Curse

HoHum · Feb 07, 2007, 02:18 AM // 02:18

Now, I know what most of you are thinking - there are probably better places and more time-effective methods of farming for much more money. However, allow me to explain myself.

Although I've had extensive online gaming experience, I unabashedly admit that Nightfall is my first foray into the GW universe. Yes, you heard me right, "I am a GuildWar N00B!" However, I only point this out to emphasis that because of this, I do not have the benefits of owning the other two chapters (Prophecy, Factions). Furthermore, since this is my first character, I did not have the luxury to supply my PvE character with a huge trust account. I had to use whatever equipment, runes and insignias I found along the way.

Additionally, most of the forums I frequent seem to depict builds (e.g., the 130 HP Dervish) which are impossible for me (Hello? Nightfall only?) to build without forking over another $50 to Anet.

So, I had to come up with a fool-proof method for a steady source of income on my own. True, I'm not raking in the dough, but, hey, at least I have an income...

So, I'm sharing this for the benefit of all those who own Nightfall only and play the Dervish.

Skill Bar:

Reaper's Sweep
Mystic Sweep
Lyssa's Assault
Chilling Victory
Mystic Regeneration
Mystic Vigor
Faithful Intervention
Mending

or if you prefer it like this:
[skill]Reaper's Sweep[/skill][skill]Mystic Sweep[/skill][skill]Lyssa's Assault[/skill][skill]Chilling Victory[/skill][skill]Mystic Regeneration[/skill][skill]Mystic Vigor[/skill][skill]Faithful Intervention[/skill][skill]Mending[/skill]

Insignias:
5 Windwalker Insignias (easy to obtain the +15 armor bonus for maintaining 3 enchants)
NOTE: Please know that I actually purchased these recently from the money I've been making doing this run, before hand, I was using whatever insignias I had found.

Runes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum; but not used anymore

Hood: Superior Earth Prayers (+3, -75 HP)
Robe: Minor Mysticism (+1)
Vambrace: Major Vigor (+41 HP)
Leggings: Major Scythe (+2, -35 HP)
Shoes: Clarity (reduce blindness, weakness 20%)

Hood: Superior Superior Scythe Mastery (+3, -75 HP)
Robe: Vitae (+10 HP)
Vambrace: Major Vigor (+41 HP)
Leggings: Vitae (+10 HP)
Shoes: Major Mysticism (+2, -35 HP)

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum; but not really relevant with current setup

NOTE: All of these runes are NOT necessary. However, I've included them here just to give you an idea of what I'm using. Please know that all these runes I've salvaged myself. You'll probably be able to come up with better combinations if you have the money to purchase them.

A word here about the Superior Earth Prayer rune. One needs at least 3 Earth Prayer to get 2 ticks of health regeneration per enchantment from [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill]. Yes, I know I can get the 2 ticks with a Minor Earth Prayer rune and a +1 Earth hood (assuming all my other runes stay the same). But remember, I'm using what I've found, okay? Ideally, I think it'd be nice to Earth Prayer to 8, without sacrificing the other attributes. This is where people like you can help me out by pointing out things I could do better!

Oh yeah, the attributes...

Attributes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum; but thanks to Batou of Nine, I'm not running this anymore

Scythe Mastery: 12 +2 = 14
Earth Prayer: 2 +1+3 = 6
Mysticism: 10 +1 = 11
Healing Prayers: 8

Scythe Mastery: 12 +1+3 = 16
Mysticism: 7 +2 = 9 for that breakpoint! a multiple of 3!
Earth Prayer: 8 Now [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] gets +3 pip per enchants!
Healing Prayers: 8 and finally, [skill=text]Mending[/skill] stays at +3 pip unconditionally!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum, again, left for reference, but no longer relevant

NOTE: You're probably thinking, "Why is this n00b running 8 in Healing Prayer instead of Earth Prayer?" Here's my rationale (whether it's valid remains to be seen): [skill=text]Mending[/skill] is an enchant that I do not have to maintain (i.e., continually recast). It, along with [skill=text]Faithful Intervention[/skill], are "cast and forget" kind of enchants. Having these two enchants up all the time without using energy to recast them, allows me to use my limited energy for more offensive skills. Plus, the two enchantments gives me a de facto bonus for all the bonuses (e.g., Windwalkers, Damage output, [skill=text]Mystic Sweep[/skill], [skill=text]Mystic Vigor[/skill], etc). Hence, I reasoned that I would rather have +3 health regen on me all the time, instead of +2. Yes, I know that [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] gives me +X per enchants... For now, however, this is just my description of how I've been able to make my measily income. I'll tweak this aspect as I get less n00bish.

Weapon:
Any maximum damage (9-41) scythe. It goes without saying that one should customize it for the bonus to damage output. Furthermore, obviously any +HP and/or +dmg (while enchanted) helps; however, I ran my money train for a long time without the benefits of these modifiers. Simply put - nice but not aboslutely necessary.

Location:
From Yohlon Haven, enter Arkjok Ward. You'll see the insects immediately. Talk to the Priest for bonus XP if it's available for you.

Methodology:
The most important rule: MAINTAIN YOUR ENCHANTMENTS!!
Second most important rule: Only recast your enchants as they expire but not before. Otherwise, you won't reap the benefits of Mysticism, which gives you energy and health back.

As you zone, cast [skill=text]Mending[/skill] and [skill=text]Faithful Intervention[/skill]. These will be your de facto enchants that you essentially do not have to worry about maintaining. And, as mentioned earlier, having these two up automatically benefits all your bonuses (e.g., Windwalkers, Damage output, [skill=text]Mystic Sweep[/skill], [skill=text]Mystic Vigor[/skill], etc).

Until you get the hang of it, aggro only one group at a time. And remember to use the terrain to block the ranged attacks of the Queen and the other bug (I forgot its name), while you deal with the melee Termites. When the Termites attack, it always helps to back away every so slightly to cause all the bugs to bunch up in front of you.

When the bugs are almost upon you, cast [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill]. Now cover that with [skill=text]Mystic Vigor[/skill], which will give you a maximum of +25 health x3 = +75 each swing, if you manage to hit 3 bugs at once. By now, you should have hit C and Spacebar to start your attacks. You should have enough energy to do a [skill=text]Lyssa's Assault[/skill], which upon completion will give you enough energy to do a
[skill=text]Chilling Victory[/skill] right after. Almost immediately, do your [skill=text]Reaper's Sweep[/skill] and queue your [skill=text]Mystic Sweep[/skill], which will hit in 3/4 time. Once you've done this cycle of attack, it will be about time to recharge your [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] and [skill=text]Mystic Vigor[/skill]. Rinse and repeat.

After you dispense with the Termites, wait behind the rock until you recover fully before engaging the ranged bugs. It really helps to have these ranged bugs bunched up together as well. Move around a bit to see how they respond to you. Sometimes you may have to run away a bit to have them follow you. As soon as you see them bunch up, hit your C/Spacebar combo.

I've taken on 3 Queens and have beaten them so it's not impossible; albeit, it took a long time. Thus, if you don't want to waste your time, you can just rezone and do it again. Remember, the ranged attack bugs do not dish out high melee damage so you can use your energy to cycle your offensive more often without having to recast your defensive skills.

Show me the money!
Here's the money making part: Aside from all the vendor trash you obtain, there's something that drops with great frequency. Oh, remember to sell the vendor trash after you ID them as the actual value can be in fact quite a bit more. If the item's actual value is 4g or more than what the vendor originally would have paid for it, then you're at least breaking even for the use of the superior ID kit. If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about - PM me...

Anyhow, these insects love to shed their carapaces. I mean quite literally, in one run, I collected 20 Insect Carapaces. Now before you even think about selling these at 20g a pop - think about this. "Wait a minute," you say, "20 x 20 = 400g; that's a lot of money! Why wouldn't I sell them?" Well, what if I told you I could turn those 20 Insect Carapaces into 1200g?

Here's how you do it - run over to Poti in Jahai Bluffs and turn in 5 Insect Carapaces for the Jeweled Chalice, which sells for 300g. Do the math: 20 / 5 = 4 Jeweled Chalices. 4 x 300 = 1 platinum & 200 gold. Much better, huh? Now, like I said earlier, this might not be much gold in the grand scheme of things. But an income is still an income. It's come to a point where I can do this run in about 10 minutes. I garner at least a platinum per run. That's at least 4 platinum per hour if I figure in the time it takes me to ID and vendor. This doesn't even take into account the actual money dropped by the bugs and the occasional Kournan key, dyes and GOLD items I've farmed.

Additionally
I've used this build to even solo all those monkeys that throw rocks at you. This takes a bit more setup as you have to use the terrain to avoid their projectile while you bunch them up together as a group. Also, it is even more imperative that you maintain your [skill=text]Mystic Regeneration[/skill] and [skill=text]Mystic Vigor[/skill] so that you heal yourself while hitting them. If you go for even a few seconds without healing yourself, you'll put yourself into a health deficeit that's hard to pull out of with only 25 energy.

Yet, I've died a few times and still managed to finish off all 3 groups of gorillas even at more than 40% death penalty. The benefit of killing the gorillas is that your death penalty disappears quickly and they drop Half-digested armor, from which you can salvage runes/insignias and even steel ingots.

Anyhow, please feel free to comment and as I progress in this game, I may find another tweak or two. Who knows? Maybe I'll even find another great place to farm!

Flame away!

UPDATE:
Implementing people's wonderful suggestions, I found that the apparently minor adjustment to the attributes made a major difference. On the first attempt with the modified attributes, I was not only able to solo all the bugs, I was able to farm all the surrounding apes (Tusked Howlers & Hunters) - all in under 8 minutes. If I just do the insects, I've been averaging 3-4 minutes.

My last run (bugs & apes) netted me 849 gold, 6 carapaces, 19 items (8 of them blue), 1 white dye. After salvaging, I kept 2 runes, 1 steel ingot, 1 grip, the dye and sold the rest, giving me 1665 cash. Figuring 2 minutes to salvage and sell, this means in 10 minutes, I made 1665 in cash only. So one hour would be nearly 10 platinum in cash - not to mention all the items I would keep or the carapaces I'll go turn in... Not too bad, huh?

ryanryanryan0310 · Feb 07, 2007, 03:23 AM // 03:23

Nice guild but 4k an hour.....? Sorry to say thats not alot. Most good farming locations make about 5-10x that an hour. I think that I can solo pre-searing and make more than that

.

edit:
Why are your using mending with mystic regeneration? Doesn't mystic regeneration give you insane amount of pips? And if you REALLY need more pips of regen why not use watchful spirit, that way you can spend more points in your other attributes?

Senrath · Feb 07, 2007, 03:29 AM // 03:29

ryanryan, please read this segment again:

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum

Now, I know what most of you are thinking - there are probably better places and more time-effective methods of farming for much more money. However, allow me to explain myself.

Although I've had extensive online gaming experience, I unabashedly admit that Nightfall is my first foray into the GW universe. Yes, you heard me right, "I am a GuildWar N00B!" However, I only point this out to emphasis that because of this, I do not have the benefits of owning the other two chapters (Prophecy, Factions). Furthermore, since this is my first character, I did not have the luxury to supply my PvE character with a huge trust account. I had to use whatever equipment, runes and insignias I found along the way.

Additionally, most of the forums I frequent seem to depict builds (e.g., the 130 HP Dervish) which are impossible for me (Hello? Nightfall only?) to build without forking over another $50 to Anet.

So, I had to come up with a fool-proof method for a steady source of income on my own. True, I'm not raking in the dough, but, hey, at least I have an income...

So, I'm sharing this for the benefit of all those who own Nightfall only and play the Dervish.

ryanryanryan0310 · Feb 07, 2007, 03:31 AM // 03:31

Ok then I can solo noob island in nightfall and make that much in 1/2 hour blindfolded

.

Batou of Nine · Feb 07, 2007, 03:31 AM // 03:31

Descent build, good guide!

Since you say yourself you are fairly new to Guild Wars i will give you a couple tidbits. 2 words. Breaking points. Your line of thinking was to push Healing up to 8 for the +3 pip break point of mending, with that in mind you should consider other breaking points.

First of all, it is wise to have Mysticism in multiples of 3 for the energy return breakpoints. Additionally, you are only using 2 skills from the Mysticism line. I would suggest to bring Mysticism attribute down to 9. You still get 3 energy per ending enchantment, you still get the same amount of heal with mystic vigor and you only lose 16 hp gain from Faithful Intervention. So from 11 to 9, hardly anything has changed except... free attribute points!!!

Guess what? You should now be able to pump Earth Prayers from 6 to 8. This will reach the breakpoint on Mystic Regeneration of +3 pips per enchant. By changing hardly anything at all, you now have more pips of regen meaning you can handle more degen/conditions and more foes at a time in turn helping to increase your gold/per hour intake.

Just a small bit of advice. As far as ur skill choices, well they seem to work right?

Cheers!

EDIT:: I would add that you WANT the enchantments to end before you refresh them so that you get the energy back from your Mysticism attribute, which is your build's only energy management. Since you don't necessarily have a zealous scythe nor any energy management skills, you would be hard pressed for energy real fast. So again, i would add in your post that enchantments should END before you refresh them... otherwise you have no energy management what-so-ever making runs harder then they have to be... Just more advice ^_^"

HoHum · Feb 07, 2007, 03:49 AM // 03:49

Batou of Nine, yes - I completely forgot to mention that. I should add that as the next important thing to remember:

Recast your enchants as soon as they expire but not before. Otherwise, you won't reap the benefits of our Mysticism attribute.

Thanks for the breakdown for Mysticism. Yeah, I was stupid trying to keep that at 11, huh? I'll tell you how things proceed with your suggestion of keeping it at 9.

HoHum · Feb 07, 2007, 04:04 AM // 04:04

ryanryanryan0310:

Hehe, I tried farming n00b island without being blindfolded and didn't even make 1 platinum an hour! You, ryanryanryan0310 must be gosu!

While I appreciate your comment, I think the more constructive thing would be for you to write me a guide detailing how I, as a Nightfall-ONLY dervish, can farm these areas for your alledged 5 to 10 x 4 = 20 to 40 platinum an hour. Please understand, I would love to be able to do that. However, I lack the knowledge. Would you be so kind as to educate me?

Also, the 4P/hr is the bare minimum I've made. At under 10 minutes a run (not doing the gorillas and sticking only with the bugs), I've always netted at least a platinum. I didn't want to promise anything more than reality. Otherwise I'd have ubern00bs flaming me that they weren't making the slew of cash I'm making! :P

So, once again, please, pray tell, where can I solo-farm the 20-40P/hr as a Nightfall-only dervish?

Man N Tights · Feb 07, 2007, 05:29 AM // 05:29

Great post Batou on explaining break points...something easily missed by newer players who usually pump up attribs w/o analyzing. Also thanks for the build HoHum. I just started a dervish...after playing mostly core it feels very comfortable. looking forward to getting off noob island in a few days.

happy farming! <---sounds a bit engrish eh? XD
Man

Edit: BTW farming mid level area can be extremely fun...sometimes you'll get that rare tribal axe or other campaign specific "must-haves".

ryanryanryan0310 · Feb 08, 2007, 01:59 AM // 01:59

Skale farming:

Leave from Beknur Harbor into Issnur Isles. You'll see a huge swamp area with lots of Skale groups containing lvl14 Ridgeback Skale, Skale Blighter and Frigid Skale. There pretty easy to kill with max weapons and proper healing-- i.e. your build

. They drop crafting materials, tons of rune's and Skale fins which can be traded in for Bowl of Skalefin Soup. Bowl of Skalefin Soup can sell for 800g -1k in noob island. You should be able to make about 4-10k per hour selling to the merchant/rune trader and trading soup for cash. Remember to alternate farming locations.

My guildie's do this and make tons of money. Also the soup is a great PVE item. +1 mending for ten minutes FTW

.

P.S.
I don't farm anymore, my money is maded on the trading market

.

HoHum · Feb 08, 2007, 02:58 AM // 02:58

Thank you kindly ryanryan,

I'll definitely try that area out. One of the things I should have mentioned was that I'm a working professional with a family. One of the things I detest about GW is how time-consuming it is to sell items either in-game (e.g., need to log on prime times and type, copy, paste, spam, etc.) or via the auction site here (e.g., take screenshots, edit, post it, etc.). I really wish they would implement the auction house system of WoW. Hence, your suggestion of trading skales for soup and then hawking the soup is something I do not really have much time to do. Hence, I tried to find a place that was completely doable on my own time and schedule. Still, I shall try your area out. Thanks!

disarm76 · Feb 08, 2007, 04:11 AM // 04:11

Back for the Unwaking Waters SV farming days, I made 20k an hour, not counting the gold weps I sold later. good days.

judgedread33 · Feb 08, 2007, 10:22 AM // 10:22

ok heres a tip make it up to the place where u can get to uw in nf and go on wiki and use the dervish solo fow build u can make close to 20kper hour (does require a bit of experience and patience

Senrath · Feb 08, 2007, 01:49 PM // 13:49

Although this doesn't effect me (due to the fact that I own all three campaigns) what could a NF only person swap in for Physical Resistance in the FoW build?

Bloodied Blade · Feb 08, 2007, 02:16 PM // 14:16

^^

I believe conviction gives +AL if you're enchanted...not 100% sure about that, I may have its effects reversed.

Sorry to grammar nitpick about this, but in the context you used it, the word you're looking for is "affect".

Marverick · Feb 08, 2007, 11:00 PM // 23:00

Here's a Nightfall-only farming build for Cobalts in Vehjim Mines that can get you anywhere from 10-30k an hour if you get a good gold drop.

Zealous Vow
Mystic Sweep
Eremite's Attack
Mystic Regeneration
Mystic Vigor
Conviction
Dust Cloak
Fleeting Stability

Just put Scythe Mastery to 16, Mysticism 8+1 for +25 vigor, Earth 7+1 for +3 regen from MR, and dump the rest into Wind Prayers, whatever rune here is okay as long as you have +4 per hit.

Group the stuff together and attack, keep all enchantments on. You will have +10 health regeneration, and gain 75 health and 12 energy per hit of the scythe (which is twice every 2.5 seconds). Alternate your regular attacks with your 3/4 attacks to get the best out of them. Watchful is incase you get killed when luring and don't have the cobalts set up in adjacent range yet.
You can kill the Behemoths if your heart so desires, but they are sometimes tricky with the high damage from Scytheclaw Behemoths.

If you really want to do bugs then just use Conviction + Veil of Thorns + Armor of Sanctity to reduce nearly all incoming damage to 0. Mystic Regeneration will take care of the occasional Cruel Spear that hit for 1-15 damage.

Knight_Blazer · Feb 09, 2007, 06:04 PM // 18:04

My Dervish simply farms Exuro's will, a staff worth 15k, from one of the dumbest bosses ever existed ;p

I get about 2 per hour and they sell pretty fast. Granted you have to be at the Gate of Madness mission, but the boss literally stands there and does nothing (every 30 secs or so he does fire attunement, fireball then immolate, if you survive that you have another 30 secs of boss sitting still). With a boss that easy why the hell is the staff worth 15k? It might be more worthwhile than my Deathbringer farming...

Kirby_The_Destroyer · Feb 09, 2007, 07:49 PM // 19:49

Well HoHum nice build atleast your looking for spots to farm and not begging, we all start somewere. I remember farming lvl12 mergoyles in kryta wayy back when i started playing the game, now i just c.r.,buy/sell, and once in a while farm for fun. Good luck and keep Experimenting builds.

HoHum · Feb 09, 2007, 09:22 PM // 21:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanryanryan0310

Skale farming:

Okay. I actually took some of my precious playing time

to see how wonderful Mr(s). ryanryanryan0310's suggestion for skale farming was... Bottom line: He may have more money than I do, but he should refrain from commenting in the thread anymore.

(hehe, i'm just funning)

Here's my analysis comparing my experiences farming Bugs (Arkjok Ward, outside Yohlon Haven) vs. Skales (Issnur Isles, outside Beknur Harbor):

Bugs are richer:

Bugs have deeper pockets than Skales (i.e., Bugs carry more money).
Bugs use better equipment than Skales (i.e., Bug equipment sells for more).
Bugs are better locksmiths than Skales (i.e., Kournan keys & chests > Istani keys & chests).

Bugs are quicker:

Bugs are easier to round up than Skales.
Bugs cannot freeze your ass like Skales. (i.e., if you didn't know, this impedes your mobility).
Bugs are found right outside the entrance.
Translation: 24 bugs (16 on the right, 8 on the left) take only about 3 minutes to farm. Skales take longer than 3-4 minutes to farm. Not to mention the fact that to get 24 Skales, you have to actually go towards the 3rd pool.

Errata:

Bugs (level 20) give more XP than Skales (level 14).

Oh yeah, Runes/Insignias:

The claim was made that "tons of rune's [sic]" can be obtained and sold from Skales. I admit, Skales do drop Half-digested boots and stuff, which may or may not contain these "tons of rune's [sic]."
Still, just add 5 more minutes after farming the Bugs and go farm the 15 Apes (level 22 Tusked Howlers & Hunters) that are nearby - they drop Half-digested armor, which can give you steel ingots and the runes/insignias to your hearts content! And it's only about 5 minutes more! For those who are math-deficient, that's a total of about 8 minutes of farming for both Bugs and Apes.

Best reason:

Bugs drop Insect Carapaces, which are a guaranteed sale for a guaranteed price (20 insect carapaces = 1200 gold).
Skales, drop... well, Skale Fins, which cannot be traded for anything of inherent value, unless I want to muck around trying to sell my Skalefin Soup, which incidently, no one seems to buy lately - especially at the alledged 800-1000 gold price.

(Hey ryanryanryan0310, I've got 19 Skalefin Soups. I had 20 but ate one just to see if I could get high (yes, I was that bored). I'll sell them to you - 500g a piece! )

Bottom Line:
Don't waste time with the Skales. Bugs & Apes are a better bang for the buck for now. When I find a place that generates a more profitable return (i.e., more money for the same or less amount of time), I'll be sure to write a different farming guide. For now, Bugs & Apes...

Marverick · Feb 09, 2007, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knight_Blazer

My Dervish simply farms Exuro's will, a staff worth 15k, from one of the dumbest bosses ever existed ;p

I get about 2 per hour and they sell pretty fast. Granted you have to be at the Gate of Madness mission, but the boss literally stands there and does nothing (every 30 secs or so he does fire attunement, fireball then immolate, if you survive that you have another 30 secs of boss sitting still). With a boss that easy why the hell is the staff worth 15k? It might be more worthwhile than my Deathbringer farming...

Well he's a piece of cake to kill with the 130hp Dervish, takes about a minute. However half the time I exit into the area, a Shadow Army mob patrols right in front of the spawn point and I get raped by them. How do you deal with this?

MrSlayer · Feb 10, 2007, 04:01 AM // 04:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoHum

Okay. I actually took some of my precious playing time

to see how wonderful Mr(s). ryanryanryan0310's suggestion for skale farming was... Bottom line: He may have more money than I do, but he should refrain from commenting in the thread anymore.

(hehe, i'm just funning)

Here's my analysis comparing my experiences farming Bugs (Arkjok Ward, outside Yohlon Haven) vs. Skales (Issnur Isles, outside Beknur Harbor):

Bugs are richer:

Bugs have deeper pockets than Skales (i.e., Bugs carry more money).
Bugs use better equipment than Skales (i.e., Bug equipment sells for more).
Bugs are better locksmiths than Skales (i.e., Kournan keys & chests > Istani keys & chests).

Bugs are quicker:

Bugs are easier to round up than Skales.
Bugs cannot freeze your ass like Skales. (i.e., if you didn't know, this impedes your mobility).
Bugs are found right outside the entrance.
Translation: 24 bugs (16 on the right, 8 on the left) take only about 3 minutes to farm. Skales take longer than 3-4 minutes to farm. Not to mention the fact that to get 24 Skales, you have to actually go towards the 3rd pool.

Errata:

Bugs (level 20) give more XP than Skales (level 14).

Oh yeah, Runes/Insignias:

The claim was made that "tons of rune's [sic]" can be obtained and sold from Skales. I admit, Skales do drop Half-digested boots and stuff, which may or may not contain these "tons of rune's [sic]."
Still, just add 5 more minutes after farming the Bugs and go farm the 15 Apes (level 22 Tusked Howlers & Hunters) that are nearby - they drop Half-digested armor, which can give you steel ingots and the runes/insignias to your hearts content! And it's only about 5 minutes more! For those who are math-deficient, that's a total of about 8 minutes of farming for both Bugs and Apes.

Best reason:

Bugs drop Insect Carapaces, which are a guaranteed sale for a guaranteed price (20 insect carapaces = 1200 gold).
Skales, drop... well, Skale Fins, which cannot be traded for anything of inherent value, unless I want to muck around trying to sell my Skalefin Soup, which incidently, no one seems to buy lately - especially at the alledged 800-1000 gold price.

(Hey ryanryanryan0310, I've got 19 Skalefin Soups. I had 20 but ate one just to see if I could get high (yes, I was that bored). I'll sell them to you - 500g a piece! )

Bottom Line:
Don't waste time with the Skales. Bugs & Apes are a better bang for the buck for now. When I find a place that generates a more profitable return (i.e., more money for the same or less amount of time), I'll be sure to write a different farming guide. For now, Bugs & Apes...

Awesome...absolutely...what more can be said.

Kudos to you my friend...that made me chortle :P