Lost In The Crowd

I’ve never been a fan of Campaign, I find it is a great way to recap buffer on most of job but that’s it. I don’t spend hours to do campaign, I find it very boring fighting same monster over and over and most of the time nobody bother to work with others (read: cure) if you are melee job you are obliged to sub WHM for Reraise or you are fucked when you died because nobody give a shit about you, it was pretty frustrated to me. I have about 120K Allied Note since Campaign was released a year ago and barely maintain current rank.

With addition of ANNM in latest version update I will need to participate in Campaign a lot more, basically I need to get at least 7,500 Allied Note every day if I want to do ANNM every day. I would love to do ANNM every day because it is decent way to make money but I realize my Allied Note won’t keep up after few weeks or so and I can’t imagine myself doing Campaign every moment I online either, so twice a week as my current schedule is good enough for me.

If you are not familiar with ANNM, ANNM is just another BCNM style battle. It requires key item called XXX-Labeled Crate while XXX depends on nation of key item, this mean you can do up to 3 battles (one each nation) per real life day. Key item cost 1,500 Allied Note for nation you are allied with and 3,000 Allied Note for other nation key item, basically 7,500 if you want to do 3 nations. Everyone in your party need this key item to participate in battlefield, but don’t worry if someone in your party don’t have key item the game won’t let you initiate the fight until everyone have key item (not like some other events that game just won’t allow that guy who doesn’t have key item enter and your party is pretty much screwed because of that). You can buff and get TP before start battle.

One little important note is you can’t wander far away from where Shredded Label is originally located because if you do you will be rejected from the battle (similar to other of your party member has /blocked aid on, or when you died in Garrison) and can’t get back in, but again don’t worry because the game will tell you when you are about to go outside battlefield perimeter in red text colored. You don’t have to move back in right away but text will continue to show up until you do, just move in when it comforts you and don’t go further.

Let’s start with Batallia Downs (S), Sandorian area level 75 capped battlefield. Shredded Label is located in a small cave close to fortification at K-7.

Courtesy of http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Batallia_Downs/Maps

You will encounter

• Scythefang Liger (Tiger) x 1
• Tusked Tigon (Tiger) x 6

I consider this is the easiest ANNM battlefield so far. Party doesn’t require any fancy setup other than tank/DD/sleeper combination, here is my usual set up.

• PLD/NIN
• DRK/NIN
• WAR/NIN or RNG/SAM
• BLM/WHM
• RDM/WHM
• WHM/SCH

Strategy is simple, keep all Tusked Tigons slept and take them down one by one while tank hold boss and take it down after all add die. Tusked Tigon takes normal damage from both physical or magical type of damage and don’t have any resistance to sleep from what I can tell. I always pop them to buy more time for BLM to land Sleepga 2. I usually pop > flash boss then use Sentinel and pull boss a bit away and tank it there, toss cure on BLM so I ‘m on all add hate list. Being on all add hate list is useful when your BLM Sleepga 2 get interrupted most of the time mob will go after me instead of BLM, give him more room to cast Sleepga 2 again.

Scythefang Liger has 2 stances, one is it normal another is spam roar over and over. It will switch stance around entire course of fight, roar stance is pretty much break time because you can just run away and it won’t chase you but stand there spam roar over and over (which hit nobody). If you have dedicated healer that willing to spam Paralyna on you then you might want to just melee it and speed a fight up a little, I used to do that but rather stay out of roar range instead so mages can get some MP or focus on other DD that taking down adds.

After all add die the fight turn to Paralyna spam I have dedicated healer to cure paralyze each melee and it works well, try to stun Disorienting Wail (AoE anmesia) if you can too!  and enjoy your loots after, I have yet to get any good augmented gears from treasure chest though

Next up, Garlaige Citadel (S).