Daily NPC Diagnostics - Updated Everyday!Follow

wow, this thread has slipped onto the second page!!

Please keep updating these threads with your experiences. I've pretty much read through the whole thing now and summarized in another thread (NPC FAQs) which saves others having to trawl though 10 pages of posts to see their answers. I hope none of you mind that I have taken info that you have laid down to use in my FAQs, but I do state that it is borrowed info at the start of my main post.

FAQs are at:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1122732880213856731&num=28

Edited, Sun Jul 31 10:34:00 2005 by Babekeke

Hi, let's see I can coherently explain something that just happened to me, out of the ordinary.

Background:
I've been taking my npc out 2x in a row, with the exception of one time where I went twice right before 12 midnight jpn time and then right afterwards got a new pearl and then went out again. Of course I then had to wait 20 hrs to again use that pearl, and then drop it and repeat the process.


So today something different happened.
Its 9am est (or 10pm jpn time) and I was just told by Zen that I couldnt get another pearl after returning from my first of two trips with me this cycle.

Ok, that never happened before. I see the pearl option, but can't get it. Have they updated this? Maybe not.

So here is what I think has happened. And I never ran across it just because, well of when I play.

20 hrs ago (+ the 45 minute outing) I finished my 2nd of two outings. So that was - um.. 5 am est. (Yes I went to bed late, but its the weekend and your not my mother - j/k).

20 hrs before that would have been, um.. 1am est.

20 hrs before that would have been, well, 9am est.

20 hrs before that would have been, 5am est

I believe that a cycle has to be completed before we can get the second pearl. I believe that it has to be after 12 midnight jpn time (11am est)

During my normal course of playing I never ran into it, because I always ended going out the second time beyond the cycle. I even have taken him out 3x in a row, like I said, when it was right before jpn midnight.

So, if I haven't confused you (and I apologize cause I'm trying to figure this out and want your help in understanding this), I think that while we can take out our npc after 20 hours, for the second time, in order to get the new pearl, it has to be 24 hours since we dropped it last, or in relation to midnight jpn time.

I'll have to experiment somemore with this. But getting around it is easy, just have to schedule your outings in a way that allows you to get the second pearl right after. (An actual 24 hr period or near japan midnight.

I apologize if I've confuse anyone, and I'll come back and edit this for clarification perposes once I get some helpful feedback.





Edited, Sun Jul 31 09:31:30 2005 by pdragonfly

Thanks a lot for that info. I took my NPC to the jungle today with my 65 RDM and basically attacked the mob once, turned my back to it, and PLed her the rest of the way. She leveled after the second fight. ^^ Thanks a lot!

NPC hit 38 last night.

Using my 75war to fight along side him the whole time in Western Alltepa Desert, using the use/drop use/keep pearl trick.

He is a "healer" using the second gaxe "greataxe"

After hitting 38, talking to my NPC at the RPoint in Ru'Lude Gardens, he now has the option to "Lets talk about your armor", which when choosing, only gives you the option of somthing about a head band.

There's been some talk that you have to actually engage in order for your NPC to get experience from it. I'm not so sure this is true. I was out leveling with a 65 WHM, and there was one fight where he didn't engage at all. We thought that his NPC would leave a fight later than mine, but they left at the same time.

If I used a staff for my healer, then upgraded to a pole, does this mean if I wanted to change to a great sword that I would first have to start with the lower level, or first tier one?

A guy in my LS has his NPC dual-wielding, so it is possible. He said that he THINKS that the weapons that he traded (both at the same time) were Saparas (lvl 7 scimtar), but he says that he was very tired and drunk at the time... If trading these 2 together doesn't get your NPC dual weilding, try drinking until 3 a.m. and then trade something and see if that works, lol. If indeed saparas DO dual weild, then it is possible that other weapon types which are not the ones listed for single-wield will also work when traded in pairs. Let me know how you get on (i'm sticking to GKT and GSD for now).

I'm not sure how many outings its been, but my NPC's got the "let's talk about appearances" option now. All she gets is a green headband though. She's level 32.

Just a guess, but I think that doing the signal pearl drop trick won't delevel your NPC or anything. It will probably just affect the options that become available after calling your NPC a certain number of times, like weapon upgrades adding head equipment, unlocking fighting styles etc. And if you asked for a new pearl and were able to call it again because of it, maybe you could break even.

That's just my guess based on the fact that SE said "relationship" not "experience points" or "armor" and the fact that they said "slightly."

I don't want to be the one to try it first though.

As for the "certain conditions," it's probably a quest, or attaining a certain level or a quest that activates when they attain a certain level.

Here's hoping that if it is a quest, it's something that half the server can do at once and that there won't be lines for the next week.

:::editted for stupidity::::

Edited, Mon Aug 1 13:53:44 2005 by Dracumancer

I would imagine that now the more times you have called out your NPC the longer they stay along. Their time extending with certain intervals. I would also imagine that every time you get a new pearl you will perhaps lose one session in their count.

This makes sence because SE wouldnt want to hurt players who actually accidently dropepd their pearl, but it wont help anyone who does it on purpose.

It might effect the time they are out or their progress.

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/polnews/news5120.shtml

the parts having to do with NPC:

- The behavior of Fellowship NPCs has been adjusted.
- Fellowship NPCs will now disappear after defeating a predetermined number of enemies even if the NPC remains in battle mode.
- Signal pearls will now fail to activate when the number of members and Fellowship NPCs in a party totals six or more.
- An issue wherein the special properties of certain equipment intended to affect a player's wyvern or avatar extended to Fellowship NPCs has been addressed.
- When asking for a new signal pearl, the relationship between a player and a Fellowship NPC will now worsen slightly.
- After certain conditions are met, players will be able to keep their Fellowship NPC around for extended adventuring.

so it looks like they're trying to discourage the pearl-tossing trick

my NPC still left after 45 mins, but I only ever call her to level my BST (lvl 17 now) so although I have 12 calls she is still lvl 30.