Elvaan or Taru?

[Tomatoes]

I have both and Elv and Tar character. I can't decide which one to BST with. I thought Taru initially, but then I found that Elv has pretty high CHR. So then I thought I would BST Elvaan instead. But if I do go that route, I can only sub with melee-jobs. Hmm...

[Keftenk]

it sounds, and everyone must think that Elvaan has the highest CHR value in this game. gahd!! Hume, Elvaan, and Tarutaru all have the same CHR base value.


You will die a lot as Taru and not as Elvaan,

[sudo]

Nah, we're tough little buggers, I've seen some very high lv taru pld's out there.

I've done my fair share of tanking as just a thf and we're not that bad... yes our HP's are kind of crappy but we can cast cure 2's more often than an Elvaan can. Also since our innate MP's are fairly high, you can wear heavier armor. Of course an elvaan can just sub out that equipment but then again, so can a taru...

Our RSE makes up for some of that though. The boots and the gloves are quite nice for the HP's. You can also macro out eq change to heavy defence armor if the fight goes badly and you are below your HP buffer.

As an interesting bit of info, I got this from a JP stragety guide for PLD:


Stats min damage max total damage

Vit 72, defence 343 43 73 6325
Vit 83, defence 323 45 76 6246
Vit 74, defence 430 28 68 4880
Vit 85, defence 411 29 69 4791



This seems to show that armor is a much bigger factor than vit where taru suck in but elvaan are better at.

Since most bst won't be fighting IT all the time, magic resists won't matter a whole lot but I guess the elvaan MND would be superior in that case. But in the end, I think if you have enough money and equipment and gobbie bag quests completed, you can just sub in eq for elvaan and or taru to make them compariable.

You'll need more slots for accuracy and MP equipment as an Elvaan while you'll want Str and HP eq as taru. The game is balanced. Just have to be creative with the equipment.

Personally though, I've noticed that the following has happened to me a few times: This is just an example

Pet hits the monster twice for 20 and then 22 damage
Pet takes zero damage cause monster missed
I hit the monster for 28 with my scythe, (yes I know I should wait longer)
I get the hate

I think there is extra bonus hate for dealing the single biggest 1 hit damage to a monster and that's why agro shifted. There is also some wacky hate going around when I attack for the first time after pet has the thing at 1/2 life and I miss but still get agro. Heard it gets better at higher lv's but I'm just saying that elvaan might have to watch out how much or often they hit cause they might get extra agro vs the weaker tarus.

Probably not a big deal but I like taru cause we're so damn cute! /panic!!!!!!

[Keftenk]

Originally posted by sudo
Nah, we're tough little buggers, I've seen some very high lv taru pld's out there.

.........................not talking about PLD....thats a completly different job and is built/played different as a Taru.....trust me, Taru BST = die a lot more than BST Elvaan. (Im elvaan bst -- birdd is taru bst......just ask him how many times he dies compared to me ;

[Tomatoes]

Man, Taru it is then. Feel bad for my Elvaan tho. It's like I can only use him for PLD basically as far as Adv Jobs are concerned. Well, not that I can't make him a Rng or something. Just wouldn't be as effective.

[Keftenk]

let me just point out some things:


as BST/WHM or BST/RDM or whatever, your enfeebling renders virtually useless beyong lv 40 except for Dia and Dia II. At my level now (66 nearly 67), it takes 3-4 trys to get Paralyze to stick on a tough(tested last night on a Gigas -- im Elvaan BST/WHM btw). It used to be a crap load easier at earlier levels, but now it just saps my precious MP i have set up for CureIII, Regen, Blink, and Erase.

You WILL need lots of Accuracy for BST, especially for Elvaan; but you wont have to flood your character with the attribute. All you need is 100% TP by the time its ready to release and use the final blow on the monster with a WS to kill it. Thus, rendering the need for STR+ items. It won't matter because your pet is doing 90% of the damage and always will be unless you completly stack your BST with STR+/Attack+ items. However, an investment in SOME Attack+ could be useful. Still, keep in mind that its the final blow with your WS that really is the BST's prime use in a fight besides using the pet.

MP for an Elvaan I find very important. At the moment I have an Enhacing Mantle (+10 MP) and 2 Astral Rings (+50MP) equipped for my MP+ -- once I lv to 67 I will be equipping a Death Earring for another +10 MP. It is a slight overkill, but I am just seeing the realization that BST/WHM, BST/RDM, or BST/PLD is just a sub par caster. We AREN'T melee -- mainly due to our gimp of weapon selection and dmg output.

I would probably suggest a good 100-200+ HP on a Taru BST/WHM or at least a good amount of Evasion or AGI+ equipment. I see Bigbird go down too fast in 3-4 hits vs some monsters while it takes 5-6 on me(thats a lot if you........yah ~~;; ha...its a lot of time for me to react with another 2-3 hits.)

Just keep in mind Accuracy is probably the key attribute you want to focus on first on ANY BST. You will always want more in order to make that 100% TP count for when you need to release and smack your target to death.




This is just my personal preference since I have personally raised a lv 66 BST/WHM Elvaan WITH a lv 66 BST/WHM Tarutaru.

[Rico]

Forget the stats be a Taru they look cute in the AF.

[SyNapSe]

Taru look killer in the AF, but your going to have a much easier time as Elvaan.

[Vasailo]

i play a taru bst and have yet to die in roughly 25 lvls..

you take a crit tho from an IT mob (i group a lot and run crowd control) your easily in the yellow as a taru..

with /nin sub on. i normally dont' take dmg anymore due to utsusemi up all the time.

[Bigbird]

Yea, im a taru BST i have leveld with keftenk an elvaan up to 67 so far.

And if you ask which is Better, Elvaan is Better then Taru for a few Reasons.

Elvaans high str and HP are their main stats, and are used alot for a BST, mainwhile a Taru is high in INT and MP, and only the MP is usefull, all my 60+ INT goes to the garbage.

I could probably equip more HP gear, but then i'd be sacrificing all the ATK + and Acuracy + i need to finish the mob because i cant even last more then 5 hits vs a VT or T+ moB!!!!!!!

Yea, all the natural MP i get is good, but Its very difficult to get a cure3 off when the mob is hiting/interupting your spell.

Tarus have a bit higher Agi/dex, but its not a significant amount, its almost unoticeable. Compared to keftenk, i usually die 2 - 3 times more, and I'm not an idiot, i know how to play BST but our main Ability is charm, and charm ALWAYS has a chance to fail. And it will usually fail at the best times. Like fighting a raptor, that kills my pet, and i go to charm another, and it fails, boom, i got 2 things on me and seconds to get stuff under control, that extra 200 HP is usually the difference between life or death.

Do i Regret choosing Taru?
NEVAR, BST dies alot, no matter what race, tarus just die a bit more, so you'll be tempted to jump out the window more often then if you choose elvaan. But this was something i was well aware off when i choose this job, it was i challenge that i accepted and 1 million deaths wont stop me from a 70+ BST. Plus, Tarus look the best in BST AF =D

BST is challenging, and being a Taru is even more challenging, so i guess you have to ask yourself, Are you up to the challleng?

[DBurks2818]

Great post 'bird.

[Tomatoes]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

One thing though, I don't really plan to level the WHM job on my Elvaan. My Taru on the other hand is already 38Whm. Is Elvaan Bst/Pld/War/Mnk as viable?

[Turgon]

I tried BST/WAR for a little while, and just hated it. Died from poison (although I should have had antidote), and the downtime was awful. Maybe I will try this again now that I am a bit more experienced, and also since I outgrew my WHM sub :dead:

I can see why BST/WAR would work in theory. You have more VIT and STR and hit points, all which are good. I admit, when I am finishing off a mob I use magic only if I am in serious trouble. I use it afterwards, because my mana points regen so much quicker than my hit points, which are easily 10 times higher than my mana. While a WAR sub might allow you to finish off a mob quicker, you will still be resting longer. It is a simple cost/benefit evaluation.


BST/WAR would be a good idea if you plan on partying for your entire BST career, but not so good for soloing. BST/PLD would be interesting, but the mp an Elvaan gets with a WHM sub is already really low, with PLD you would get almost nothing. At that point, you would need +mp hairpins and earrings (I currently use +mp earrings as a BST/WHM).

Also, BST/WHM is 90-95% of the population on my server as well. I just had to bite the bullet and level both BLM and WHM. This time, I will be doing WHM all the way to 37, so I dont have to go back. I wont be playing my BST for quite a while. :mad:

[Megatron]

not talking about PLD....thats a completly different job and is built/played different as a Taru.....trust me, Taru BST = die a lot more than BST Elvaan. (Im elvaan bst -- birdd is taru bst......just ask him how many times he dies compared to me ;

That is untrue... the whole point of bst is controlling a pet to do your bidding... its like having a personal paladin with you.. the pet makes up for the weakness of taru (not being able to take hits) but not for the elvaan.

let the bst tank while you enfeeble and support your beast whats the point of having high hit points and high vit/str when your beast is the one using those stats... of course if a charm fails the elvaan has the advantage here as he can take more punishment but i wouldnt pick an elvaan just because of this advantage.

imo beastmaster is tailor made for a taru.

[Frumply]

elfin bsts will have it easier by far. Charisma is the same for hume/tar/elv, but elvs also have the highest MND, which will strengthen their buffs as well (slightly better stoneskin, etc). the MP's really nothing to worry about; all you need's a equipment macro to boost MP while you're healing. Most of the time you'll be at your natural level after regen/stoneskin/blink/etc etc anyway, at which point you can activate your chr or attacker equip macro. Then you got the gallon jug of HP that an elf has, compared to the 8oz lunchtray pack that tarus seem to possess. Those extra hits do count, especially if you forgot to use a mob's TP attack prior to releasing. Jetstream, silencegas/darkspore, death scissors, sickle slash, etc. all can spell near-certain death for the little ones. Only recently, I was teaming up with an elvin friend @ 57 when the C. Hunter we were hunting decided to scissor me right as I somehow got the aggro... it's always a great feeling to get hit for 100 more than your maximum HP.

Any race will work, however; I just didnt want to play as a longneck all day.