Just another check my gear thread...

[Dahlaine]

Okay I just recently got 43 and have decided to get off my butt and start farming. Any advice or thoughts on what I should upgrade to would be appreciated. Things that I'm looking at upgrading to will be in parenthesis.

Just a note on my playstyle, I go /whm as i don't have NIN unlocked yet. I will let my pet get a couple hits in before I engauge. Depending upon which is cheaper at the time, I use Tav. Taco or Tuna Sushi (lately it's be sushi).

Current gear:
Weapon: Barbaroi Axe
Shield: Mahogany Shield (Viking @ 45)
Head: Centurion's Visor (Valkyrie's or Walkure)
Neck: Spike Necklace
Ear: Beetle Earings x 2
Body: Royal Squire Chainmail
Hands: Gigas Bracelets
Rings: Courage Ring x 2 (Snipers/Woodsman)
Back: Wolf Mantle +1
Waist: Tilt Belt (Swordbelt)
Legs: Royal Squire Breeches
Feet: Studded Boots

Charm Gear:
Hope Ring x 2
Bird Whistle
(Corsette or Corsette +1)

Also the guides on wiki and alla suggest the Brigandine armor at 45, or going for the Luisant set. Ideas, comments, suggestions.

Edit: Just realized something, instead of Brigandine or Luisant, should I just go for the Iron Ram set at 45.

[Cotners]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Okay I just recently got 43 and have decided to get off my butt and start farming. Any advice or thoughts on what I should upgrade to would be appreciated. Things that I'm looking at upgrading to will be in parenthesis.

Just a note on my playstyle, I go /whm as i don't have NIN unlocked yet. I will let my pet get a couple hits in before I engauge. Depending upon which is cheaper at the time, I use Tav. Taco or Tuna Sushi (lately it's be sushi).

Current gear:
Weapon: Barbaroi Axe
Shield: Mahogany Shield (Viking @ 45)
Head: Centurion's Visor (Valkyrie's or Walkure)
Neck: Spike Necklace
Ear: Beetle Earings x 2
Body: Royal Squire Chainmail
Hands: Gigas Bracelets
Rings: Courage Ring x 2 (Snipers/Woodsman)
Back: Wolf Mantle +1
Waist: Tilt Belt (Swordbelt)
Legs: Royal Squire Breeches
Feet: Studded Boots

Charm Gear:
Hope Ring x 2
Bird Whistle
(Corsette or Corsette +1)

Also the guides on wiki and alla suggest the Brigandine armor at 45, or going for the Luisant set. Ideas, comments, suggestions.

You probably already know this but whenyou hit 51 light/apollos's staff is most likely going to be the best addition to your charm set in the game.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

You're fine. I had none of that crap and I still levelled fine (solo).

Add a noble's ribbon (+3 CHR)

Sell Viking maybe, and get Balance Buckler (+3 Acc)

Waist: Lifebelt at 48

Viking Axe at 48.

Body is up to you. Brigandine is too ugly for my fasion tastes.

Try battle gloves for the hands.

Get Valkryrie for the MP, but not really needed, it's more of a luxury. You can get that Alumine Salade to look cool at the same time (waste of money but I liked it...). DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY on the Luisant gear, seriously. You do not need all the mini stats.

Save up for Haubergeon if you haven't got it already.

[Satori]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Well your gear seems ok.

Here's what I'm currently using at 43.

< Charm >

Main : Monster Signa ( Chr +8 ) Free from a lvl 16/17 Nm. up to 90,000 Gil on Ah.
Head : Noble's Ribbon ( Chr +3 ) Lv 52 Clothcraft Item, up to 15,000 Gil on Ah.
Neck : Bird Whistle ( Chr +3 ) Free from a lvl 21-22 Nm. up to 10,000 Gil on Ah.
Rings : Loyalty Ring ( Chr +3 ) x2 of these, up to 35,000 Gil on Ah.
Waist : Corsette +1 ( Chr +6 ) up to 30,000 Gil on Ah.

This will give you a total of 26 Chr and so far I've been quite lucky with charming.

< Fight >

Main : Combat Caster's axe
Sub : Royal Squire's Shield
Head : Alluring Headband
Neck : Spike Necklace
Body : Royal Squire's Chainmail
Hands : Royal Squire's Mufflers
Waist : Survival Belt
Back : Wolf Mantle
Legs: Royal Squire's Breeches
Feet : Centurion's Greaves
Rings : Deft Ring +1 x2 of these
Ears : Drone Earrings x2 of these

This probably isn't the best gear but so far it's serving me quite well.

The prices mentioned are for my server "Remora" a few months back.

[Armando]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Sell Viking maybe, and get Balance Buckler (+3 Acc)

There's no way 3 Acc and lower damage reduction is better than 12 Attack. Also, if downtime is an issue/you get hit often, Hard Shield might be worth using at 48.

C.C. Axe (and HQs) are much better than Barbaroi Axe.

Battle Gloves or Combat Caster's Mitts are better than Gigas Bracelets, and they'll actually make you look like you're wearing something in your hands.

Sniper/Woodsmans are better than Courage Rings assuming your Hit Rate isn't capped.

Iron Ram body/legs/feet will do you good.


P.S. Don't use Wrath Tabar.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

For hate control

Might as well strike often and for less to get TP and focus on finishing the mob. The equipment doesn't last long enough anyway to justify the upgrades, and fighting EM/T stuff you really won't get much accuracy problems. Infact it will help hate more often than not.

Afterall, why all the shiny equipment? If soloing I always think getting by with the bare but functional minimum is enough, more gil to splash on yourself at 75.

Sniper/Woodsman I cannot deny, but the C.C Axes ... hmm...

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Don't use Wrath Tabar.

Explain.

45 DMG and +7 STR makes it one of the better handaxes out there, especially so for soloing. I've found it far more reliable for Rampage than most other axes I've had access to thus far. Sold it off since BST was on hold for a bit, but the Darksteel pick I've been farming with on BST now is complete shit. I'd certainly discard Wrath tabar for better axes once I'm of the level, but I'm 66 and I've yet to see anything better.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Explain.

45 DMG and +7 STR makes it one of the better handaxes out there, especially so for soloing.

Never had one ... I'll say, I'm too cheap to buy.

(otherwise in my opinion it's a luxury and not a requirement)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Wrath Tabar has never been over 120k from what i've seen.

[Armando]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Darksteel Axe +1 has higher DPS at half the price. As for /NIN, Wrath Tabar/Darksteel Axe +1 breaks even with Darksteel Axe +1 x2 because the higher fSTR will affect both weapons, yet you still pay double for the Wrath Tabar. Also, Tungi beats both at Lv.60.

Wrath does give slightly higher Rampages but the difference isn't noticeable by the human eye because there's just too much randomness in it between all the possible combinations of misses and crits.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

I'd agree with you if we were talking about BST purely in a PT context, but often a BST isn't seeing luxuries like haste magic solo (Well, a real solo BST, anyway, there's tons of fakes with a WHM or RDM dual boxed. They often get what they deserve from doing that, because they don't learn about how to control hate).

With respect to that, pet survival or your pet's ability to keep hate should be given higher consideration. A lower delay axe actually threatens pet tanking by giving you more unwanted attention. As such, I'd still prefer Kabrakan's Axe or Wrath Tabar. Kabrakan's would at least somewhat garuntee your pet would take less damage, keeping it in the fight longer. Wrath Tabar would bring more fights to a decisive end since, when soloing, mob evasion is a much lower concern than it is with parties.

For PTs, yes, a lower delay axe is preferable.

[Armando]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Taking Wrath Tabar's STR into account, Darksteel Axe only has 3% higher DPS than Wrath. I highly doubt you would be able to truly notice any extra hate. Also, Wrath's Rampages are only marginally stronger than Darksteel Axe's; certainly not higher enough to be able to argue that it would end battles more decisively.

The other problem with that argument is that if you do have hate problems, it seems stupid to gimp your weapon. That's imposing a hard cap on your performance (because in the event that you need the stronger weapon, you would have to reset your TP) while getting nothing out of it. It makes far more sense to use the best weapon possible, and cut back on your DD gear instead. That approach has two obvious advantages: 1) you can take it on and off freely, and 2) you can get other beneficial stats with the gear you use to replace the DD gear. For example, removing Valkyrie's Mask and putting on Crow Beret, you lose 7 Attack, dropping your damage, while also getting -7 Enmity, further dropping your hate, and +4 Evasion. That alone would have a far bigger/more noticeable impact on your hate than choosing Darksteel Axe +1 over Wrath Tabar.

No matter how you slice it, you're still paying extra for an inferior weapon.

EDIT: Also, a higher Delay axe really isn't preferable if it does more damage over time anyways. It just gives you marginally longer intervals to turn around if you know you're right at the hate line and another hate will turn the mob, but you'll still hit that hate line faster than a lower DPS, faster axe. If it has higher DPS it probably has a high DMG too which means every hit also has a higher probability of crossing the hate line as well.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

No matter how you slice it, you're still paying extra for an inferior weapon.

Given all the STR/Attack gear I can slap on soloing, Wrath Tabar adding to that, I just don't see it that way. I mean, its not like I go out there to fight IT++ or anything, so accuracy is a much lower priority solo than if I were in a PT.

/NIN is pretty crappy for BST solo survivablity, too, so its seldom ever a factor. /WHM (or /DNC 70+) would be preferable for survivability, time and gil efficiency.

/NIN is more of a PT factor from where I'm standing, and where you should worry about little details like DPS a little more. BST Solo has a lot of other factors to concern yourself with that don't take place in PTs, even moreso than other jobs that can solo.

[Armando]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

Given all the STR/Attack gear I can slap on soloing, Wrath Tabar adding to that, I just don't see it that way. I mean, its not like I go out there to fight IT++ or anything, so accuracy is a much lower priority solo than if I were in a PT.

But that's just it, like I said, Wrath's only real merit comes when dual wielding because that 7 STR "spills over" and affects the other weapon as well, essentially giving twice the boost (and even then, it only breaks even with a second Darksteel Axe +1). If we limit the discussion to single wielding then Wrath Tabar is an inferior weapon for doing damage. Even tacking on 2 more DMG into the DPS calculations to account for the 7 STR, Darksteel Axe +1 still has 3% higher DPS. Tungi is even better, having 6% higher DPS (again, including the 2 fSTR on Wrath into Wrath's DPS number.) It's not like STR and Attack get better the more you stack them either.

[Duncan Idaho]

Re: Just another check my gear thread...

At 50 definitely get a couple of pieces of crow gear. I still keep a couple with me at level 68 for hate control. Every time you change camps the difference in pets can make a huge difference in hate control.

As for axes I liked the combat casters axe. When you get to 48 get the Viking axe, the acc is just to good to pass up. I used the darksteel axe after that (I was /nin with the viking in my off hand), then I bought a Kabrakan's axe. The proc rate on Kabrakan's was surprisingly good, especially on earth day.

For all other gear I just prioritized acc and slowly added attack + and str +. I have made it ok without a Haubergeon but my Rampages have suffered for it. I almost have enough for it now though. At 68 I will probably do one more level without it and buy a Hauberk.