[Skivvy]

Hi Guys,

I'm sorry if this type of post comes up every week, but I couldn't find the answer on my own. D:

I'm still new'ish to SMN (level 54), and have exp'd mainly in parties up to this point (not burned), so my soloing skills are fairly weak. Seeing that party invites have become pretty darn slow now, I figured I would try my luck with the bombs down in Garlaige. While I have a general understanding of how to carby-kite, I think I must be doing something wrong.

Example from a couple of days ago:

Pulled a bomb, and things were fine for about 3-4 carby summons. The bomb never even gave me a second look, so I thought my hate was fine. Up until this point, I had been waiting until Carby got a hit on the thing before I ran to my next summoning location. On previous bombs this didn't always work out due to me not being far enough away at times, and so I figured I would try to start running to my next spot as soon as Carby appeared. Bad idea as the bomb totally ignored Carby and gobbled me up right away (taru HP is a sad thing ; ; ).

My kite path may have also been an issue here. I was kiting in a straight line (end of the tunnel leading to the bombs, and then heading W, hugging the wall), summoning at each end.

When reading the sticky, I saw this:
"If you have never gotten hate on yourself from the bomb directly (like casting magic or performing any move close to it), 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."

In my interpretation of that, I should have been fine. D:

So I guess my questions are should that have happened in the first place? Should I not be kiting in a straight line? How long does it take for the hate of the initial "assault" to wear off? If there is anything else that I'm blatantly missing, please let me know ^^;


Sorry this got so damn lengthy! :X

This post has been edited by Skivvy: 15 April 2010 - 04:33 PM

[spira]

ah. i guess i could have been clearer on that.

what I mean by 'hate gained from carby simply going to attack' is the act of carby attempting to attack. As in, when she engages the bomb, whether or not she hits wouldn't matter. She would take hate instantly.
but it would require that action to be before the bomb has reached you

If you're hate free, you'll still want carby to be between you and the mob until you're sure he's established hate from hitting/missing. So its good to wait out before running.
Straight line kiting is doable but you'll know that there is always risk when you pass by the bomb. Almost all the viable camps I listed are in effect 'single line' kite paths that are exposed to the same risks, although it might have 3 or more 'stops'.
In the cases where you're running away from the bomb, you can definitely do this early, UNLESS the bomb has significant hate on you, and will continue to follow you instead of being stalled by Carby.

Using a defensive positioning (carby between u and bomb), in the event that carby doesn't get hate even when she misses, you'll need to consider where you might have built hate unconsciously. Recasting carby is where you'll need to be most careful because the hate register radius of magic is very wide (approx 30' iirc, altho 20' for initial magic aggro), which means you'll want to complete casting carby before the mob gets in that range.

Hope this helps.
Soloing is fun and definitely a skill worth picking up for SMN, but if you're in it for EXP then you should also consider doing Campaign which can easily net more EXP in the same given time at less risk.

[Greeber]

It was most likely because u were too close when carby was casted...i died quite a few times because the bomb would get right with in 30` as i casted. A little trick to know ur safe, if u casted before the bomb reaches the 30` mark, carby will move/aggro and move toward the bomb before the bomb reaches u.

[Skivvy]

Thank you both for the replies!

It seems my issue from the other day was that I took off running IMMEDIATELY after I summoned Carby. I didn't give him a chance to engage the bomb. Through trial and error, I have figured out (for the most part) when I'm too close to summon Carby safely. If I don't have enough time, I'll summon a spirit instead and resume with Carby once I get to my next spot. But thank you for bringing that up as well

Regarding Campaign, is it worthwhile to try at my level (still 54)? I think with melee, they suggest 60-65 to start...not sure if the same holds true for mages. And once I do start, do you have any suggestions for maxing the exp?

Thanks again

[spira]

i honestly dont know for sure, since i hit 75 well before campaign was introduced, but i do know that exp in campaign is easy to come by as SMN..

the only tips i can give are lame stuff like try not to die
ie to say, do Bastok campaign cos theres no AoEs from normal quadavs.. but avoid pashhow and gustaberg.. learn to face the front of the Quadav while doing damage.
for now you can probably go with Carby for long run use. meteorite for damage and go ahead and melee lol.

come to think of it, does sound kinda harsh...
i guess its up to you if you want to try so early.

[Skivvy]

spira, on 16 April 2010 - 12:33 PM, said:

i honestly dont know for sure, since i hit 75 well before campaign was introduced, but i do know that exp in campaign is easy to come by as SMN..

the only tips i can give are lame stuff like try not to die
ie to say, do Bastok campaign cos theres no AoEs from normal quadavs.. but avoid pashhow and gustaberg.. learn to face the front of the Quadav while doing damage.
for now you can probably go with Carby for long run use. meteorite for damage and go ahead and melee lol.

come to think of it, does sound kinda harsh...
i guess its up to you if you want to try so early.

I'll give it a shot At least there is no exp loss on death in campaign. Besides, I seem to have horrible luck on bombs as they all like to hang on until the bitter end, self-destructing around 15%.

[Tikki]

Campaign might be ok. Just remember to do a good amount of raising and curing. Once you get Healing Ruby II, it's awesome. Buffs ain't bad. Not worth a ton, but every little bit helps. Things are easy to hit, too. If you're against Quadav with no AoEs, get in and melee for a little more exp. And because I can't emphasize this enough, RAISE PEOPLE! It's surprisingly good exp and helps you get things done overall.