Faust solo

[hongman]

So, last night I was up in Sky killing stuff with 2 of my friends, and by chance, when we got to Faust, he was being soloed by a Taru RDM.

He did it. When I spoke to him afterwards, I was pretty surprised that his gear was...well, good, but not as good as what I thought you would really like for something like Faust solo. Only endgame pieces were Crimson Mask and Dalm (Dalm would of done nothing for him anyway)

One thing I really did catch onto was his Binds were near on perfect (few resists and few partials of course) - but the unresisted Bind lasted what seemed forever. He was casting at 327 skill, unmerited INT. Oh, he started on Fireday as well.

Also, Gravity was not resisted once that I saw, except for 2ish partials. He must of cast it loads of times. Why wasnt Faust resisting?

Everytime Iv done Faust, he really starts to resist Grav after the 6th one or so (sooner sometimes).


I must admit, he knew what he was doing, and gives me some inspiration to try it. Of course the 2 biggest differences between us is, he has Taru MP and INT, while I'm at the other end of the spectrum - although thats nothing some skill and food cant sort out.

Im thinking (taking nothing away from him of course) a low level Faust, and some luck with resists?

I can match his enfeebling skill at 329....I;m so tempted to give this a go solo now. I just couldnt believe his Bind....

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Faust solo

INT shouldn't be much of a problem at 75. Unless Elvaan are really that deficient?

I haven't merited RDM in forever or exped on PLD in just as long, so I'm out of the swing of things, but yeah.. Capped Enfeebling would be nice.. Maybe He has his Ice and Wind bonuses maxed?

It makes a difference, trust me. Bind saved my ass a couple of times when I was MGSing through the past.

[hongman]

Re: Faust solo

I never said INT is a problem...and yes, Elvaans are really that deficient in it.

I'm comparing the length of his Binds and Grav's with my own, (iv done Faust duo RDM like...6,7 times) and his just seemed so much better.

My bind setup isnt poor by any means, and I saw his gear which wasnt *amazing* so the thats why I am pointing my finger at INT being the most likely for those differences.

[Callisto]

Re: Faust solo

The reason he saw less grav resists may have been that he spaced them out more. Bind is your most important spell, and Grav should really only be used when you need to create space for a breather. As far as the Dalm, you want to wear at least 1 1/tick piece while you're running just for extra MP, then swap it out when you cast.

As far as racial differences, the INT difference will have much less affect than MAcc merits and straight MAcc. The MP difference is another issue for sure, I rarely have trouble sticking Bind on the Sky mobs, but as /NIN I really don't have alot of MP and I don't have any 1/tick pieces. I have 3 Ice Acc and 2 Wind Acc at the moment, I'm highly debating taking off my 2 Earth Acc ones and bumping those up to 4/3.

I did get some recent upgrades for my debuffing set, and it's working out pretty well so far, now that my modem is fixed I can start attempting Sky solos again(if the freaking mobs pop, stupid SC!)

Here's my new set:

Bind Set

Aquilo's Staff
P. Tathlum
Wise Cap
Enfeebling Torque
Enfeebling Earring
Loq. Earring
Warlock's Tabard
Duelist's Gloves
Balhran's Ring
Tamas Ring
Prism Cape
Penitent's Rope
Mahatma Slops
Goliard Clogs

You're in better shape than I am since you have your Chapeau already(bastid!) but I've done fine w/ 317 skill and +11 MAcc recently. I've also taken to bringing tools for Huton and Doton and casting those before Bind/Grav at times.

[hongman]

Re: Faust solo

Hiya

Well, I cant say he spaced them out more really...he did have it on pretty much 90% of the time I was there. Maybe the /random factor?

Hmm.

My Bind set is pretty much the same as yours, except Chapeau, no Enfeeb Earring (need 400k more dammit) and no clogs (Lvl60 RSE instead)

One thing I did see though, I would suggest using Errant Cuffs over D Gloves, but meh, its only +1 more INT. I dunno, just spotted that.

I have 3 Ice and 3 Wind Macc, upgrading to 5/5 Vert 5/5 Ice.

Something I've been meaning to ask you - how well does your Ninjutsu stick with half skill? I mean, on these kinds of mobs, I cant seeing it stick all that well but it seems I am wrong?

And whilst I have your attention in this thread, maybe this will make you feel better about your SC solo debaucle.

http://bautier.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/murphys-law-me/

lol. I couldve cried.

[Taskmage]

Re: Faust solo

Elemental ninjutsu, I believe, are like Dia and Bio. Their initial damage can be resisted, but the resistance down debuff effect will stick regardless.

[Callisto]

Re: Faust solo

My Bind set is pretty much the same as yours, except Chapeau, no Enfeeb Earring (need 400k more dammit) and no clogs (Lvl60 RSE instead)

One thing I did see though, I would suggest using Errant Cuffs over D Gloves, but meh, its only +1 more INT. I dunno, just spotted that.

If I hadn't gotten clogs to drop I was even interested in the AF+1 boots, they're a reasonably good debuffing piece that aren't super hard to get, and yigit feet as well. I had thought about the errants, but I just have too much crap to carry around at the moment to tack on another pair of gloves for only +1 INT. I'm holding out for the Goliard Gloves for the MAcc+.

Something I've been meaning to ask you - how well does your Ninjutsu stick with half skill? I mean, on these kinds of mobs, I cant seeing it stick all that well but it seems I am wrong?

The nice thing about the -tons is that they actually don't need to 'stick'. They do 0-15 damage, but they do the same -30 resistance for 8 seconds regardless of how much damage they land for. I'd actually prefer that they did 0 damage all the time so that I could cast them more often w/o fear of breaking Bind.

And whilst I have your attention in this thread, maybe this will make you feel better about your SC solo debaucle.

http://bautier.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/murphys-law-me/

lol. I couldve cried.

Heh, I'm not sure whether to feel bad for them or happy that I wasn't the only one.

[hongman]

Re: Faust solo

Elemental ninjutsu, I believe, are like Dia and Bio. Their initial damage can be resisted, but the resistance down debuff effect will stick regardless.

The nice thing about the -tons is that they actually don't need to 'stick'. They do 0-15 damage, but they do the same -30 resistance for 8 seconds regardless of how much damage they land for. I'd actually prefer that they did 0 damage all the time so that I could cast them more often w/o fear of breaking Bind.

ORLY! Jesus this could have saved me so many times and/or made my life so much easier -.-;;

Thanks!

Heh, I'm not sure whether to feel bad for them or happy that I wasn't the only one.

That "them" is me :D

[Callisto]

Re: Faust solo

I usually use them any time that Bind timer is up so that I can reapply. If Grav is off but they're bound, I'll use Doton then Grav then rebind, if Bind is on but timer is ready to go I'll use Huton and put on a fresh Bind so I can take a few seconds to rebuff.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Faust solo

Is the -30 worth it? That's the question. Granted, since you're subbing NIN anyway, you're not losing out, but is it worth it?

My friend dropped this analogy on me, and it was in relation to tanking. In regards to HNMS, to see a feasible reduction in the amount of damage they take, they stack on TONS of resistance gear. I'm not talking about 100 or so, but around 220+.

It's possible that there are Tiers of resistance, just like everything else in the game.

A Bomb Queen Ring won't affect the damage you take too much on a Bomb Drop, if that's all you have, but if you have -150, then you'll see noticably more damage.

Just like Barfira just by itself isn't enough sometimes, but when combined with shell and native reductions, yeah, it does help.

With that said, I'm not discounting casting ninjustsu, but I feel it has to be stacked on with gear and merits.

So. In conclusion, -30 Ice resistance isn't probably going to make much of a difference to you unless you have more Magic Accuracy gear and Accuracy merits.

[Callisto]

Re: Faust solo

Actually -75 and -150 would be the same, as resistance doesn't make you take more or less damage directly, it just increases/decreases the chance of you being hit for 100% damage rather than a #/16 resist. And, as you stated it's a tiered effect, and for all I know the difference between where I'm at now and a higher tier of less resist rates could be 10-20 resistance.

Considering how cheap the tools are I think it's certainly worth using, in a fight like Faust/Zip/Seiryu any advantage you can gain you should take.

[Armando]

Re: Faust solo

The nice thing about the -tons is that they actually don't need to 'stick'. They do 0-15 damage, but they do the same -30 resistance for 8 seconds regardless of how much damage they land for. I'd actually prefer that they did 0 damage all the time so that I could cast them more often w/o fear of breaking Bind.

Unless they've ninja-patched it at some point or another, Ichi, Ni, and Ancient Magic resist down all last 15 secs.

Just like Barfira just by itself isn't enough sometimes, but when combined with shell and native reductions, yeah, it does help.

Shell/Magic Damage reduction/Magic Defense Bonus have nothing to do with Elemental Resistance They both work towards the same goal, but they don't interact in any way.

I would consider -30 resistance to be worth it. To keep things in proportion, bear in mind that Threnodies reduce resistance by 50, +5 for HQ1 instruments, +10 for HQ2. Also consider that players have a base resistance in all elements equal to the cap for C-ranked skills. Considering elemental resistance is probably the "main" stat that Magic Accuracy is checked against, I'd say -30 sounds pretty good. Besides, if you're going to solo something dangerous, better safe than sorry, eh?

[Callisto]

Re: Faust solo

Unless they've ninja-patched it at some point or another, Ichi, Ni, and Ancient Magic resist down all last 15 secs.Shell/Magic Damage reduction/Magic

I was under the impression it was 8/12/15 for Ichi/Ni/San respectively, but I haven't tested it myself at all. Either way it's plenty of time to get off your next Bind or Grav...haha, if I had extra inventory space/gil I'd almost be tempted to carry an INT- set to see if I could get my -ton damage consistently down to 0.

[Armando]

Re: Faust solo

I can re-check when maintenance is over but I'm pretty sure that's how it was when I tested it a year ago. Dunno where the 8/12/15 number came from. Seems arbitrary.

Wouldn't using the opposite elemental staff of the spell be enough to hit for 0 on ichi spells, considering it both gimps its damage, and penalizes your already poor/half-capped magic acc?

[hongman]

Re: Faust solo

Related question - anyone know if Bind "break or not break" is related to:

1. DMG taken affects the chances of a break (more damage, more chance to break)

or

2. Doesnt matter if its 1dmg or 200dmg, equak chances to break