Solo Guide by Xoo


 * I'm writing this guide to help those who wish to successfully solo their jobs instead of waiting long hours for party invites, or having to deal with the monotony and strain of EXP parties. A few jobs, such as: Summoner and Dragoon are not the primary subject of this guide.  Playing solo, especially with the addition of Fields of Valor enhancements, can be quite rewarding in many ways:


 * You are not bound to a group, nor any obligations therein, and therefore you play exactly the length of time you wish and under the conditions you desire, and no more.
 * All drops are yours, which include: Gil, Beastmen and Kindred seals and everything from crystals to profitable hides among other miscellaneous items.
 * Because your prey will range from Easy Prey up to Even Match, you may actually make a nice return from your drops being that you do not have to wear HQ gear, nor eat expensive food if you choose not to. Although, it is still best to keep your gear up to par.
 * You can, of course, opt to solo while looking for party. However, should you choose to do so, I would recommend that you go prepared to quickly warp back to town and head directly to camp.  No one likes waiting an extended amount of time because you want to finish your Fields of Valor page or Campaign, either.
 * 99% of this guide revolves around completing Fields of Valor pages, and at the same time, employing its enhancing advantages. You will gain Tabs, EXP, and Gil quickly as you complete these pages one after the other.
 * I have personally experienced upward of 11,000 exp/hour while playing solo under optimal conditions (Empress Band only); this number will rise and fall given the area and the monsters' weaknesses versus your method of attack.


 * There are some big negatives concerned with soloing, as well. You may soon decide that going at it alone just isn't for you for the following reasons:


 * Most often, this guide will promote the rampaging of Easy Prey mobs, which will gimp your weapons' skill by upward of 10 levels from its cap. For this reason, I highly suggest you engage Even Match monsters on the occasion simply to keep your skills up.
 * Death is always a high factor when playing solo, yet, as you'll discover in this guide, I offer a few useful tips in which to greatly minimize this threat.
 * Because this guide will focus heavily on using Beastmaster as a support job, certain jobs, such as Thief and Ninja, have an extremely low score in CHR and thus require extra caution, gear and possibly food to alleviate this disadvantage. Xoo is a Mithra, and while soloing Ninja, I never had to use food, even though charming Easy Prey could be difficult at times (up to 5x Charm failure).
 * Even though you can play in any equipment of your choosing, it is highly advised that you stack one of two attributes as high as possible: AGI/EVA and/or VIT/DEF. Items such as Emperor Hairpin can be quite costly, however highly advised for your head slot.  Since you are essentially operating as your own tank, damage dealer and healer, reducing the amount of damage you take will keep you off the ground and in the fight.
 * There are some jobs, such as Dragoon and Summoner, which can almost be defaulted out of this guide, as they are jobs which are designed with pets of their own. It does not make them weaker as soloists; simply, a different support job such as Ninja or White Mage would better suit them.

 WHAT YOU WILL NEED :

Before getting started, you should know that this guide almost requires the Fields of Valor enhancements Regen and/or Refresh (where applicable) for greatest efficiency. Thus, I suggest you primarily choose areas in which a Field Manual can be found. Also, the attainment of Outpost warps to your hunting grounds will greatly reduce time spent and wasted reaching them. If you choose soloing as your primary method of EXP, set your Home Point accordingly.

Beastmaster as a support job is absolutely essential to performing within this guide. Unlock it by completing the quests, Save My Son and Path of the Beastmaster, and solo your way to a desired level. Playing this job will familiarize you with Charming and Gauging as well as the inherent dangers and advantages of employing a monster to fight alongside you. Some will advise you to simply melee your way from BST1 to Lv15, but as you gain Charm at Lv1, I suggest you Charm mobs from the very beginning.

NECESSARY EQUIPMENT :

Necessary for drawing in surrounding monsters, and pulling monsters away from danger.
 * Noble's Ribbon - (Head; Lv14 All Jobs) CHR+3, All Elements +3 - macro-in for Charm.
 * Bird Whistle - (Neck; Lv15 All Jobs) CHR+3, HP+5 - macro-in for Charm.
 * Hope Ring - (Ring; Lv14 All Jobs) CHR+2, Light+4 - macro-in for Charm.
 * Ranged Attack - (Bow, Crossbow, Boomerang, Ammo) -

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT :

(Use this as a macro-in for Charm if you choose, at a total loss of TP.) Tonosama Rice Ball (30min. HP+15, DEX+3, VIT+3, CHR+3) Flint Caviar (30min. CHR+4, HP/MP+10, DEX+4) Tavnazian Salad (CHR+4, HP/MP+20, AGI/DEX+4, VIT+6, DEF+25%) Tuna Sushi (60min. CHR+5, HP+20, DEX+3, ACC+16%, rACC+16%) Even though you will amass various medicines from Treasure Caskets, carrying a few Hi-Potions, Echo Drops, Antidotes, etc. is always a good idea.
 * Monster Signa - (Main; Lv17 WAR/MNK/WHM/BLM/RDM/BST/BRD/SMN/SCH)
 * Food:
 * Medicine:

 MACROS : (These are the macro sets I use; you may find a different combination works best for you.)

Charm:
 * /equip Head "Noble's Ribbon"
 * /equip Neck "Bird Whistle"
 * /equip Ring1 "Hope Ring"
 * /equip Ring2 "Hope Ring"
 * /ja "Charm" 

(You will need to make a separate macro for full-time equips.)

Fight:
 * /target
 * /pet "Fight" 

(The first line is unnecessary, I simply use it as a personal preference.)

 THE BATTLE SCENARIO : There are a few things you need to know regarding target mobs, your ability to charm them, the duration of the charm, and the role you will play in the fight. As a rule of thumb, if you choose to charm Decent Challenge and up, it is best to allow your pet to tank so that by the time their charm duration has expired, it is already dead or very near. I am basing these approximations from my experience while soloing as NIN/BST on an empty stomach:

The Breakdown :

Easy Prey (EVA- DEF-): 93% Charm success rate; 8.10min. duration. The Charm: Do not pet these, they are best as exp/drop targets. The Fight: Command your pet onto one of these as you solo an additional. Easy Prey (EVA+ DEF-): 90% Charm success rate; 7.40min. duration. The Charm: Pet sparingly, best as exp/drop targets. The Fight: Command your pet onto one of these as you solo an additional. Easy Prey (EVA= DEF=): 88% Charm success rate; 7.10min. duration. The Charm: Pet as needed, best as exp/drop targets. The Fight: Command your pet as needed. Easy Prey (EVA+ DEF=): 85% Charm success rate; 6.40min. duration. The Charm: Pet as needed. The Fight: Command your pet as needed. Easy Prey (EVA+ DEF+): 81% Charm success rate; 6.10min. duration. The Charm: Pet as needed. The Fight: Command your pet as needed.

Decent Challenge (EVA- DEF-): 78% Charm success rate; 5.40min. duration. The Charm: Pet these with caution. The Fight: Command your pet alongside you, stalling your attack, allowing it to tank. Decent Challenge (EVA+ DEF-): 75% Charm success rate; 5.10min. duration. The Charm: Pet with moderate caution. The Fight: Command your pet alongside you, allow it to tank. Decent Challenge (EVA= DEF=): 71% Charm success rate; 4.40min. duration. The Charm: Pet with moderate caution. The Fight: Command your pet alongside you, allow it to tank. Decent Challenge (EVA+ DEF=): 66% Charm success rate; 4.10min. duration. The Charm: Pet with high caution. Not reccomended without food. The Fight: Command your pet alongside you, allow it to tank. Decent Challenge (EVA+ DEF+): 62% Charm success rate; 3.40min. duration. The Charm: Pet with high caution. Not reccomended without food. The Fight: Command your pet alongside you, allow it to tank.

Attempting to Charm anything higher than Decent Challenge is, in my opinion, impractical and extremely dangerous unless your main job happens to be Dancer, Bard, or Beastmaster itself. If you choose to repetitively fight Even Match, then by all means make your primary pets Decent Challenge or above.

 YOUR ADVANTAGES : Playing a job with Beastmaster as a support job, you always have the option of charming your current target if death is imminent. Charm also has an inherent binding effect that has a very short duration. You can also and command your pet to attack links and mob pets. If your current camping grounds are full of dangerous monsters beyond your capability to defeat, it is a good rule of thumb to know your zones and stay near them while fighting.