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#1 Dec 09 2005 at 9:29 PM Rating: Excellent
Well, I suppose this is just me on a little rant.

Here's the thing, I think I'm playing this game on hard or something. Since I started playing, I've always tried to do things the right way. You know how you can save gil if you go out and camp the mob that drops the item? Well, I've always loved NMs and since day one have chosen to camp the NM opposed to buying the item, but lately I've been feeling defeated, and here's why.

90% of the tasks in this game are "Travel to XXX and kill YYY until you get the rare drop ZZZ" Well, looking back I think it's always taken me longer. Just some stats:

First NM I ever camped,
Tunbling Truffle - 1/25 (This isn't even a good drop)
Orcish Wallbracher + the other one that spawns here 0/30
Valkurm Emperor - 1/7
Leaping Lizzy - 1/7
Hoo Mjuu the Torrent - 1/15
Cactuar Cantautor (Kung Fu Shoes) 1/18

And various other NM while rarely ever aquiring a drop.

But lately it's been worse.

My BRD is 56 now, I've been trying to get a Subligar from the BST in Sacrarium. I've taken 4 parties there on seperate occasions. I must have killed 50+ BST with no drop. It's incredible to me, and the worst part is, I have to bring a whole party to do it. If I could just grab a friend and duo them like I do with MNK/NIN at level 75, I'd do it. But instead I have to spam my LS asking for help, which bugs the **** out of me. Likewise, they all think of that place as the last place they wanna be, so it's like puling teeth to get them to go.

Today was the clencher though. We go up to farm Ro Maeve Water and get some EXP. I am MNK/NIN tanking. I used up 3 stack of Shihei 24K about 10K in Sole Sushi, a couple K in Silent Oil, and I was only in a party of 3 people. Ok, so I have negative treasurehunter, this is obvious after the 3rd hour of no drop. But here's the clencher. After 3.5 hours of farming, I didn't get a single Kindred or Beastmen Seal. The other two people in the party probably got 6+ each. Then a PLD shows up, and he starts getting seals. So not only do I hove some kind of hidden trait that makes rare drops even more rare, but I can't even get a damn seal auto-distributed to me.

I have almost given up on Gaudy Harness, I'l just level to 62 with whatever crap gear I decide to fill that slot with. At 62 I want Ministral's coat. I've camped it 3 times so far. The first time literaly 5 minutes before it spawns, gil sellers show up and claim it. 2nd time we competed with them for 2 hours, and they claimed it. 3rd time I was standing right on top of it. I swear on my life I hit my Chi-Blast macro a dozen times. It did absolutely nothing and then I see "Cannot attack, your target is already claimed." For the life of me, there is no reason I should have missed that claim, but oh well.

I've also been there a few other times for countless hours to never even see it spawn.

So I just left the Ro Maeve Water party today, I couldn't take it any more. I just feel defeated and I don't know what to do next. I just really think on average, I have way less luck than the other hords of people that play this game.

Edited, Fri Dec 9 21:46:00 2005 by SingBismark
#2 Dec 10 2005 at 12:17 AM Rating: Excellent
40 posts
I actually had to stop and think of a nice way to put this:

What you've described above is in no way horribly above or below the typical player experience. In short, you're average.

The fact that several of your examples are of the format 1/ReasonablySmallNumber bears witness to that fact.

I've seen people go 1/1 on drops, I've seen people go 0/80 on drops. It happens.

I'd recommend taking a break from camping and just relax. It's a game, it isn't worth getting that angry over, just because the loot pool isn't cooperating with you. Ever meet those people in Dynamis, the ones that obsess about some piece of AF2 that hasn't dropped for them? They're spooky, try not to fall into that trap. ^^

I hope the above doesn't sound harsh, because I really don't mean it that way. I just wanted you to realize that the game isn't out to get you, and drops aren't magically falling from the sky for the rest of us. :P

-ly

#3 Dec 10 2005 at 5:46 AM Rating: Decent
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512 posts
i think you need to level your THF, bro.

i can't substantiate this in any way, but i believe that my 'luck' has improved dramatically since i leveled my THF, first to 25 for a flee sub, then just recently to 45 for TH2.

46 THF/RNG with Bone Knife 1 + can camp, flee/steal claim, and murderate all those NMs except kung fu shoes, and get your drops in the next 3 kills, i'm certain. that is the practical application for your problem there.

for the shoes, you have to defer the claim and kill to a trusted group of allies, and merely secret yourself in the zone as 45THF on /anon and protected from aggro. your TH2 will affect the party's drops; it may feel like a cheeseball way of doing something, but by god if you want it, think like a THF. >;] the fact is without that TH2 the drop wouldn't happen.. again. this means that you are not cheesing it, but contributing to your own goal in a less obvious, but more effective way.

and you know what else? i have {Maat's Cap} in my auto-translate, so it exists, and all bets are off now when it coems to 'being loyal' to a job. if you want to get drops, man, i's say level the hell out of your THF. make it next to 70 and get a THF knife. you probly got h2h merit right? your thf/mnk at 70 could probly farm some horribly nasty bones that other career THF on our server don't really have the moxy to do effectively - they can do better with bloody bolts in davoi, or whatever else.

but still, the part i can't substantiate is this: i think the game has a hidden 'Luck' stat that is affected by your main THF level. like you don't get TH trait or anything, but you start finding yourself in more opportunities for conjuring up gil.

maybe that's BS and it's just that you start thinking like a THF, and seeing the fabric of economics woven by all of us collecting, trading, and crafting. when you consider that you can level all crafts to 60, and one craft + fishing to 100, plus choco dig, claim and kill NM, farm TW mobs and craft up commodities (leathers, cloths, bones, metals, woods, chemicals) and farming elementals, almost in passing, that will allow you to craft what you are farming for skillup and/or profit, either in this zone, or as is often the case, in a corresponding zone.

i've begun to think that the very landscape is a tapestry of the elements, and thier relationships, down to the mobs, what they drop, what the drops become, and how we consume and adapt them for use.

but whether you buy into my BS or not, if you think about and take advantage of the things i describe here, it gets hard to NOT make money sometimes. THF has the most selfish abilities in the game. SE gave you the keys to unlock it. GL
#4 Dec 10 2005 at 11:35 AM Rating: Good
I know the feeling, Singular. I've been there.

It's not going to go away; as someone above said, that's just the typical player experience, and everyone deals with it sooner or later. I dealt with it very soon, like before I was level 50 on Sioux; I am convinced that certain jobs get fewer drops than others, and RDM blows. I have killed

Leaping Lizzy
Stray Mary
Trickster Kinetix (x35 times)
Juggler Hectatomb
Valkurm Emperor
Foul Meat
Gusgen ghosts
The DRG orc in Davoi
Falactus Aranai
Mimas
Enkylados
Bigmouth Billy
Cancer
Daggerclaw Dracos
Crypt Ghost
Golden Bat
Lich C Magnus
Rampaging Ram
Morion Worm
Skewer Sam

...and it goes on, but I have NEVER ONCE had a drop. Not once.

My advice is probably not going to be very helpful to you, but all I can say is just to not worry about getting the great drops from these NMs. The time and stress that getting this stuff requires is just not worth it, and leads to this kind of frustration. It's a fun thing to do if everyone has time and nothing to do; hey, let's go camp this NM. But making it a solid and set goal will land you in trouble, because of the craptastic drop rate some of these NMs have.

As for beastman seals, man, level BST. I'm serious.
In 60 levels I've gotten about 400 seals. I have 200 Kindred seals. It's easy to go out, kill a few things, get some drops and some seals, and you don't have to ask anyone for help...even into the 70's.
#5 Dec 10 2005 at 12:51 PM Rating: Default
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124 posts
Quote:
Tunbling Truffle - 1/25 (This isn't even a good drop)
Orcish Wallbracher + the other one that spawns here 0/30
Valkurm Emperor - 1/7
Leaping Lizzy - 1/7
Hoo Mjuu the Torrent - 1/15
Cactuar Cantautor (Kung Fu Shoes) 1/18


there is no reason for such crappy *** drop rates like this except to show exactly how greedy corporations can truly be. it is stats like these that make you realize exactly why FFXI has 500,000 subscirbers while WoW has over 6 million.




Edited, Sat Dec 10 12:53:50 2005 by SpentaX
#6 Dec 10 2005 at 1:21 PM Rating: Good
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172 posts
Sing, the drop rate in Phomiuna whatever Aquaducts is much better for the subligar. We got a subligar about 1/3 of the time from the Galka BST. 2 BSTs can easily duo them. I have a 59 BST with 40-cap gear, maybe I can help you out sometime.
#7 Dec 10 2005 at 2:01 PM Rating: Good
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883 posts
Sing, I'd've come with you guys panty-hunting if you weren't going to a place I can't access yet. I'll trade you help killing Diablos for my THF's help getting you a subligar.

Aside from that, what everyone has said is true: shi[/b]t luck is universal. We did 7 runs of the 3-man BCNM40 jellies and didn't get a single high-ticket drop; some friends of ours did it twice and got two Ni scrolls. We did the BCNM20 Petrifying Pair, lost twice, won once and got the absolute worst drops imaginable. Gun did a KSNM99 with Black Angels last night and didn't get anything good except for one axe which has never sold and no one has a value for. And, I was on the silk road for clothcrafting when stacks of silk skyrocketed from 25k to 50k+. EVERYONE has sh[b]itty luck, unless they buy gil. It's a sad, sad fact of life in this game. You're either going to have to accept it and move on, or take a break for a while.

Sorry to hear you're going through it, Sing. I've been where you are. It blows.

Edited, Sat Dec 10 14:03:09 2005 by Byaina
#8 Dec 10 2005 at 2:57 PM Rating: Good
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404 posts

Quote:
there is no reason for such crappy *** drop rates like this except to show exactly how greedy corporations can truly be. it is stats like these that make you realize exactly why FFXI has 500,000 subscirbers while WoW has over 6 million.


actually about a year ago FFXI celebrated over one million users i think it might have been a bit before or after PS2 version came out...
#9 Dec 10 2005 at 2:58 PM Rating: Excellent
Thanks a ton everyone, I suppose I just needed to vent. I don't even want to get into my Dynamis experience. Needless to say, I never Cast Lott over 500 so unless the shell has something better to offer than free lot if you can equip it, I don't go.

Anyway, I'd love to take you up on that offer Byaina, my BRD is level 40 and 50 geared, and my NIN is 40.

Chopps: Thanks for the adivce, I assumed you have to get past Minotaur to farm in Aquaducts. I'll be taking my NIN there if no success Sunday during my weekly CoP run.

To everyone else, thanks again for the words of encouragement. Just what I needed!
#10 Dec 11 2005 at 2:37 AM Rating: Decent
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512 posts
Quote:
EVERYONE has ****** luck, unless they buy gil. It's a sad, sad fact of life in this game. You're either going to have to accept it and move on, or take a break for a while.


oh COME ON, By, that's the crappiest attitude ever.

better yet, sing, just quit. WTF?!?
#11 Dec 11 2005 at 3:19 AM Rating: Good
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1,592 posts
Arewz wrote:
Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
there is no reason for such crappy *** drop rates like this except to show exactly how greedy corporations can truly be. it is stats like these that make you realize exactly why FFXI has 500,000 subscirbers while WoW has over 6 million.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



actually about a year ago FFXI celebrated over one million users i think it might have been a bit before or after PS2 version came out...




Actually it was 500,000 users with over 1 million different characters. It was an approximate average of 2 characters per subscriber but close enough. lol
#12 Dec 11 2005 at 5:04 AM Rating: Good
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883 posts
Gee, sorry you don't like my attitude, stegan, but it's exactly what I've learned from two years of playing this game and getting just as damned frustrated as Sing has. As I said, I've been where he is, and I had to both take a break AND learn to suck up the fact that a lot of times, luck in this game just f[b][/b]uckin sucks. Sorry you find it a crappy attitude, but it's my experience.

Also, I seem to recall - though I could be wrong - that Singular once gave me some advice when I posted a similar rant that perhaps it was time for me to give up the ghost and move on. It comes more of being concerned that friends are stressing out too much over a GAME than of having a "crappy attitude." I'm by no means suggesting that he quit, but if the game has gotten to the point where you feel "defeated" as Sing obviously did when he posted this thread, then it's probably time to step back.

edit: Found it. Sing said this to me after my "high inflation" rant:

Quote:
On another note, Byaina, you haven't said anything good about this game in a very long time. Perhaps it is more agrivation than it is worth?


I'd hope he took what I said to him here the same way I took what he said to me there: as an expression of worry about a friend.

Edited, Sun Dec 11 13:54:57 2005 by Byaina
#13 Dec 11 2005 at 7:22 PM Rating: Decent
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512 posts
i'm just insulted that you suggest people who find a way to do well within the confines of the game economy must 'buy gil'. i wish i could explain to people the way i see the game world, and how to make positively ridiculous amounts of gil, but some folks is just squares, and it ain't no way to help em.

pimpin ain't easy baby, but ****. somebody gotta.

i mean, look at the starting zones, and how they radiate in to jeuno. then look at the craft guilds, and how they relate to the land around them. check AH prices and see what moves fast enough to be worth making, then invest in the skills you need.

when it comes to getting that one drop from that one mob, if you can't pimp enough gil to just buy it, then you have to level your THF, or get a good THF buddy if you want it.

i mean, going to BCNM 50 for a 5% chance at Peacock Charm, or camping some 24 hr NM for a chance at a drop if you get the claim, is a really crappy way to make your way in this game. you're much better off finding a consistent way to make gil, and do that until you can afford what you want. i NEVER go to a BCNM for a specific item, rather i go for fun, challenge, and to sell the drops to split with my partners.

i'm not trying to start a big stupid argument By, i just think you are short-shrifting yourself and your pals, and i want your game to be the funnest it can for you.

i'm sorry if i come across as a big fat jerk. Orz
#14 Dec 11 2005 at 7:52 PM Rating: Good
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883 posts
Ah, now, I misunderstood which part of what I said you took offense to. The thing is, the reason the inflation is so high is that a percentage of the people with a lot of money are willing to pay any price for anything they want, and I don't believe that you find that in people who actually worked for their money, like you and other honest players do. Those people know the value of their gil and won't just drop it all on some item which is way overpriced; they're the ones who wait, usually, now, in vain, for it to come back down again. The ones who keep buying items recklessly without an eye towards how much they're actually worth are the ones who can always get more gil without having to exert any time or energy on it - and personally, buying gil is the only explanation for that attitude to me. If you don't care how much you spend, it logically follows that you have an endless supply of money and assume it'll never disappear - and I don't see that happening from people who earn their money legitimately, by work and sweat and tears.

It's always possible that I'm wrong, though. XD
#15 Dec 11 2005 at 8:37 PM Rating: Good
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1,592 posts
http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Jy4vhWx6YPsJ:www.cocolapalm.com/images/red-stripe.jpg

Hooray Beer!
#16 Dec 11 2005 at 9:31 PM Rating: Good
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228 posts
lol Byaina, I was proof that ya don't need to buy gil to treat gil like it doesn't matter. Lots of people can vouch for that :x (even though there were still about half as many people that still insisted that I did buy lol)
Sure, inflation sucks... but what that comes down to is finding something else that also went up that's easier to get. There's a handful of pretty easy ways to farm that make ya a nice amount of money, it's just a matter of keeping an eye out for em and finding out which ones suit you best, and timing when ya sell it. NMs are still a pretty big waste of life though lol, too many hours wasted on something you can't guarantee you'll claim, and even if you do, there's no guarantee you'll get the drop. Depending on where and how well you farm, you could've made over 100k per hour... when you do the math, after taking everything into account, it makes NMs seem like they're not worthwhile. Even though what you're farming for usually ends up going towards buying a NM drop :\

btw, Peacock Charm's BCNM40. Helped a friend get one of those before I left ^^ The drop rate isn't really all that horrible from what I've seen, but it's not exactly impressive.

And Sing, bout the Coat, just drag a bunch of people down to SSG with ya next time you want that Coat. It improves your chances of getting the claim, and if anything, you'll at least make some fun memories while you're stuck down there lol. That's what I did for my LS'es BRD, we packed the place out. Even if you miss the drop, just do some bargaining with whoever gets the claim. When I did it, I gave the people who out-claimed us (don't ask how they managed to... I still don't know lol) 100k and they let our BRD into their pt to take the Coat... worked out pretty nicely ^^

What goes around comes around, ya know? Just keep your head up, keep everything ya do legit, and eventually you'll get what you want. The longer it takes, the more it means when ya finally get it ^^



Edited, Sun Dec 11 21:35:28 2005 by Arelios
#17 Dec 11 2005 at 10:06 PM Rating: Decent
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512 posts
exactly, i had a huge post to say the same thing, but i got d/c and lost it ><

By, you were talking about silk being trouble, but what about linen? hell, you can make enough off of the airship NPCs in a good week with your nation in first to pay for airship access on mules in the other cities, so you can do it any week.

hell, i payed for most of my crafting skillup with sheep leather XD. it sells for 30k a stack right now and materials are like 9k. your THF, wearing nothing but a boomerang and a smile can one shot sheep in ronfaure or gustaberg to the tune of 30k an hour easy in leather, plus whatever else you get: beechips, ores, seeds, all kinds of stuff. i also find it nice to camp a guild with a mule and just log out of my farmer and into my guild mule for 3 game hours per game day, while increasing my hourly profit by 10-20k an hour.

its really feast or famine with me, im either so broke i have to kill gobs in rolanberry to afford the airship, or else i've spent a week hustling and i've got over a million. when i get dead *** broke, i sell 30 or 40 teleports and take that gil to the AH for crafting.

as far as gilbuyers, well, if they suck at the game, they will just suck and be rich. and by the time they quit, i've either hustled their money off of them, or it gets erased when their acct expires. if they are good players, well, so what? it doesn't affect the economy that much, and if you are a good cheapskate about buying materials for crafting, you will be pumping 50k or so out of the economy for every 500k you make for yourself.

now that my skills are up, i don't do that other stuff much anymore. my money comes from some really hardcore ninjas now, and i expect a lot of my gil was originally bought, but again, so what? i earned it.

when they said progress was a slow process, they wasn't talkin bout me, baby, i'm a P I M P.

*scuttles off to get lvl 60*
#18 Dec 11 2005 at 10:10 PM Rating: Decent
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391 posts
Quote:
So not only do I hove some kind of hidden trait that makes rare drops even more rare


Yeah, I know what ya mean... I used to camp stroper (before SE decided to change it) for the 700k archer's ring.. I spent roughly.. 20 hours total camping it. Most people complained about the gilsellers bot-claiming.. that wasn't the problem I claimed well enough. But like you said, I can't get drops worth ****.

To date, I'm 0/240+ (20 of which are from the new stroper) and I could never figure out how my friend Cheng managed to get 34 of the damned archer's rings.

Even farming I have the same problem as you, friend goes 2/5 on Goobers in Zi'Tah (I'm out there at the same time) and I was going 1/12..... we both had THF sub with TH1.. I don't get it.

Anyway, you're not the only one who goes through this, eventually things do drop that you want like you said but they take time, but the satisfaction of knowing you got it on your own is always a good thing.

~Ram
#19 Dec 11 2005 at 11:11 PM Rating: Good
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#20 Dec 12 2005 at 4:12 AM Rating: Decent
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512 posts
well alright then. someone said it, but drops are often about warm bodies in the alliance, and how many of those are TH equipped. the closest you would ever see to 100% drop (unless it is 100% of course) is an alliance of TH4 THFs.

you also might try eating a 4 leaf mandy bud before the NM dies. i've got one now to eat when i see Lizzy again.

if i'm online when you need an extra THF or /THF holler at me. i get around pretty fast, but i don't have sky yet.
#21 Dec 12 2005 at 6:42 AM Rating: Decent
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6,424 posts
SingBismark, I noticed a couple of things in your post you might have overlooked.

1. Regarding seals in PT: you MUST have free slots in your inventory to get drops, regardless if the drops could fit in a stack. 60/60 inventory Exception to this: guild purchases and chocobo digging drops.

2. Spamming Chi-blast on a NM will NOT work. NMs have spam-claim immunity for a short time after spawning. This will disable that ability for a short time, if still used. Use the menu to claim.

3. Don't keep track of drops vs kills... it gets depressing on some mobs... also keep in mind that perseverence pays. And check if placeholders or nearby mobs have usefull drops (for crafting/AH)
#22 Dec 12 2005 at 9:52 AM Rating: Decent
Sorry to hear it Sing,

Dont get discouraged boss. Sometimes the badluck just piles on and sometimes you get lucky as hell. Im mean sometimes you just cannot get a drop to save your life. For instance, I have camped and claimed JEJ 0/106 now. Ive gotten full 100% light and dark day claims, and tried various other tactics, even oncehad 3 th2 characters just chilling afk at the outpost in my pt while i camped and claimed him 3 times in a row. Im sure when i lay on my deathbed in rl ill really want all those JEJ hours back. But ill never get them. But i try not to let it get me down. There have been other NMs that are supposed to sport the fabulous 30% drop ration that i have had to camp 15+ times top get my item. And im like you. I Dont camp NMs to sell items. I Camp for the things that myself or my friends want/need for thier toons. I wouldnt sell a drop unless it was just something i happened upon (which really doesnt happen all that much).

But on the other hand, sometimes i get incredibly lucky. For instance i went 1/1 on my moldy with a total camping time of abut 7 minutes. Just took my crew in shortly after we arrived it popped and I got the drop. It just kinda happens boss. I agree with steg though. Take you some thfs with you. Or ask some of your thf friends to just sit AFK in the zone while you camp if they dont want to actually particpate.

But dont give up. Just keep at it, and try and make some money in the process during the camp and with other activities. One of two things WILL happen. Either you will get the drop or you will save up enough to get the item you need.

IF any of the characters in my list can be of service in your camp, I would be happy to assist you. Just send me a message in advance and ill drag gob out thier to have bad luck with you. It will be fun I promise.

Later Sing.


Gob
#23 Dec 12 2005 at 10:54 AM Rating: Decent
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246 posts
Sing, you should have come to our panty raid. We saw like 7 BST/BRD undies drop. They were free-lotted. We even gave some to wondering BST in the area.

Though, I'm sure you have heard plenty from me that drop rates suck fo xyz NM. I am like 1/29 on LL. And 0/x on just about all NMs except a select few. I fear going after the Bounding Boots (to sell Leaping) as I hear that the drop rate is worse then before. This game requires too much time for one piece of equipment. That much is true. Oh, and TH blows on items you want. TH really only shines for farming.
#24 Dec 12 2005 at 11:29 AM Rating: Good
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925 posts
Make friends with a bst over 40. I solo'd my Gaudy Harness in Phoem Aquaducts. I died 4 or 5 times and killed 8 fomor bsts before I got the drop, and after having my harness for only 3 lvls, I woulda died a dozen times without shedding a tear. The nice thing, while waiting for the bst to repop, take out the thf too. He is too weak to the slime pets and will go down fast. Also I didn't know that the subligars dropped anywhere else other than there, maybe thats why you haven't gotten the drop yet. Search the aquaducts every now and then, if you see a bst in there, ask him if he can help you get it, unfortunitely it's the same mob we need, but if he already has it, or wants the security of an extra person, he'll probably have no prob with you tagging along.

Heywood / Bismarck
#25 Dec 12 2005 at 2:14 PM Rating: Good
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375 posts
BTW, Sing Got his Subby this past Sunday...
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