Leading Exp Parties 1 Why lead when you can follow?\\ When I want to exp, I dream that I will put up my "!" and immediately be invited to the perfect party. All the same level, just the right mix of jobs, with all the best gear. Then Bahamut will fly in and whisk us away to the best exp spot in the game, where everything has 100 HP and gives 300 exp.\\ Then I wake up with drool on my spacebar and realize I've been seeking for 3 hours without recieving a single tell. Even the best players, even when they're playing bard (ok maybe not as bard... but maybe even as rdm) can seek for a long time without being invited to exp. There is a solution, however, but it takes work and can be frustrating at times. Here are some tips to help you lead your own parties instead of waiting around in Jeuno all day: 1 When should you start them? \\ After setting my [HQ search comment] I start searching to see if I should be the leader this time. I begin with:\\ /sea all inv X-Y Where X is one less than my current level, and Y is one more. If I'm lvl 58 that'll be 57-59. From the results you can get a good idea if it's worth the effort of starting a party. I start a party if one or more of the following conditions are met:\\ __Party Start Conditions__\\ - there are 3+ people in my range with the same job as myself seeking - there are 6-10 people including at least 4/5 of the jobs I'd want with me - I have 1 or more friends also seeking and want to party with them - a bard is seeking in my range If you don't see any of that and you feel you can't get a solid team together, but you really want to exp you can try [Inviting yourself into a party]. 1 Jobs and Levels\\ To make a "good" party, you'll want a mix of jobs that will be efficient and all the members to be close in level. When you have the options, you want the levels to work out more specifically:\\ - the highest level party members should be the tank and DDs - the healers can be up to 3 lower and never the lone highest member - Good example: PLD 50, Mnk 49, Thf 50, Rdm 48, Whm 47, Smn 49 - Bad example: Pld 49, Mnk 47, Thf 48, Rdm 48, Whm 51, Smn 47 So if you're a DD, search for others that are your level and up to 2 below. If you're a healer, search for your level and 1 below up to +2. I'm sure you already know what job mixes are good. You're well aware that certain jobs are "essential" and others (sadly) are not. Knowing this, you'll want to secure the essentials first when possible. Ask the Rdm or Brd first, then get a tank and a healer. Finally, fill in the DD jobs. On a personal note: I'm not saying some jobs are "better" than others, the game is what it is and good "standard" exp parties need certian roles that can only be filled by a few jobs. See also: [Nonstandard Exp Parties]. Often you will /sea inv all 67-69 and find the perfect set of jobs, minus one. Don't worry! You can still form a party. Never be afraid to ask non-seekers. Lots of the best parties come from asking a non-seeker to exp if their job is a match for what you need. Just /sea all Whm 66-69 and see if you can persuede one of them to come along. Often I find lots of non-seekers with exp-oriented search comments. 1 Where should you go? Now that your team is assembled, where do you want to exp? Obviously this will vary depending on your level, but at many intervals you have choices. In deciding between your choices you should consider:\\ Party job combination vs the monster type - don't take rngs and drgs to kill skeletons!\\ Crowdedness of the area - "/sea garlaige 47-52" will tell you if there are already too many parties there. Save yourself a trip when the zone is already packed.\\ Access - on the one hand newer CoP zones can be excellent for exp because they're never crowded. You also might get neat drops. Sadly, not everyone has access to all areas (c'mon people, step it up) so be sure to ask everyone (sometimes before you invite them). "Sky" is a more common example.\\ 1 Reinforcements\\ Inevitably, party members will have to leave. It's a good idea to ask players ahead of time how long they can stay on. Even more important is to ask them to alert you 30 minutes before they must depart. When someone gives you their half-hour warning you can start searching for their replacement.\\ The most thoughtful players will search themselves, and you might not even know until they annouce "my rep's here, take care everyone."\\ If someone has to go and you don't see an acceptable replacement for them, alert the party to the situation. One of them might know someone, but mostly it's just curteous to keep everyone on the same page.\\ If more than one member suggests disbanding, but you'd rather keep going, don't be afraid to ask who else wants to stay. Too many parties die when they really shouldn't. Don't give up before you've checked for replacements.\\ 2005-12-05 18:54:42.942 2005-09-16 13:28:23.456