Final Fantasy Record Keeper

[DiscipleofBob]

I hate the relic system in this game. Just to give you a sense of where I'm coming from, I've got 70 stamina, I have recruited all of the core characters, and my main party is 4/5 into the 40's. I have one 5 star item: the Regal Gown (a robe with no special effects or stat bonuses). Am I out of line for being frustrated by this?

Not at all. So far all I've gotten are 2 Genji Shields. What's frustrating is that the equipment makes a huge difference in gameplay and there's no way to guarantee you get something. I still can't really use Kain or Wakka because all they can use are 2* weapons for me.

I mean I'm not expecting all the 5* equipment be easy to get, but maybe at least something guaranteed? Like if you spend the 50 Mythril you're guaranteed at least one of the 5* item in question.

Hopefully there will be at some better equipment rewards for events and other quests in the future. The Elite story mode missions sometimes have decent 4* equipment as rewards.

[Starwulf]

Meh, at least it's a guaranteed 3 star every time you pull, so even doing the 11 pull at the very least you'll get 11 3 stars, and any dupes you can use to upgrade to a 4 or 5 star equipment that way. I've played games where not even that much is guaranteed(Most notably: Castle Clash! I've rolled tens of thousands of gems on that game(all free) and I've barely gotten squat for legendary heroes). Games like this require a fair amount of patience if you are a free to play and want to excel.

[Fleeing Coward]

Game's perfectly fine as is. I've only been playing less than a week, made a single set of 11 pulls, no 5 stars, only 2 4 stars and I'm almost done with a full master clear of normal dungeons. The events basically guarantee you one 4 star after combining too so it's not like the game's forcing you to use 2 star gear unless you're desperate to play a certain character.
For the most part, it's just grinding for the right skills for the battles and like Starwulf said, patience. You're going to progress slower than pay to play people but it's not like any of the fights are impossible unless you have all 5 star gear.

[DiscipleofBob]

Game's perfectly fine as is. I've only been playing less than a week, made a single set of 11 pulls, no 5 stars, only 2 4 stars and I'm almost done with a full master clear of normal dungeons. The events basically guarantee you one 4 star after combining too so it's not like the game's forcing you to use 2 star gear unless you're desperate to play a certain character.
For the most part, it's just grinding for the right skills for the battles and like Starwulf said, patience. You're going to progress slower than pay to play people but it's not like any of the fights are impossible unless you have all 5 star gear.

You get a lot of Mythril early on until you run out of story missions to complete. Then it becomes a lot harder to get since the Daily Dungeons don't renew. In my experience, anything less than 4* equipment is pretty much useless, and even combining equipment to raise its level is very limited compared to actually drawing a 4* or 5* item. For 4* equipment I've been pretty lucky. I've managed to get one sword, two katanas, a fist weapon, and an obscene amount of rods and staves that I'll rarely use. But without a decent Spear or Thrown weapon, a lot of characters just aren't worth using.

Hey, Locke's out!

[Fleeing Coward]

You get a lot of Mythril early on until you run out of story missions to complete. Then it becomes a lot harder to get since the Daily Dungeons don't renew. In my experience, anything less than 4* equipment is pretty much useless, and even combining equipment to raise its level is very limited compared to actually drawing a 4* or 5* item. For 4* equipment I've been pretty lucky. I've managed to get one sword, two katanas, a fist weapon, and an obscene amount of rods and staves that I'll rarely use. But without a decent Spear or Thrown weapon, a lot of characters just aren't worth using.

Hey, Locke's out!

I know it'll slow down over time but that happens in pretty much every freemium game. They give you alot at the start to hook you in and hope that you're addicted enough to want to buy more when it dries up.
My point was more that the game's still perfectly playable with some planning even if you have bad luck with gear and all the 5* items will do is make it slightly easier but they're not exactly must haves especially in a pve game.

[Chen]

We got 20 free mythril just from the celebration daily events over the last month or so (it's not done yet). You also get 1 mythril every 5 days via the login bonus. I'm at 90 stamina and I've done 2 50 mythril pulls along with several individual 5 mythril pulls (one purchased 11 pull as well to support the Devs). They definitely give you a fair bit as you go through the game/events. I mean this current event has a good chunk of it from what I've seen so far (first 4 normal missions each give 1 mythril I suspect many others will too.

Also 3 star weapons + realm synergy getting pretty damn high in stats. I know for sure my 4 star weapons (greatsword ++ for example) is about on par with a 5 star katana I have for cloud when realm synergy is active. It's better than my other generic weapons (danjuro) with realm synergy.

[Red Fel]

Hey, Locke's out!

Yeah, the Locke event is up and running, and it's... Surprisingly straightforward. Even moreso than the Vanille event. Moreover, my god, it's full of Mythril!

Seriously, if you're at least level 30, you can pretty much just autopilot through and grab a crap-ton of Mythril from this thing. There are some two-stars that you can easily upgrade on the normal levels, and some three-stars on the elite levels. Oh, and Locke. Oh, and the Phoenix summon.

... And I have a beef with the Phoenix summon. Setting aside for a moment how bloody hard it will be to upgrade it, it infuriates me as a moderately useless ability. Fire damage to all targets isn't all that great, since most multi-target battles really don't have that many fire-vulnerable targets (looking at you, Mom Bomb and Calcabrina). And reviving from KO is nice, but you've already lost mastery at that point - the goal should be not to get KO'd at all, not to come back from KO.

Overall, I like the event. Unlike certain recent ones that need not be named, it doesn't feel like a repetitive slog; you're not doing the same level over and over, you can just run it once and move onto the next. And get oodles of Mythril.

[DiscipleofBob]

Yeah, the Locke event is up and running, and it's... Surprisingly straightforward. Even moreso than the Vanille event. Moreover, my god, it's full of Mythril!

Seriously, if you're at least level 30, you can pretty much just autopilot through and grab a crap-ton of Mythril from this thing. There are some two-stars that you can easily upgrade on the normal levels, and some three-stars on the elite levels. Oh, and Locke. Oh, and the Phoenix summon.

... And I have a beef with the Phoenix summon. Setting aside for a moment how bloody hard it will be to upgrade it, it infuriates me as a moderately useless ability. Fire damage to all targets isn't all that great, since most multi-target battles really don't have that many fire-vulnerable targets (looking at you, Mom Bomb and Calcabrina). And reviving from KO is nice, but you've already lost mastery at that point - the goal should be not to get KO'd at all, not to come back from KO.

Overall, I like the event. Unlike certain recent ones that need not be named, it doesn't feel like a repetitive slog; you're not doing the same level over and over, you can just run it once and move onto the next. And get oodles of Mythril.

You can get one KO and still make Champion on most levels though. Frankly I'd rather use a revive then start an entire dungeon from scratch. And if you're using Phoenix then it's probably not for the fire damage.

Then again, it is a 4* summon. Not sure what the damage upgrade is like at that level.

As a side note, gettin' REAL tired of the rods and staves I keep pulling on the Relic draw.

[Deadline]

As a side note, gettin' REAL tired of the rods and staves I keep pulling on the Relic draw.

Use the best ones on your casters, and sell the rest?

I have, to date, pulled the following from Relic Draws:

Rydia's Ice Whip (Awesome)
Genji Helmet (Awesome)
Genji Shield (Awesome)

A couple 4* Gladius (meh, but Sephiroth is using a Gladius + for now)
A 4* Crystal Sword (meh, but Cloud uses it for now)
A 4* Gravity Rod (meh, but I have a caster using it)
A 4* Diamond Armor (meh)

A 4* spear that Kain is using

And a whole bunch of mostly useless 3-4* stuff. I've upgraded and combined stuff to get better gear, but look forward to replacing it with native 5* gear as I get it. At the very least, use the 3-4* stuff and sell the 2* or worse gear. And upgrade your stuff as much as possible, every little bit helps.

[Suichimo]

So exactly what skills should I be using on Locke? I started with the Lenna event so I sadly couldn't get some of what would've been my favorites(Celes/Either Cecil) and I've been waiting to replace Tyro/miniSuichimo. I'm right before unlocking Cyan in the story. Should I move Locke, with whatever skill setup I can figure out, in to Tyro's spot? Or should I wait for a better character?

Edit: Current team is Kain/Cloud/Tyro/Lenna/Vanille w/ her unique weapon.

Deprotega is beast.

[Calemyr]

So exactly what skills should I be using on Locke? I started with the Lenna event so I sadly couldn't get some of what would've been my favorites(Celes/Either Cecil) and I've been waiting to replace Tyro/miniSuichimo. I'm right before unlocking Cyan in the story. Should I move Locke, with whatever skill setup I can figure out, in to Tyro's spot? Or should I wait for a better character?

Statistically, Tyro is a pretty mediocre character, with midling stats across the board. What he gets in trade is pretty impressive, though: the boy can use any weapon, armor, or skill in the game. This absurd level of versatility is pretty darn nice, so don't be too quick to discount him.

Locke is a B-class fighter with S-class speed, and access to a host of physical skills. He also gets "Thief" skills, but I don't see any of those in the game. He's a bit of a drop down from Joseph for damage output, but I happen to love FFVI.

[DiscipleofBob]

So exactly what skills should I be using on Locke? I started with the Lenna event so I sadly couldn't get some of what would've been my favorites(Celes/Either Cecil) and I've been waiting to replace Tyro/miniSuichimo. I'm right before unlocking Cyan in the story. Should I move Locke, with whatever skill setup I can figure out, in to Tyro's spot? Or should I wait for a better character?

Edit: Current team is Kain/Cloud/Tyro/Lenna/Vanille w/ her unique weapon.

Deprotega is beast.

Definitely at least level up Locke and keep him waiting in the wings for other FF6 dungeons.

I think with his speed he'll probably make an excellent support character who can also use a decent range of equipment. If you can get a decent ranged weapon he can even stay in the back row.

[Ogremindes]

I've been playing this a bit. It's hard to shake the thought that I could be playing FF5 or 6 instead and probably having more fun, but still, I've been firing it up every now and then.

I've been doing the Locke event, got as far as Airship, but I've hit a wall, I just don't have the resources to tackle two boss fights in a row.

[Starwulf]

Well, after burning through 2 mythril(Only because I apparently got the best path, nearly 9k in memories) I finally beat Hard. Both were on the boss, the first time I just tried to nuke him, that didn't work, second time I wiped out the left arm, then beat the middle down, then thought it was safe to kill the right arm, but it regenerated them both almost immediately, so the last time I killed the left arm then burned every single resource I had on the middle and managed to kill it right before it would have killed me. Amazingly enough I still got Mastery because I got mastery on everything else besides that stage, those Summon orbs were great, I just need 2 more and I can make a Shiva or Ramuh!

I'm done with the event though, everything else after this is just a single orb reward and that's just not worth it to me at this point in time. I did consider grinding to 30k in order to get that 3 star hyper wrist, but meh....just not feeling it.

[DiscipleofBob]

Good news: on the Locke event, you don't need to clear all the Elite stages in order again. You can jump straight to the last fight if you want.

Bad news: My level 50 party can barely get through one encounter in the Elite Fire Cavern. Even if I burnt Mythril, no idea how I could kill the Fire Dragon if I'm having this much trouble on basic monsters. Really want that Phoenix summon too...

[Chen]

Good news: on the Locke event, you don't need to clear all the Elite stages in order again. You can jump straight to the last fight if you want.

Bad news: My level 50 party can barely get through one encounter in the Elite Fire Cavern. Even if I burnt Mythril, no idea how I could kill the Fire Dragon if I'm having this much trouble on basic monsters. Really want that Phoenix summon too...

Looking at a reddit post the dragon has ~180k HP too. You apparently need magic break/breakdown and Celes default SB (or Tyro's sentinel grimmoire) to handle the spamming of AoE casts the dragon does.

I didn't realize you could do them in any order so I may give the fire caverns a shot. I have a lot of FF VI gear so hopefully that'll help. I suspect I may not have enough honed skills though to get through all the trash and boss, let alone master it to get the Phoenix summon.

There is another hyper wrist among the levels though and an Angel wings both of which are quite nice. Will have to push to do those at least.

[DiscipleofBob]

Looking at a reddit post the dragon has ~180k HP too. You apparently need magic break/breakdown and Celes default SB (or Tyro's sentinel grimmoire) to handle the spamming of AoE casts the dragon does.

I didn't realize you could do them in any order so I may give the fire caverns a shot. I have a lot of FF VI gear so hopefully that'll help. I suspect I may not have enough honed skills though to get through all the trash and boss, let alone master it to get the Phoenix summon.

There is another hyper wrist among the levels though and an Angel wings both of which are quite nice. Will have to push to do those at least.

You don't need to Master for Phoenix. Just complete it.

[Hunter Noventa]

I only started this game a little while ago and it's been beating me up in some places. Somehow I found Ultros and Typhon harder than Atma Weapon. (Screw the translations they use. Orthros? Seriously? FF14 calls him Ultros)

But I've almost got Locke.

My party's been Cloud, Kain, Vanille, Lenna and Tyro, mostly because I got a 5-star spear for Kain.

Is Tyro better as a caster or a fighter? Both he and Cloud have 3-star swords equipped right now and I was wondering if I might be doing it wrong.

[Calemyr]

Is Tyro better as a caster or a fighter? Both he and Cloud have 3-star swords equipped right now and I was wondering if I might be doing it wrong.

Statistically, I'd say Tyro is about B-Class in every category. He hits about as hard as Locke (which is honestly fairly good, but significantly weaker than Cloud or Josef). He is equally capable in any role, assuming equivalent gear and skills for all roles, and can equip very rare or currently unrepresented class skills like summoning, swordspell, and ninja skills. His access to any gear and any skill is his strong suit. Whatever good stuff the rest of your party can't use can be well spent on him.

Personally, I give him my second best sword, my best defensive gear, my highest tier healing spell, and a 2* swordspell that makes sense for the dungeon (or fills in gaps in the rest of the party's loadouts). With that loadout he's usually able to participate strongly on auto-attacks, while being able to heal in a pinch and exploit any weaknesses his swordspell can take advantage of. If you've got a good summon spell, he's also a good person to give it to.

For the rest of the party:

I give Cloud my best weapon, my best attack gear, and two of my highest tier swordspells (currently Blizzara Strike and Thundara Strike). He hits like a truck and when he can exploit a vulnerability, he really digs in.

I give my white mage (Vanille or Lenna) a low tier but highly honed Cure spell and an offensive spell (Dia if they're a MND only character or my third best elemental spell if they're red mages like Vanille).

I give my black mage (Rinoa or Rydia) my two highest tier elemental spells.

I give my final member (currently either Locke or Josef) the best gear I can find for them and both Double Strike and Armor Break.

[Chen]

You don't need to Master for Phoenix. Just complete it.

Oh nice. I clearly looked at that too quicky.

Is Tyro better as a caster or a fighter? Both he and Cloud have 3-star swords equipped right now and I was wondering if I might be doing it wrong.

Tyro has very bad stats but can use everything gear and ability wise. To me this puts him firmly in the healer/support role. I equip him with heavy armor, light staff and angel wings (or ring whichever the healing one is). With that he can heal around 1600 per curaga. That's pretty solid for almost all content so far except the very hard ones (Rinoa elite events, maybe the end of the Locke events). If I put Aerith in the same gear she heals maybe 200-300 more with a curaga but is MUCH squishier. And honestly 1600 vs 1900 on healing isn't a huge deal. Putting him as melee or caster dps seems bad since his low stats do gimp his output a fair bit. For easy content he can be given a decent weapon so you can auto battle through it, but once the content gets hard his damage starts noticeably becoming sub par. The second elite level in Locke's event he can no longer one shot mobs while Wakka can, and both are using the exact same gear (Hyper wrist and Wakka's game ball, yes I have 2 :P).

[Hunter Noventa]

Well that about fits how I've been using him. If i got a decent bow I'd probably stick him in the back with more support-type abilities, but they're not very forthcoming.

I'm one dungeon away from getting Locke, and the only thing that gave me trouble was Ultros. I doubt I'll manage the elite version though, not with my levels in the mid-twenties.

Kain and Cloud are rampaging through everything. Helps that Kain has a 5-star spear like I said, in addition to buffed-up ninja gear and a Hyper Wrist. And I just crafted Jump, that'll be fun.

[shizukanashi]

My only 5 star is also a spear for Kain and he does about 3x the damage as anyone else. I leveled both Locke and Cyan to 25 with eggs and threw them into my level 35 party. They are making up for the lack of levels with synergy and I hardly notice a difference. I am about halfway through the elite missions and loving this event. The previous two I got Lenna and Vanille but little else, this event I am getting gear and orbs galore. The announcement said water and intimidate would be needed so I am working on honing thpse, I don't have armor break yet.

I am doing the elite in order and thus far have no trouble but I fear I may not get to Pheonix. Besides armor break any other tips?

[Forbiddenwar]

Well today's daily has been a pile of bad news good news.

I started the day needing 1 black orb to hone an ability. I thought I'd puck it up quick and get back to the event.

14 hours later spent farming three star orbs from heroic level and I still need just 1 black orb.

The good news is I managed to get a hundred white orbs and maxed out curaga, so yay?

[Starwulf]

Man because of the Pulse event and the Locke event I now need to seriously grind out a TON Of Black Orbs, I have loads of fire and lightning and Ice orbs, but virtually no Black orbs to use to hone my 3 star spells.

[Chen]

I am doing the elite in order and thus far have no trouble but I fear I may not get to Pheonix. Besides armor break any other tips?

The difficulty ramps up pretty quick once you hit Vector. I'd be incredibly surprised if you could beat the red dragon without a level 50 party (maybe some lower but with realm synergy). I'd say try the first battle of the Elite Fire Caves. The trash is already kind of an eye opener.

For reference my level 50 Kain with his 5* weapon and a hyper wrist can no longer one shot trash once I hit Elite Esper Caves I believe. Celes with a maxed Falchion++ is right around the threshold of being able to depending on the monster.

Intimidate definitely helps on many of the bosses since they're vulnerable to paralyze. The Red dragon unfortunately is immune. Also read on the reddit post that using reflect for the red dragon fight (to force it to keep dispelling it) doesn't actually work since the dispel is basically "free" for the dragon (doesn't eat up any ATB time). The shell->magic breakdown -> shell trick is one way I heard to make the dragon easier. Even that though at around 170k-180k HP that's 18-19 9999 hits before it dies. That's a pretty long fight.

[T.G. Oskar]

So yeah, joining the bandwagon too. Well, joined a few weeks ago, mostly when I heard the event that allowed you to unlock Terra was on the horizon. Would have liked to do it on a smartphone, but mine's effectively out of commission (to be precise: it still works, but I have it on permanent lend because someone else needs it more than I do, and that has happened since the last 8-9 months), so I'm playing it on the house's tablet.

It's entertaining because it has a strategic requirement. You can have favorites, but it doesn't help if your favorite isn't that great. Cloud's a fan-fave, so he's kinda overpowered; very surprised that, of all the characters, Terra is considered one of the best, if not THE best, Black Magic user (too bad I couldn't have her Enhancer weapon...). Getting the new characters seems pretty easy, and the rewards for doing the harder levels aren't so OP that they invite a P2W mentality. In fact, getting Mythril is relatively easy, so much that I've done two sets of 11 Rare Draw Relic gachas (got only three 5-star items; a Genji Helmet, a Blitz Sword, and Locke's signature weapon the Rising Star, which was a really lucky grab!)

So far, my team consists of Terra, speedy character (formerly Wakka, currently Locke, doubting if I keep Locke or eventually, if they release him, switch to Balthier), Keeper, a white mage (currently Lenna, probably switch if Rosa is released and ends up being better), warrior-type (currently Celes, still on flux unless Steiner appears and happens to be good enough; the warrior-type MUST have Spellblade, tho). Keeper currently divides its duties into casting Protect and using a Spellblade; Terra has Firaga and a debuff (as of now, Venom Attack, but might switch to Venom Buster); my speedy character has the Boost ability, my White Mage has the highest Cure spell I have and Haste, and my warrior-type has another Spellblade attack. So far, it has allowed me to run most of the missions nicely. Level is gravitating, but my highest two are the Keeper at lv. 36 and Terra at level 38 (and they're fixed slots, so no changing!).

Didn't got too much love for the FFXIII event, so I'm really taking advantage of it now rather than at the moment, since I found the FFV event more profitable (plus, I wanted to give Lenna high levels); got Locke today, and slowly doing the Elite quests in order. Locke, naturally, is right now my highest hitter, despite his level: with Boost, I can hit pretty high with Mirage Dive (and the Slow effect is great!).

Oh, and...next update will have "Friend Summon" and Record Materia. About time!

[Starwulf]

Ya know, I have to ask, to those of you who say you just started in the last week or two and claim to have already done ALL the normal dungeons, how? I'm in my late 30's, and I am barely winning the later FFXIII dungeons and I had to completely give up on FFVIII dungeons I was getting my butt whomped, and I've been playing since a few days after the start of the Cecil event which was like 2 months or more ago. Elite versions are even worse, I have plenty that I can't even attempt and quite a few that I can beat but not get full Mastery.

Are you putting in cash? 5+ hours a day in grinding out mats to super hone your abilities? Because I honestly just don't see how it's even remotely possible. I have Several T2 spells up to 6 casts for Black Magic, and Cura/Curaga to 8 each. Combat skills are at 4 uses almost across the board, but that just really doesn't seem to be enough to for some of the later dungeons. Heck I haven't even been able to beat Hard version on about half the daily dungeons yet.

And yes, I use synergy where I can. I don't waste upgrade mats on 1 star equipment, but I'll happily do so on T2 ones and upwards.

I think one of the most annoying bits is trying to fit in spells like Blind, or Bio in order to get full mastery for a dungeon, especially when it's one I'm barely beating as it is and need those extra spots. They seriously need to add a third skill slot in this game, it would make things much more manageable.

[Fleeing Coward]

Personally, I just waste virtually no stamina other than the couple of hours I sleep which is how I got through all of normal with full mastery so quickly. I got my 10th 3 month celebration login bonus last night so I've been playing 11 days.
Only a single 5* (Genji Shield), a couple of 4*/upgraded 3* from my 2 11 pulls, havn't spent a cent on the game.
Only a couple of rank 2s in terms of honing, I just auto through to bosses then blow all the abilities there.

Team setup (All currently in low 40s):
Cloud - Retaliate/Thunder Strike
Kain - Blade Bash/Double Cut
Tyro - Dark Buster/(Insert Mastery Skill Here)
Lenna - Cura/(Insert Mastery Skill Here)
Vanille - 2 x -ra Black Magic Skill

Retaliate cheese works real well on most bosses as long as your level doesn't fall too far behind. Didn't even bother with realm synergy.
Gear wise, I took the time to max out all the gear that my 5 are wearing.

Also if you havn't already, go master Elite Chaos Shrine, Elite Underground Waterway and Elite Mako Reactor No. 5. That'll get you 3 decent free 4* pieces.

[DiscipleofBob]

I've only been playing a few weeks and I'm done with the classic dungeons. Having some 4* equipment helps (although I JUST got a 5* sword! Woot! ), but I'd attribute my progress on farming those weekly XP dungeons. They can be a huge lifesaver. Right now I have 4 level 50 characters: Cloud, Cyan, Rinoa, and Rydia. Josef is close at 45, but there aren't any II event dungeons coming up soon so I'm trying to get all the IV, VI, X, and XIII characters ready for realm synergy.

EDIT: Adding to the free 4* equipment, Elite Baron Castle will net you a 4* Bow. It can be difficult even with maxed characters though, especially Baigan and his self-destructing arms.

[Chen]

Ya know, I have to ask, to those of you who say you just started in the last week or two and claim to have already done ALL the normal dungeons, how? I'm in my late 30's, and I am barely winning the later FFXIII dungeons and I had to completely give up on FFVIII dungeons I was getting my butt whomped, and I've been playing since a few days after the start of the Cecil event which was like 2 months or more ago. Elite versions are even worse, I have plenty that I can't even attempt and quite a few that I can beat but not get full Mastery.

Are you putting in cash? 5+ hours a day in grinding out mats to super hone your abilities? Because I honestly just don't see how it's even remotely possible. I have Several T2 spells up to 6 casts for Black Magic, and Cura/Curaga to 8 each. Combat skills are at 4 uses almost across the board, but that just really doesn't seem to be enough to for some of the later dungeons. Heck I haven't even been able to beat Hard version on about half the daily dungeons yet.

And yes, I use synergy where I can. I don't waste upgrade mats on 1 star equipment, but I'll happily do so on T2 ones and upwards.

I think one of the most annoying bits is trying to fit in spells like Blind, or Bio in order to get full mastery for a dungeon, especially when it's one I'm barely beating as it is and need those extra spots. They seriously need to add a third skill slot in this game, it would make things much more manageable.

How many 11 pulls have you done? We got a crapload of mythril recently and those 4-5 star weapons really help. I started during the Terra event and my first 11 pull was lucky in that I got Wakka's ball, Kain's lance and a Danjuro. That said, even without the 5 star gear you get a fair bit of 2-3 star gear from events that can thus be combined into 4-5 star gear. The greatsword from Terra's event for example. Or the various armor sets from all the events (Power vest from Terra's event was awesome for a good while).

Have you done some of the easy elite levels? There are some that are around level 10-15 difficulty. Two of the easier ones give the light staff and light rod as rewards which are HUGE boosts for your casters. I'm still using both those in fact on my white and black magic users.

Another thing would be that on Sundays you should ONLY spend stamina on the Exp dungeon. Nothing else. Getting your characters leveled will be a huge benefit. The flans in the Rinoa event were a godsend for that too though I guess thats more hindsight. Was very easy to level chars up to 50 there, especially if they had summon (one Dragon cast killed all the flans). For now the sunday dungeon is the best.

I imagine you should be able to master at least the first level of the hard exp dungeon especially if you blow all your abilities on it. Then just retreat and do it again with a full refresh. You won't get the 1 lesser growth egg for completing it, but its FAR more efficient than slogging through the dungeon and not mastering it (thus getting less exp) since you have to ration your ability use.

I've been doing this with my woefully underleveled black/white mages and summoner. Black mage has 2 uses of quake which lets me one shot 2 of the 3 waves. White mage hastes and hopefully i get 2 thundaja casts off before the last waves kills anyone. S/L to make sure no one dies. I then reset the dungeon and repeat. Once I hone quake I suspect I'll be able to do it on Heroic with 4 quake casts.