It finally happened!

I really couldn't believe that it happened. The run started out great, except for a lesson finally learned on the QQA on the second floor. We have lost 3 QQAs now (out of a ton though) because of Sleepga, and I even had poison potions on me to prevent that, but sometimes in the rush you forget things. But after that is was a great run, and I think people were actually excited for how fast we cleared things out. Omoi was on Kirameki and was doing a great job at tag-team pulling with Skur. Akanea actually came on MNK because we usually like to go with two MNK, and Esor and Darkdawn came on their first run with us, both performing exceptionally well for being Salvage novices. For me that means not complaining about cells and not screwing anything up. LOL But they really performed and listened to quickly delivered directions. Hiryo has now pretty much become a staple for our Salvage runs, he is incredibly attentive, and will do just about anything to improve a run. We really over-farmed the first floor last night, but heads and opacus just weren't dropping as we needed them. Only ended up with 2 total opacus drops for the zone (2 in the chest thankfully) but we still managed. Like I said we lost the 2nd floor QQA, but killed the third floor QQTH, fourth floor QQTH, fifth floor QQA, and the Archaic Chariot I really couldn't even believe that they had dropped with how often we have killed that stupid Chariot. Hiryo even said that he didn't even know that the Archaic Chariot could drop anything. LOL I believe that is three total drops from Archaic Chariot which is supposed to be one of the better mobs for dropping items in Salvage. I mean we have more Macha's Cuffs than that, and now Espera is stabbing me with her mind! LOL Anyway, I had to take a double take to see if they had actually pooled to me. Yep, there they were. After the Archaic Chariot we went back around to the QQA and killed it, but since we didn't even have an Opacus for Kira we couldn't use Soul Voice or Troubador for the last floor. We ended up pulling it a lot faster and without anywhere as much death as the first time that we did it, but we just couldn't kill the mobs fast enough. I think that next time we should be able to clear it in under 7 minutes. Well, as soon as we got out of Arrapago Remnants I rushed around collecting my pieces for my Usukane Legs. 15, 25, 35 pieces, check! 10 Imperial Gold Coins, check! 1 stack Wamoura Cloth, che... wait, freaking price jackers. Well, haha, I just bought them in singles and saved on the deal. Then over to the Salvage guy! Now I just have to wait until I get home to pick them up and I will have my shiny new pants. :) I haven't really considered how exactly I am going to use these yet. I might use them for TP on MNK and SAM, but Byakko's Haidate still has a lot of accuracy and more haste. BUT once I get Usukane Sune-ate to go with it, there is a huge change in consideration. In a straight up comparison between Usukane Hizayoroi and Byakko's Haidate there is a little bit of a problem. The Usukane Hizayoroi is a devastating DD piece, completely destroying Byakko's Haidate in that department, but it has less haste and it has much less accuracy. Since I am very reliant on my accuracy to be able to eat meat on MNK, and since I am not at capped Accuracy on SAM, it is hard for me to give up on Byakko's Haidate. This scenario is completely changed when Usukane Sune-ate are thrown into the mix. The real reason they are so great is because of what they replace. For MNK they replace my Dune Boots, which are still pretty good as they significantly boost my kick attack damage. But ultimately they don't do anything beyond that for TP, and they do absolutely nothing for WS and Usukane Sune-ate absolutely shine there. And for SAM it's an even better improvement over the Hachiman Sune-ate. So when I get both of them I will be going from meh or a little better than meh to O.O;

For MNK:
Byakko's Haidate + Dune Boots:
DEX: +15
Haste: +5%
Accuracy: +7.5~
Kick Attacks D: +30

To:
DEX: +5
STR: +5
Haste: +5%
Attack: +19.5~
Accuracy: +9.5~
"Store TP": +7
Enmity: +5

So I will lose 10 Dex and Kick Attacks D of 30, but I will gain 5 STR, 19.5~ Attack, 2 Accuracy, 7 "Store TP" and 5 Enmity. The last two would normally appear to be marginal, but on MNK I get to 99 TP a lot more than I want, so that much Store TP will almost definitely get me to 100, and the Enmity is also fantastic for Salvage. I do not in general use a 25% Haste set up, so I don't mind the shift in Haste.

For SAM the difference is even more radical, but I think I could justify a Byakko's Haidate/Usukane Sune-ate pairing also.
Status Quo SAM:
DEX: +15
STR: +2
Haste: +5%
Attack: +1.5~
Accuracy: +11.25~
Weapon Skill Accuracy: +2
"Store TP": +5

An Usukane pair for my SAM would net even larger gains because of the two-handed bonuses:
To:
DEX: +5
STR: +5
Haste: +5%
Attack: +20.75~
Accuracy: +10.75~
"Store TP": +7
Enmity: +5

This set-up is super yummy, only a smidge of accuracy and DEX lost, while I gain 5 STR, about 19 Attack, and even more Store TP, in fact enough Store TP that I can use anything I want for feet on WS and I don't have to use anything besides Rajas Ring and Brutal Earring for TP build. The only difference is that I could use Byakko's Haidate and Usukane Sune-ate for a rather good combination also, which gives these stats:

DEX: +15
Haste: +7%
Accuracy: +18.25~
Attack: +7
Store TP: +7
Enmity: +5

This set-up has more haste and more accuracy, which is nice, but it has a big drop-off in attack and STR. The really nice thing about SAM is that I can now use Usukane Hizayoroi for WS's. Which does have a loss of about 3.25~ Accuracy over Shura, but with equal STR and more Attack, that should be a decent increase in damage. In the end, I will likely be rocking Usukane legs and feet (when I get them) on both SAM and MNK.

I also parsed Salvage last night, just to get an idea of damage and drop rate in the zone. Unsurprisingly, I won the parse, but that is because I get the most cells to start. Also, Akanea's MNK is not equal to his other jobs because it just hit 75 and he still needs to fill in some gear slots. Esor and Skur were both fine too considering the fact that cell drops weren't proportional last night as you can she here: Few Opacus, only one head cell and not a lot of balance. I am going to use this to parse drops and make sure the BGwiki has the right information for drops (I think there might be some mistakes).

Talking a lot about Salvage again today, but we also did a quick tier 2 Temenos Elementals run, which completed my Ultima set which we are doing on Thursday, then a good set of points runs for Assault. I went as DRG to both of those runs, and I am going to be picking up the lance again soon with DRG. I need to get a few things done, like get a lance LOL and I need to get my Hecatomb Mittens made, maybe pick up a few Homam pieces, then ultimately an Askar or Ares's body piece. But thats all still a long way off considering that my DRG isn't even merited beyond full Angon. DRG is just insanely powerful now, it really is shocking.

Finally, here was that pic I forgot yesterday, next time we will spend more time with the Tragopans and see if we can't get a Peryton for our troubles. That's it for today, I get to show off my new pants tomorrow!