Puppetmaster: The Definitive Solo Guide by Guwhenivar

Introduction:

 * Square Enix declared PUP to be the newest SOLO class job among the Aht Urhgan job classes of BLU, COR, and PUP. Prior to these jobs, BST was and still is considered the premier solo class of the game. As such, BST was my comparison for this job as a solo class. As an avid career solo artist in this game having soloed BST to 75 and much of BLU, I took it upon myself to put SE's proclamation to the test. If you're a fan of soloing as I am, then from the start of leveling PUP you notice that your Automaton is not at all like a BST pet. It doesn't have the HP, defense, or the healing ability to tank anything like a BST pet. With 3 evasion boost job traits it becomes apparent that SE was thinking something completely opposite of BST. The character becomes the tank instead of the pet.


 * THIS IS A GUIDE THAT IS OPEN TO EDITING BY ANY PUPPETMASTERS OUT THERE WITH INFORMATION TO ADD, CORRECT, OR IMPROVE UPON THIS GUIDE. FEEL FREE TO ADD CAMPS AND LEVEL RANGES, AS WELL AS TACTICS VS SPECIFIC MOB TYPES. IN THE SOLO SKILLCHAINS SECTION ADD ANY THAT ARE NOT THERE IF YOU KNOW OF THEM AND HAVE TESTED THEM TO BE TRUE.

SOLO Tips
Seeing as the master is the tank, you will want to gear up with as much Evasion + gear as possible. At level 10, to become even remotely successful at soloing pup, you will need to quest the Stormwaker body and head. Although Harley Head can heal and enfeeble, it simply doesn't have the MP pool of stormwaker, or the offensive spells to speed along kills in the lower levels. The attachment Flash also comes in extremely handy to enhance your Evasion skills, get this as soon as possible, you'll use it all the way to end game.

ACTIVATE & DEACTIVATE
In order to keep my Automatons Melee skills capped at the C rating of stormwaker, I tried my best to fight monsters with no offensive AoE spells, in order to keep the automatons HP at 100% and permit the automaton to melee behind the mob. If you can manage to keep stoneskin on your pup and finish fights with full HP, you can do the Deactivate then Activate trick for full MP on your pup, allowing for almost 0 downtime, and actually producing experience chains. Some examples of these monsters would be bats, beetles, and birds. All frontal TP moves, easily avoidable by the automaton, or like bats ultrasonics move, does not effect HP. A chain 2 will be the highest you will see for some time due to the length of the fights vs. Even Match and Tough monsters. You may need to deactivate and activate your pup in the middle of the fight if there MP pool is getting low, or a status like silence is on your pet and no eraser attachment is being used. Done properly, it is possible to solo VT mobs if the proper enfeebles like blind and paralyze are kept on the mob. This can be tricky with the delay between spells and the maneuvers required to force those spells, not to mention whether or not your automatons magic skills are capped. Because of the Deactivate and Activate trick i use to reduce downtime between fights, I have always subbed warrior for the added hate control of Provoke. Your Automaton MUST be at 100% HP in order to perform this move correctly, or you will endure a 20 min penalty recast time on Activate, unless you are near a mog and can change your job real fast. There are some camps where this is possible and actually be helpful. Near to zone lines for the towns where nomad moogles are close at hand. Later in the guide, i will detail an equipment list for pup for solo. Focusing primarily on evasion gear.


 * To better keep an eye on your Automatons HP before using the Deactivate/Activate trick use the following macro:
 * /echo
 * If it is at 100% after using this macro it is safe to use the deactivate command and reactivate your automaton without the penalty. Do not rely on your eyes looking at the health bar as this can be misleading. It will appear full at 99% but not be. Personally I put this macro into my PROVOKE macro along with the pets TP.

SOLO vs PARTY

 * You will be using either Stormwaker head, or Soulsoother head the majority of the time you solo. It is by that fact that when you do happen across a PT invite or wish to make your own pt, you should focus on your melee frames like Valoredge and Sharpshot for no better reason then to keep your skills capped. Some pts will require the additional fire support of the BLM head, however, i strongly discourage this unless you never intend to use your melee frames. At endgame, Valoredge has an incredibly high and impressive HP pool. When you've unlocked merited abilities like Role reversal, you can swap out that HP for your own FULL hp. Or give your HP to your Automaton. An extremely useful "trick" in multiple scenarios, and the HP pool of Valoredge lets you capitalize on it more so then the Stormwaker frame.

(Side note by another puppetmaster) In most cases, parties will tell you to use the soulsoother to cure the party. Unless against Greater Colibri.

SOLO SKILL CHAINS
The Automaton and the Master can produce skillchains solo if they so wish. Prior to level 51 and the higher tier weapon skills for your Automaton, all you will be able to accomplish is the Detonation skill chain with your stormwaker frame. Pretty weak, but it adds more damage regardless. If you use your sharpshot frame, Arcubalista > Raging Fists will produce a Fusion SC. Wait for your automaton to execute his WS first then follow up with one of your own. The following macro will help you to keep an eye on its current TP percentage.

/echo Once again, I put these into my most commonly used macro of PROVOKE. You can put this and automoton HP into its own individual macro or add it to any other you choose. This was just my preferance. Following is an example of my provoke macro page. Notice that there are still 3 available lines for any other macros you may want to add. I also put the tp and hp macro into my /attack  for the occasional PT or for endgame stuff.


 * /ja "Provoke" 
 * /recast "Provoke"
 * /echo HP TP

Known SkillChains

 * Combo > Chimera Ripper = Detonation
 * Slapstick > Combo = Impaction
 * Knockout > Combo = Detonation
 * Arcuballista > Raging Fists = Fusion
 * Shoulder Tackle > Arcuballista = Liquefaction
 * Howling Fist > Cannibal Blade = Compression
 * Cannibal Blade > Howling Fist = Transfixion
 * Magic Mortar > Dragon Kick = Light
 * Shoulder Tackle > Slapstick = Impaction
 * Howling Fist > Knockout = Distortion

AUTOMATON MP
Id like to make a note on the MP for your Auto. Currently there is NO WAY to /check your automatons MP other then fully opening up the Auto's Equipment menu. No macro has yet to be found for this. Hopefully, SE will change this someday, but currently, there isn't a macro to check it.

ADVENTURING FELLOW
One last bit of advice for this solo introduction to pup. Get an adventuring fellow, set it to fighter, and level it with your pup at every opportunity. PUPs C rating in h2h needs some additional damage support to speed along higher chains, and the recast time of your pup simply doesn't allow for fast nuking. Your personal NPC can put out some impressive damage with you tanking, and the automaton healing. Now, i wish you all good luck, watch out for links, and don't be afraid to "emergency log" if you've bit off more then you can chew.

PUP Solo guide, THE CAMPS
(Note by Heicko) With the addition of FoV there are new factors to bring into where you should be soloing. In some situations there is a Field manual offering pages against the recommended monsters in this guide, which is great. Though what I have found, is that some areas that do have Field manuals situated in them but ask you to take on monsters not listed as targets in this guide. In most cases I will get the FoV and just deal with the slightly less ideal monsters as recommended but the exp bonus is more than worth it in most situations. Then filling up the wait between training regimes with the recommended monsters where possible. Always take into account what training regimes are avalaible for your level and hopefully you should get more exp faster.

1-10 Any of the starting areas

11-15 Any of the starting Crag area's.

15-20 Maze of Shakhrami
Worms- Maze makers.

At level 18 your stormwaker will gain access to the silence spell. Start fights with no maneuvers active if using stormwaker. First spell cast will be silence, significantly reducing the worms offensive abilities.

20-25 Korroloka Tunnel
fight worms

Same strategy as Maze of shakrami.

25-30 Maze of Shakhrami
- Abyss worms.

again, worm strat. keep em silenced.

alternate camp

25-29 Qufim Island
Worms untill 27~28, then bats from 27~29. If you haven't been using the Eraser attachment before now for the Accuracy down effect of sandspin, you WILL want it for bats now and in the future for the Evasion Down moves. The only downside to this, is your pet needs to stay out of the melee range, or else it will prioritize itself for the eraser over you, the tank. Or... use the Deactivate/Activate trick to immediately remove the Evasion down status from your Auto, then toss up a Light Manny for an erase on yourself. Use this trick often for any other mobs/status ailments. Be sure to fight far far away from any undead at night due the blood aggroe.

(Note by Heicko) The FoV can be used in conjunction with this camp and the exp is great. Though it lacks a page which targets the worms or bats to a high degree and makes the clippers and pugils the main focus. Clippers were harder fights to close as they stack up the defense but are managable. The pugils can be slightly tougher but you can handle them. By using the pages and then filling in the space between aquiring pages with worms and bats the exp is great.

28-32 Lower Delkfutt's Tower
Prey: Gigas

Given you have stormwaker by this point for some healing, this is more than just a viable camp. Gigas have horrible acc and eva, so hitting them is no problem and your pup easily keeps you alive, and once you're 30+ you can very well kill either of the NM gigases Hippolytos or Epialtes that spawns on the second floor. Drops Gigas Bracelets. I found this camp to be very enjoyable and fun and great exp. I'm also a firm believer in avoiding worms if possible though, 45 going strong w/o a single worm count other than in West Ronfaure. Subbing Dancer does wonders 30+.

28-32 Korroloka Tunnel
anything and everything you can find that won't link with any surrounding mobs. This camp is fun. fight everything from easy prey to tough. go nuts, learn the ins and outs of the way you can solo at this camp, and attempt chain's. Be sure to /check your targets prior to engaging to give yourself an idea of how the fight will flow. This camp and these levels will be your first true step to soloing your pup.

32-37 Lufaise Meadows
Camp at the zone line to Tavnazian Safehold for the first few levels. If you link any bee's, the zone line is right there at the camp and you can simply zone to save your butt and your exp. Bee's are difficult targets to tank. Period. Pollen can restore a lot of their HP... A LOT. And their other TP move Final Sting WILL kill you if they use it at or around 50% or more of their health. Needless to say, this camp can really be a pain in the butt. But setting your Home Point in the safehold and changing jobs to restore HP rather then heal forever will get you those levels soon enough, probably faster then looking for a party will. Kill sheep as soon as they start checking even match, or try them as tough. When they use sheep song, use the Deactivate, Activate trick to wake up your automaton, toss up a light manny before setting your auto to fight the sheep, and his first spell many times will be a Cure.

ALTERNATE CAMP

32-44 Eastern Altepa Desert
For those without access to CoP areas like the above, this is your next best bet. Fight worms and spiders until you reach lvl 35, set HP in Rabao. Sickle Slash is alot like Final Sting in that it can completely waste your characters HP instantly. As your level increases, Take on beetles, then dhalmels. Know where all the zone lines are at in case you have to run/zone. Start out camping near the zone line directly East of the tele crystal. This is where you will be noticing how slow the fights go. Some fights will last up to 6 or 8 min, and the only way you'll survive is with carefully timed Deactivate, Activate tactics. At level 40 I recommend switching from the RDM head pup to the Soulsoother/WHM head pup. Their Regen casting and focus on HP will increase your survivability and decrease downtime. Piece of advice is if you notice a Beastmaster soloing in the area, close to your level, team up together and chain to your hearts delight. When fighting the Beetles, be careful of there evasion down move as your evasion is probably your most precious commodity as the tank. When fighting dhalmels, don't hit your head on the keyboard or throw your controller when they use healing breeze (side note, this move links other dhalmel) fight them away from other dhalmel, wait and pray they use Berserk, and use that moment to use your TP as berserk gives them a pretty potent defense down side effect.

(Note by Heicko) The slow fights are made up to a degree with the addition of the FoV and it targets the mobs we would be taking anyway so it gives a nice bonus and speeds along the grind.

39-43 Riverne - Site A01
For those with the access to it, this is a great camp for soloing as theres little competition if any at all. People, including BST's, tend to ignore the level capped zones for soloing. They're scared. Dont be. Keep your Automaton Behind the birds when fighting and let it melee. When fighting the Hawkertraps, keep it out of range of there Paralyze TP move. And if its the soulsoother head your using, paralyna will follow shortly after.
 * Take care in the Level capped zones when zoning in and out. Your Automoton will despawn and incur the 20 min penalty if the zone is a lower level then your currently activated Frame. Much the same way with the Level Sync function and pets despawning.

44-60 Refer to the Beastmaster Viable Hunting Grounds
Use the Beastmaster Viable Hunting Grounds.
 * FOCUS ON NON-AOE TP USING MOBBS WHEN USING THE GUIDE
 * 45-47 I used Worker Crawlers then Goblins in Yhoator Jungle, if your like me and easier mobs with slightly less exp don't bother you, you can easily stay here till 50.
 * 45-52 I would use Gustav Tunnel. A great spot with some overlap.
 * 52-55 Crawlers' Nest
 * 55-60 Goblins in Western Altepa Desert. They are in the SW corner around a lake.  With the Soulsoother head, I never went below 80%.

~MINOR NOTE~
 * Be careful of the Goblin TP move Bomb Toss when soloing them! Potentially reduces your ability to chain.

(Note by Heicko) If your wanting to focus on doing FoV alongside your soloing then moving into Western Altepa desert is good exp and offers pages that can keep you there from level 40-50 just adjusting what pages you take as you get along.

60-70 Campaign
AT 60 you can use Campaign Battles, to make a slow but steady crawl to 70.

60-70 non-Campaign
Focus on birds, and other targets that are weak to piercing. Lady Bugs work well. A full list of possible targets: Bees, Bats, Lady Bugs, Birds, and Flies. There are a few others but this should be good.

70-75 The home stretch
FROM 70 TO 72, MORE CAMPAIGN BATTLES BEFORE I MOVED TO SKY, AND TARGETED FLAMINGOS. THE FLAMINGOS IN SKY TOOK ME TO 75.

=EQUIPMENT=

HEAD


great for the price on AH and can be quested.



you will use this FOREVER, take the time to camp the NM, save yourself some gil.



Takes a Little bit of work for you to quest but well worth it. Accuracy and Evasion, Nuff said.

BODY


This is the only note worthy body piece for soloing prior to your wool doublet+1.



This is another one of those pieces that will last you many many levels, make the investment and buy one or have a friend with high level CC try to make ya one.



An upgrade to your Wool Doublet+1, higher def, but its a matter of preference. If you have the Conquest Points required and the rank, go ahead and get one. Can't go wrong with more Def.



Only the +1 is really worth the gil and investment over the RKA. The Normal Quality has the same Evasion as Royal Knights. If your a nut for the resistant bonuses go ahead and get the NQ for a barely noticeable increase in def and some magic.



Okay, this is why I put this up here. No it doesn't have any bonus to your evasion, BUT the critical bonus on this helps with your over all DoT. As well as the Accuracy.. helping you to maintain hate off your pet and speed up kills just a little faster.



If you can manage to get this puppy, you'll likely never use anything else on your pup again. Unless you can get Usukane.

HANDS


These are a drop from the Treasure Chest in King Ronpeire's Tomb. Fairly easy to get. And for the lazy among us, there usually pretty cheap on AH. However you go about getting them, -GET THEM- these last forever (sux that there mitten graphics but hey, nothing beats the stats or the longevity of them.)



Slightly more evasion then the Gloves. However, I feel obligated to inform you that your Accuracy sux with C rating, and the gloves above simply have more benefit with the accuracy on them then these. BUT if you really feel that the +2 evasion is that much more important then the accuracy, go ahead a get them. If your out soloing who cares right?



Personally speaking here, these permanently replaced my Battle Gloves. The AGI gives ~some~ boost to evasion at least, and the reduction in overload is very noticeable and increases your survivability while soloing. God knows it sux to toss up a Light manny for a much needed cure5 and you overload -.-



I'm not putting up the Tabin +1 since they have the same acc and eva as battle gloves. These give you one more level of evasion then the Battle Gloves. I never used them, preferring the AF hands. But I know someone out there will throw a conniption fit over the Tabin+1 cuz they got more def and a whooping whole 3 attack on them.



Work to get them, love them, cherish them.

LEGS


Great Bang for the buck. Drop from level20 Cript Ghost non-NM standard mobbs in King Ranpeere's Tomb



An upgrade to the above. Windurst conquest rank 4. These will last you a long time as well. I still use these at end game for lack of anything else for pup with +Evasion on it. You can use whatever you like obviously. However the Raven Jupon set has all that nasty -enmity on it. Putting your Auto at risk of gaining hate faster..

FEET


Drop from lvl13 NM in Giddeus. Easy to get, and generally cheap on AH



The NQ have evasion +4 and slightly less def. These are another of those pieces that just last forever though, so I recommend getting the +1.



Battle Gloves for your Feet. Slightly less evasion then the Above, but more def, so its your call what you prefer. If you have Evasion merits from another job, then go ahead and get these.



The NQ have +6 evasion. Whether you get the NQ or HQ, this piece of armor is the most evasion you can get on any single slot minus your Optical Hat and Aketon +1.

NECK


Get it- don't ask 'should I?- just get it- for those times when your just spamming maneuvers like crazy



For those times when your NOT spammming Maneuvers and just tanking



An upgrade to the spirit torque. Pricey, but worth the investment if you solo alot

EARRINGS


All of the above are your available options for evasion, check their respective pages on how to get them.



This beauty is for when you gotta Heal your little guy in tight spots. Not that easy to get, but worth the time and effort.

RINGS
Prior to the ring images posted focus on your +Dex rings and +Agi preference mainly- more acc or more evasion



The above are your choices for Accuracy while soloing. Sniper's and Woodsman should be avoided like the plague due to there detrimental stats to tanking



She's a fun toy for tanking, get one if ya can.



For all you evasion whores out there, this ones for you.



The KINGS of the RING (pun)- if you have any of these, you know you should be using it. Rajas has its benefits for soloing as well with the Subtle Blow and Store TP traits, giving the mob slightly less tp per swing (so he don't nail you with some nasty move) and giving you more TP so you can kill it faster.

WAIST


better option then anything previous and usefull for solo



Most likely to be your belt of choice for a long long long time. Get used to it.



Use it if you can get it. The slight haste boost can increase your attack speed and DoT. And if your using a mage sub reduce your recast timers.



Just an upgrade from your Life Belt. Many PUPs will choose to keep their life belt in favor of the more accuracy in one slot though.

BACK


Get the NQ if you're poor.



As far as soloing goes you'll be using this for a hella long time. Pending any endgame toys like Boxers.



An alternative to the evasion capes.



The be-all end-all for tanking/soloing back piece for PUP. Evasion and Guard skill +10... need I say more.

=Closing comments and helpful tips = GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, AND LAMENT THE DAY YOU REACH 75, BECAUSE YOU WILL MISS SOLOING PUP AT ALL THE DIFFERENT CAMPS, AND BECOME LIMITED TO ONLY A SELECT FEW CAMPS TO SKILL/MERIT YOUR FRAMES. EXPLORE... FIND NEW CAMPS ALL THE TIME... LEARN WHAT IT IS TO BE A SOLO CLASS JOB IN THIS GAME. THERE'S A REASON WHY THEY'RE ALL SO COCKY.-