.

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Recommended Equipment

You should generally go for eq that gives "Emnity -" and avoid anything that has "Avatar: Emnity -" on them (In other words no AF Horn or Body)
Reasoning for this: Emnity - means that after Carby is dead and the bomb is heading for you, the 'claim hate' that makes the bomb come for you is lesser, so Carby can snatch it from you easier.
Avatar: Emnity - is not useful here because since this is a solo situation, any less hate on the avatar will potentially mean more hate for yourself.

Some eq with enmity minus

Penitent's rope: -3 enmity
Sapient cape: -2 emmity
Peace ring: -1 enmity
Serene ring: -2 enmity
Healer's earring ( subjob whm needed ): -1 enmity
Hedgehog bomb: -1 enimty
Errant Houppelade
Errant Hat
Evoker's Spats
Evoker's Pigaches

If you have nothing better to wear, then I'd suggest gettign lousier eq that may help as well.
SMN subligar quest lv 50 eq isn't too bad (cos of the regen effect)
and when you're fighting bombs, Pyro Robe may help although not substantially.

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The Mobs
(Note the Lv range indicated is your level and not the mobs)

Lv 51-56 - Hellmines @ Garlaige Citadel
(A room right next to the chamber that you fall into a hole to get to)
Dangers: Beetles and Bats that aggro. Thunder Elemental spawns somewhere close by.

Lv 52-61 - Volcanic Gas @ Ifrit's Cauldron
(Near both left and right entrance to Ifrit's and a route that runs by the crater and Altar of Ashes)
Dangers: Dire Bats that aggro and spawn at night.

I personally only came here around 58-60 but the exp was good enough. There are enough bombs here to get by too for nice chain #3s

EDIT: Ever since the July patch that redistributed mobs in Uleguerand Range, the camp descriptions for all the snoll-type mobs apart from Aglooliks will be incorrect. Kindly refer to Cendus' map guide.

Lv 52-60 - Snoll @ Uleguerand Range (requires CoP)
Dangers: Please feedback since post-patch

(Until further updates please refer to Cendus' map.)

edit: Level range edited based on data from Vana'diel World Report

Lv 62-66 - Morozko @ Uleguerand Range (requires CoP)
Dangers: Please feedback since post-patch

(Until further updates please refer to Cendus' map.)

Lv 65-73 - Volcanic Bomb @ Ifrit's Cauldron
Dangers: Nightmare Bats and other aggro mobs.

I've never tried this myself. There are many areas in IC where Volcanic Bombs spawn and I've heard of some SMN who have soloed in the area near Cloister of Flames. Do note though that space for kiting Bombs here is limited and it is also a hot BST leveling ground.

Lv 66-69 - Akselloak @ Uleguerand Ragne (requires CoP)
Dangers: Please feedback since post-patch

(Until further updates please refer to Cendus' map.)

Lv 70-75 - Agloolik @ Uleguerand Range (requires CoP)
Dangers: Ice Elementals in Ice weather. King Buffalos outside kiting area (low risk).

This is actually the best camp of them all. There are 4 Aglooliks for you to pull from and the pulling area is the safest of them all. You can practically run to it without sneak/invis.
(4 mobs to pull at the frozen lake)

When there is no weather effect, there is also a tunnel you can run into from the lake which will lead you to a (strangely empty) zone to Bearclaw Pinnacle. There are also 2-3 Aglooliks in these tunnels which you can kill. There is added safely here due to there being a zone point.

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Map References


Mini Uleguerand Guide
The yellow line is the path you take to get to the Aglooliks area.. its pretty straightforward. the green circles is the area which is most suitable to 'camp' while soloing (with the respective mob names next to it), red circle is for jormy..and the red dots near the green circle is the number of bomb mobs near the solo area. blue text is the sightseeing guide of stuff that can aggro u on the way.. (its alot of crap =P but the exp is worth it on solo) Uleguerand is a relatively big area so don't be surprised it takes a while to get to the top.

25/7/05 EDIT: They changed the mob distribution of this zone, so the map is redundant now. I haven't been to the zone after the mobs are reshuffled, but Cendus has made a nice map as shown below.


Courtesy of Cendus

One of the area you can solo in Ifrits
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/Charlo0oki/Ifrits.bmp[/IMG]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/Charlo0oki/Ifrits.bmp
Courtesy of Tomiko

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Mob Behaviour.

Bomb type have 2 WS
Berserk, Self-Destruct <- you want this to happen

Snoll type have 4 WS
Berserk, Freeze Rush (WS attack), Cold Wave (aoe frost), Hypothermal Combustion <- you want this to happen.
Snolls are relatively weaker than Bombs cos they dont berserk as much, so your carby can last more hits ^^ If you get hit by Cold Wave, try to Erase its effect as the Frost DoT is quite strong.

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Other mobs that can be soloed.

If Bombs/Snolls don't suit your taste or you think they're too much of a hassle, there are other mobs that you can solo for exp (but imo won't give you as amazing an exp rate)

Among them are all the other mobs that can self-destruct as well as the stationary ones.

Goblins
Much like bombs, you'll have to Carby-kite these. Bomb-toss is what they do to kill themselves. It can trigger at any % of HP on the Goblin.
The pros about these guys is that Bomb Toss sometimes 1-shots the mob and gives you quick exp. The downside is that if the Bomb Toss doesnt kill the Gobby but does kill Carby, you have to be prepared. Also you have to be selective of what job of Gobbies to kill (hint: avoid WHM). You don't want them to be too tough for Carby to handle either.

They can be found at:
All over Vana'diel >_>
The Oasis in Altepa Desert is a recommended spot

Bees
Also within the 'able-to-self-destruct' category. Bees are relatively easier to kill, but can potentially take longer depending on how often they do Pollen (very unfair healing move). Their self-destruct move is Final Sting and does a shit-load of damage, with the only good thing about it is that it is SINGLE-target. It can trigger anytime when the bee is less than 50%. Single-target makes it possible for you to melee alongside your Carby (to suit your own preference, depending on difference of mob level and yourself, it can be done)

Found at:
Crawlers Nest
Temple of Uggalepih

Dolls
The last of the exploding series of mobs. Dolls are quite dangerous to kill. Like bombs, they are arcana and aggro to magic, so their camp spots are usually relatively dangerous for a carby-kiting Summoner. Their life-expending move is Meltdown, an AoE fire damage move. It doesn't fail, so it will always kill the doll. Drawback to this is that it only usually triggers when the dolls hp is like 30% or less, if at all.

Found at:
Beaucedine Glacier
Xarcabard (i think)
Ru'Aun Gardens

Worms
These mobs are different from the rest that SMN can solo in that you HAVE to kill them completely. The only reason why SMN can solo these is because they attack with their pets and the mob cannot really reach the SMN to kill him off. Soloing worms is a dreadfully slow to gain exp, and you'll have to go thru many rounds of Carby. You can however (if u can afford the drinks) solo these at lower levels as well.

Found at:
Gustaberg Region
King Ranperre's Tomb
Korroloka Tunnel
Attowah Chasm
Kuftal Tunnel
Den of Rancor

Summoner-only Parties and AstralBurn Parties
While these do not constitute soloing in any way, many Summoner-only parties can be formed under the same basis fighting mobs that SMN can solo. Some have found such methods to be safer and still can reap great exp.
3-4 Summoners sic-ing their Carby's on Bombs or Worms can make the process faster, safer and less monotonous in the long run, but it really up to you whether you want to solo now isn't it? And you can't always find another SMN within same level.

AstralBurn Parties, these come at lv 70+, where a party of summoners (usually with a refresher) will all summon avatars to do LV70 BloodPacts to finish off the mob. Here are some possibilities.

Skeletons in King Ranperre's Tomb
Pots in Shrine of Ru'Avitau
Bombs in Ifrit's Cauldron or Uleguerand Range