lvl 60ish gear

[LordBiGGs]

ok here are my choices i am considering. i was thinking about having 2 sets of gear. 1 set based on the gluttony sword and one on an earth staff.

set 1 - mostly offensive (at least for a pld). does some damage and decent hit rate to make that emnity+ gear kick in.

main - gluttony sword
earring 1 - assault earring
rings - chrysoberyl
belt - life belt
neck - royal guards collar

set 2. completely defensive. probably wont hit a lot and when you do you might do 0 damage. but you wont take a lot per hit and will lose less hate that way. also has more casting ability from the astrals.

main earth staff
earring 1 - drone
rings - astral
neck - medieval collar
belt - not really sure.

possible set 3. a mix of the first 2. less damage from the earth staff, good casting from the astrals, decent hit rate for the emnity+

main - earth staff
earring - 1 assault earring
rings - astral
neck - royal guards collar
belt - life belt

what do you guys think? i kinda like set one since you need to deal damage for the emnity+ to kick in. i also hear the earth staff is mostly only used for hnm's not parties, or high lvl parties once you get spirit taker. last reason i like the gluttony sword better is you can actually do some damage with weapon skills. also any other suggestions would be helpful

[csBahamut]

My setup looks very much like your set 1, but without the Assault Earring. I don't like the -def and evade, or whatever it adds -stats to. Of course, I don't see a problem with using an Assault earring. There's some +VIT choices now for earrings, along with +MP, or the old fashioned Drone. There's other viabe options, but it's all based on your preference I think. If you have the skills, slightly different equip from standard won't hurt you.

As for Earth Staff, that's really only for stuff WAY above your level, where your sword would be doing 0 damage if you even hit at all (i.e. HNMs). The +emnity on the AF helps a lot more some than people realize. I've tried tanking with Earth Staff, Clubs, Great Swords, and Swords. So far, nothing beats out swords, but Club might be OK if I could get it caught up so I could actually hit in an EXP party. The only time GS worked for me, was on VTs, and that's because I could hit, and I needed the extra damage dealt, and I needed to take more damage because I wasn't getting hurt enough to even cure myself with regen on.

[MonoxideChild]

Where to start...

Unless you're Galka, don't use Astrals. I just hit level 60 with just under 200 MP and I have no mana problems with a good RDM. You're there to tank, not be WHM in shiny armor. Definately go with a set of chrysoberyl rings.

Next, only use an Assault earring if you're going to a new zone and can't do any damage on an enemy when you need TP. I would suggest Drone earrings, Mercenary, Pigeon earring or a combo of such. As for neck armor, go with whatever you prefer. I went with IM Gorget myself.

Life belt is good to have. For back armor, go with Bastokian mantle (if you are a Bastok citizen) or the new Knightly Mantle.

Even as an Elvaan, I put Vit+ over other stats. When I finish my AF3, buy a Mercenary Earrings and a Knightly Mantle, I will have 67+24 Vitality.

This is what I strongly suggest, but it in the end it's all on your personal opinion.