I have been going on for two days now about how Samurai is complicated and piecing together a 5-hit build with Masamune is quite difficult, but I haven't said what those sets are. So lets finally get down to it.
My current best possible haste/Store TP build:
Main: Masamune
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Thew Bomblet
Head: Unkai Kabuto +2
Neck: Unkai Nodowa
Left Ear: Bushinomimi
Right Ear: Brutal Earring
Body: Unkai Domaru +2
Hands: Ace's Mufflers
Left Ring: Rajas Ring
Right Ring: Hoard Ring
Back: Athling Mantle
Waist: Goading Belt
Legs: Unkai Haidate +2
Feet: Ace's Sabatons
That is a build that will give me a total of 83 Store TP which, if my math is to be trusted, should give me 20.3 TP per hit. This will give me 81.2 TP for the 4 melee hits, and leaving me still needing 18.8 TP on my WS.
And now the sacrifices come... lets take a look my WS build.
Main: Masamune
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Thew Bomblet
Head: Twilight Helm
Neck: Unkai Nodowa
Left Ear: Bushinomimi
Right Ear: Brutal Earring
Body: Usukane Haramaki
Hands: Hachiman Kote +1
Left Ring: Rajas Ring
Right Ring: Flame Ring
Back: Athling Mantle
Waist: Sentry Belt
Legs: Unkai Haidate +2
Feet: Unkai Sune-ate +2
This set-up is going to give me 18.8 TP on my WS with only a few major sacrifices to be able to maintain this set-up.
I have to mention that I have not done the math to exactly prove that getting to a WS one swing faster with slightly weaker gear will do more damage than a stronger WS a little more often. I am going to try a perfect 6-hit build with Masamune (which will make it a lot more "perfect" because you don't have to make any sacrifices in gear because your best gear already has tons of Store TP on it anyway) and see how that parses against the "perfect" 5-hit build.
The problem is that ultimately you can swap around about 10 different pieces to get varies amount of Store TP in your TP and WS sets. I think this is pretty much optimal for me for now, and considering the fact that SE has been handing out Store TP on SAM gear like crazy lately, I am beginning to think that I may not have to worry too much about making sacrifices if there are some new pieces with Store TP, especially on WS gear.
Ok, that is all for SAM for now, I promise. Next week, we will have some discussion on some other jobs, or hopefully some more news about the coming update!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Samurai Part 3 - The Conclusion.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
My favorite subject.
Samurai is still my favorite job. I may have been doing a lot more on MNK, WHM or BLM recent, none of them have the inherent mathematical appeal that SAM has. There are certain considerations that are available to SAM that just aren't as available to other jobs. Sure other jobs need to take Store TP into consideration to make sure they are getting the best TP per swing, but no other job has the flexibility that Samurai does, and no other job can make decisions about haste like SAM does.
Last night, I finally got my level 80 Masamune, and while I am not going to use it yet because I already have a crappy WoE Fudo-stick, I am going to look at the current state of my gear, and the current and future state of my Store TP build.
To start, let me say that while I like the actual design of many of the AF3 sets and I like the concept for the art on the new SAM AF3, I don't like the bulky look of many of the items in the SAM set. The head piece is really big compared to Usukane and the shoulders on the body are freaking huge. I think they may be the only body piece that has shoulders that are that big and separated from the actual body piece. This is the first time I have ever really been concerned with how I look outside of my melee gear, but now that I use spellcast and I have it swap in my Danzo Sune-ate anyway, I have just started sporting a "town" set or really more of a "I prefer the look of Usukane anyway" set.
Now for the fun part! The math behind the Store TP build for a Masamune! The first think to know about the Masamune is that it has a lower delay than most normal Great Katana. 437 is the same as Amanomurakumo and it requires a higher amount of Store TP to maintain the proper 5-hit build that is now an option for most decent SAMs. 437 gives you a standard unmodified TP per hit of 11.1. 11.1 per hit for a SAM with full Store TP merits gives you an adjusted TP per hit of 14.9. This means you will need [i]at least[/i] 35 store TP to get to 20 TP per hit in your melee gear. How much you specifically need is largely dependent on how much Store TP you do your WS's in. Remember, there are now many different competing options for how to get that Store TP.
Photobucket is being a shitbucket today, so I don't have any pictures for this post. Tomorrow, I will have some pictures of different equipment sets so we can go over different options for Store TP gear.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Samurai 5-hit Build: My Gear.
I think the primer yesterday about SAM 5-hit builds was too vague, so I am going to use my own character as a model to show just how you would create a good 5-hit build with a 464 delay Great Katana and what different options you have available.
These sets use gear I currently have or have relatively easy access to. It may require work for some people, and it may be gimp to other people. The point is that there are many different paths you can choose. Let's take a lot at what I can use right now to get to a 5-hit build.
Cheap and easy:
This is the set-up I could use today without spending anything or doing anything different.
TP
Main: Kokushitsunotachi
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Goblin Cracker
Head: Walahra Turban
Neck: Unkai Nobowa
Earring: Bushinomimi
Earring: Brutal Earring
Body: Usukane Haramaki
Hands: Hachiman Kote
Ring: Rajas Ring
Ring: Adler Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt
Legs: Byakko's Haidate
Feet: Usukane Sune-ate
WS
Main: Kokushitsunotachi
Sub: Rose Strap
Ammo: Thew Bomblet
Head: Varangian Helm
Neck: WS Gorget
Earring: Bushinomimi
Earring: Brutal Earring
Body: Usukane Haramaki
Hands: Myochin Kote +1
Ring: Rajas Ring
Ring: Flame Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Sentry Belt
Legs: Usukane Hizayoroi
Feet: Perle Solerets
Under TP build I have +34 Store TP from gear which gives me 20.6 TP per swing, and for WS I have +16 Store TP from gear which is 18.4 TP per swing. That is 100.8 and more than enough for what I need.
Of course this is not optimal. It gives up a bit of haste in the hands for the huge bump in haste from dropping an entire attack round to get to the next WS. There are other ways that this can be approached as well as using the Store TP +5 Keitonotachi. This is just the most simple route for me at this time.
I would actually suggest that people get both the Kokushitsunotachi and the Keitonotachi. The Koku is used for situations in which TP spam is ok, but the Keitonotachi is essentially the new Hagun, the main new go-to GKT. This is simply because while it is lower base damage, it will let you get to 5-hit very easily and it has a high base damage.
My Koku is almost complete and I will be working on my Keitonotachi soon. Next week before the update I will be going over some alternative 5-hit builds and look at some other GKT. And then I will cry as it all changes again after the next update.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Samurai in the New Abyssea Order.
It has come to my attention that there are several viable options for 5-hit builds with several of the Magian Great Katanas. In general, these are only possible with a few requirements. The Great Katana needs to be of at least 464 delay and you are going to make some new trade offs to get to the Store TP required. Assuming you have all of the necessary merits, you will require an additional 29 in Store TP. The problem for doing this is not that the gear doesn't exist, but that there are a lot of ways to get to the goal of +29 Store TP and almost all of them require giving up additional gear.
Now, I know the knee jerk reaction to this statement is why would I ever want to give up good stats for Store TP? The answer is simple, you don't UNLESS you can save a swing in getting to the next WS. For SAM (and for almost all jobs) a WS is always to going to be the most damaging attack you can do. This means that the more WS you get the more damage you will do. The reason people use Haste is to do the same exact thing. If you swing faster, you will get to the next WS faster. The problem is that people don't think of Store TP as Haste, but they should. It just comes in huge big chunks of Haste, rather than small slivers of Haste. Everyone should know the value of Haste by now. It has a multiplicative effect on your damage, which means that every bit of Haste you can get and use effectively will be of more and more value.
The options that I have found so far the Kokushitsunotachi and the Keitonotachi. There are obviously different approaches for each considering the Keitonotachi has +5 Store TP of it's own, making it easier, but still requiring trade offs. In general, you are going to need to keep your normal Store TP gear that you are currently using. Things like Rajas Ring, Usukane Sune-ate and a Store TP body like Usukane Haramaki or even Askar body are acceptable options. After that the trade off's start coming. Rose Strap is an obvious first pick because it replaces a relatively unimportant slot and has a big chunk of Store TP on it. The new Unkai Nodowa is a good option for the neck piece because the next closest option is Chivalrous Chain and it doesn't give nearly as much. White Tathlum is another option, it makes me cringe because it doesn't do much at all to help out with anything else besides the Store TP. After this point you need to start thinking about big sacrifices. Hachiman gear has a lot of Store TP on it. The hands can be used for TP and the feet can be used for WS. These should be your last resort options, but they may be necessary depending on your gearing.
The one shining light out there is the Goading Belt. While this may not seem like the best possible option compared to the Bullwhip Belt, you need to look at the differences in terms of total Haste. A Bullwhip Belt has 2% more Haste, but if a Goading Belt helps you keep other gear you want to be using like say Dusk Gloves or a good WS piece then you could actually gain more from using the Goading Belt than from the Bullwhip Belt. It's a tough balancing act that requires a complete look at all of your gear and options, but it is worth the effort because the difference between a 6 hit build and a 5 hit build is about 17% haste. There is no piece of gear that gives you that much haste.
Friday, July 09, 2010
My Magian Projects: Kokushitsunotachi
I have noticed something slightly disturbing since the update; a lot of people are still using their old pre-75 weapons. There are a huge number of new weapons available through the new Magians system, and while the new top-of-the-line weapons will require some time to get them done there are still some people that haven't end gotten the ones from last update done.
Personally, I already have my Kurodachi fully upgraded to the last update. I also am working on my Goshawk for my RNG and staffs for my WHM and BLM. I really like the design of the trial system, so maybe I can help be a good motivation for everyone else!
Right now, I have a Kurodachi with DMG+28, Delay+20 and Occasionally Attacks Twice. To upgrade it to the highest possible level right now, I need to do the following:
Trial 1557: 10 Chasmic Stingers
Trial 1558: 20 Mikey's Silver Nuggets
That will leave me with the horribly named Kokushitsunotachi with the following stats:
The Chasmic Stinger comes from the Chasmic Hornet in Abyssea-La Theine. The Chasmic Hornet is an NM spawn from Great Wasp placeholders. It looks like the stingers are drops like other Magian items and two can drop at a time. The respawn on the Chasmic Hornets is still unclear right now, and there is differing reports from 30-1 hour.
The Mikey's Silver Nuggets come from Megamaw Mikey which is also in Abyssea-La Theine. It also spawns as an NM from placeholders, in this case they are Rock Grinders.
While I am working on my Kokushitsunotachi, I am also working on the high damage Great Katana path that eventually leads to the Masamune. I will go over that tomorrow.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Morning in Vana'diel: Internet has problems; SE to blame.
So the "Walk of Shame" saved us a Salvage run last night. Both Clubber and I were the fuck ups of the century and didn't get our soap for Limbus (we both checked the NPC before we could get the soap and weren't paying attention when it denied it) and we didn't get our Salvage tags, and while running back to pick them up the server message came up and said that POL was going down. So, while we both did completely ruin our Limbus run, we did manage to save some points by delaying the Salvage run enough to prevent us from going in.
So being a fuck-up can be helpful sometimes... but we won't talk about Limbus though. >.<
I don't know if it was even entirely SE's fault the POL servers were having connection issues. I have been having intermittent internet issues all day and I know other people have been too. This is what you call connecting two completely unrelated things. :)
In another one of my "I just don't get it" moments, I was looking at the thread about the POL connection issue on BG and noticed that some people would declared their hatred of SE and their crappy game for having connection issues to the game that SE makes that they are being denied. Maybe it is a higher form of irony that I don't just get, but I thinking that is the kind of cynicism that goes so far that it comes back around again. If you hate everything about SE, and SE has problems letting you connect, and you hate them for that, then... like... shouldn't you like them? Confusing to me, that's for sure.
So basically yesterday was a complete waste for me. I fucked up and couldn't do Limbus, then I fucked up and saved us from doing a Salvage that we would have missed anyway. I hope that I can actually play FFXI tonight instead of just running around to places and not doing anything of importance.
Also wanted to mention something about my Q & A post. You guys suck. I didn't get one good question. Not one. I suppose that if you read this blog you pretty much know a lot about me anyway, but I thought someone would at least be interested in something different.
I wanted to mention that Izman got a Pachipachio recently and has been letting me borrow it to do some eyeball testing on it. My conclusion is pretty much the same as it is with any other GKT: it's awesome for lower level, low defense mobs, but can't compete with Hagun on anything that matters. I used it in Salvage once and it was an absolute wrecking ball on lower level mobs, but it just couldn't compete with Hagun on boss damage. Once I get my parser working again, I am going to do some comparisons in Salvage and Einherjar to get more of an idea of what I am looking at.
How about that... a real post... first in a long while. :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Morning in Vana'diel: A Letter From Sad Samurai
Today we have a letter from a reader that is asking for some advice about his Samurai.
“Dear YANYOK,
I am a Samurai. Samurai as I am told and affirmed throughout the internet universe is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I leveled Samurai so that I would be worshipped as a damage dealing god with the ability to heal the weak, defend the masses and feed the poor. When I finally hit 75 though, the adoration I expected did not arrive. I had outfitted myself with all of the finest Hachiman gear (I do look awesome) and I have enough Store TP to furnish an old folks home’s bottom wiping requirements for months. I even have a great katana named after a demon (or something)! I have been faced with derision and shame, and I don’t know why. I am a Sad Samurai.”
Sad Samurai, I think I can see your problems and they are problems for many new and upcoming Samurais. The problem is that you have no idea what you are doing, and you are just faking it. I will give you three simple suggestions to make your life easier as a Samurai and to help turn that frown upside down.
1. Learn to count – This is the easiest thing to do for a Samurai but also the most neglected by bad Samurai. One of the first things you are going to want to merit as a Samurai is Store TP. With those merits and your base Store TP merits you will need to find another 11 Store TP while you are out there. Start with a Brutal Earring and a Rajas Ring of course, and if you don’t have one, just hang up your Sune-ate right now and bust out that staff and robes. Then pick either Hachiman hands or feet, and use Dusk Gloves or haste feet for the other slot. And there you have it, a 6-hit build. Easy as pie. If you are wearing more than one piece of Hachiman at any time even your momma-Samurai is gonna laugh at you.
2. Sam Subs – Use the right sub job and people won’t wonder if you were dropped on your head as a baby Samurai. Ninja? Just say no. You may think you are so scary awesome that you need not just Seigan and Third Eye but shadows too, but everyone else knows that you are just a poser. Still with WAR or DRG for strictly DD situations or DNC for Campaign. Sure, sure, I am going to get flamed for this one but if you use anything else you are going to make the Samurai Jesus cry.
3. Pretty does not equal good – Those Askar hands look so cool don’t they? Yeah, you definitely are a poser… at minimum use Dusk or Hachiman depending on your set up. And stop whining about the reduced movement speed; just make a macro to swap your hands like everyone else does. Do you have an Askar body? It looks hot, it’s got neat stats, and it’s not as good as a 5-year old body piece. Keep that Haubergeon if you can because that accuracy will help you more than anything else you can get (yes, even haste if you gimp enough).
Well Sad Samurai, I hope that helps you turn from a zero to a hero. Just remember, it’s better to be look funny and kick ass than to look cool and make everyone think you should go in the healing party.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Latent Effect: Wyvern Earring
Ding! Level 30! Finally! What does this mean? Well, for start-up players, they can finally go obtain the advanced job they are interested in leveling all the way to 75. For some of us, we will already be leveling what will become our third or fourth or tenth level 75 job!
All that great gear and awesome abilities to look forward to, you feel stuck in the repetitiveness of level 30, and are looking for a great way to speed up your low level experience point parties. You know that leveling a heavy damage dealing job is in your future, but still unsure of what to pick let alone gear selections, and sub-jobs. There are quite a few options but today, we will discuss a great low level sub-job for damage dealers level 30+, and one of the best latent effect earrings for damage dealers for the levels to come.
The Wyvern Earring - level 30 - Latent Effect: Haste +5%. Eh? 5% Haste on an earring? That's right! All that lovely haste at such a low level will allow ANY DD (damage dealer) to do their job a bit better. How to activate the latent effect? Set your support job to Dragoon (I know a few people who want to say set your main job to Dragoon) and wear this earring and shazam! +5% Haste!
Now. The next question is, does setting our support jobs to Dragoon, and adding 5% haste in one of our earring slots, increase our damage output over subbing the more popular Warrior or Samurai sub-jobs?
While /WAR may be the sub-job most low level parties want you to show up as, some parties really could care less. They might just need a heavy DD. And while at level 30+, Berserk, a level 15 ability of Warriors, will boost your attack significantly for a 3 minute period, subbing DRG (Dragoon), will give you an Attack Bonus job trait, which is always active. Couple that with the use of Jump, a 90 second ability we can obtain at level 10 DRG which is an instant, free attack round, and the Haste +5% on our earrings, and any Two-Hander will definitely pull some extra hate. Be careful though, pulling hate will sometimes put a strain on your mages, so make sure you have a way to defend yourself.
Let us fast forward a bit to level 50. Our /WAR now gives us Defender, which increases defense while decreasing attack, and the ever popular Double Attack job trait. Subbing SAM adds Hasso to our lineup of attack bonus job abilities, which increases STR, accuracy, and attack speed. Sounds to good to pass up eh? Well, at level 50+ we start seeing some haste gear in our setups, and like many other bonuses, the more haste you have, the more noticeable it is. Almost everyone will be adding a Swift belt (haste +4%, ACC +3, ATT -5) to their setups at 50, some lucky players may even add a Velocious belt (haste +6%) at 55. SAMs get the Fuma/Sarutobi Kyahan (haste +3%) at level 39 as well. WAR's and DRK's get a Blitz ring (haste +1%) With the extra 5% haste on the earring, along with say, a Swift belt and Sarutobi Kyahan for your SAM, youll have 12% haste at level 50, an extra attack round in Jump, Meditate from your main job, Hasso. . . See where I'm going? All this attack will increase your MP sponginess (a real word) so again, make sure you have some way to defend yourself. SAMs get Seigan and Third eye, the abilities to anticipate physical attacks. DRKs get Weapon Bash and Stun, both which stun the target, giving your party members time to help your dying behind. WARs only get Defender, so don't spam your abilities unless you enjoy tanking with your face. (This method of tanking usually ends up with someone in the dirt.)
Past level 60 is where this earring and sub-job lose some of their flare. Most heavy DD's will start to sub SAM for Meditate, a DD's dream job ability. More instant TP at a 3 minute recast, coupled with Hasso, will make you the MP sponge you've always wanted to be. Prepare to pull hate while subbing SAM. While subbing DRG, we receive an Accuracy bonus trait which is very nice for any DD. As for /WAR, we gain an Attack bonus trait. Unless your main job is SAM, /SAM gives us the best bonus at 60+ to deal some serious damage.
At 70+, /SAM is almost always the best bet for a heavy DD. The biggest advantage you get from subbing SAM is at level 70, is from the ability Seigan, allowing you to anticipate some attacks, and not die as much. Subbing DRG at 70 is a very nice alternative though. ATT and ACC bonus traits which are always active. With Jump at a 90 second recast, and High Jump at a three minute recast, we receive 3 attack rounds (two Jump, one High Jump) in 3 minutes. Again, those extra damage rounds, along with haste +5% on the earring, will most definitely pull some serious hate.
Sammy says:
Get this earring for all your two-handers at their lower levels. Haste +5% is a really big stat bonus to pass up, and /DRG is a really powerful sub-job until Meditate on /SAM becomes available. Even closer to 75, the Jump and High Jump abilities, along with the Haste, will help your character burn through mobs a bit faster, and make your mages burn some more of their precious MP on you!
My favorite job for this earring? SAM/DRG. Meditate, Hasso, Weapon Skill, Jump, High Jump, Weapon Skill, Seigan, Third Eye? Seems unbeatable to me.
My favorite SAM/DRG setup?
Want to poke birds on your SAM? (Note to Ringthree: =Þ)
Have fun with your player, and make yourself as useful as possible to every party you join. No one likes to be gimp, but everyone LOVES to pull hate. Find any useful information here? Think I'm a dum-dum? Leave a comment! Next week, I am going to discuss the ever popular Square Enix Security Token, and its latent effects. Until then, Happy Hunting!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Math of Sword and Spell: Kabuki Dancer
Every Thursday Araelus is bringing the science to FFXI.
The Math of Sword and Spell is dedicated not only to the hardcore calculations and statistics of FFXI, but more importantly to helping you use that math without confusing you. You may not know why you are playing better, but rest assured you will be playing better.
This week's edition is part of a series called "Occasionally Replies Two to Eight Times" focusing on reader questions and more in-depth analysis of previous concepts or interesting game features.
[Due to assorted issues, especially the sources of data involved, this post has been removed by the author. -2012]
Thursday, July 09, 2009
POL News: Circles and Spells.
The first thing that was mentioned was the fact that skill ups for low and middle levels has been improved. This was because Level Sync parties and Campaign was limiting the opportunities that players had to get skill ups appropriate for their levels. Now, there could be an issue with this. If it is only for low or middle levels of the job then this is next to useless, because you will still be leveling under Level Sync or Campaign. I assume that they mean low and middle levels of the skills, so if your skills really lag behind you will get more skill ups, but once you get to the cap and you are not understand Level Sync as much because you are doing normal XP or Merit parties, then the skill ups will normalize. This is just another one of those cases where SE is pretty unclear and they will never clear things up, we will just have to find out for ourselves. And I will have to wonder when I will finally get that last level of Parry skill up on SAM or NIN. :(
Finally, BLU gets some more spells. This is nice for BLU I suppose, but with very many things in this game these spells will either be awesome and used all the time or they will suck and will never be used. This is especially true of BLU that usually has a limited store of spells they can use and it is already full. I understand that when they put new mobs into the game they will want to add new spells, but a lot of the spells overlap because the TP moves of the mobs overlap. This is fine for the mobs because they still have unique combination of TP moves decided by the developers. But most players are going to just pick the strongest spells, and SE wants people to use new spells they are going to have to provide something strong and unique that BLU's don't already get. Again, I have to wonder if they are just creating to be creative or if they are considering game balance and player choice in any of their development decisions.
Here is the full text of the update notes:
As a follow up to last week's article on new ninja job abilities, it is with pleasure that we introduce other job-related additions and adjustments scheduled for the fast-approaching July version update.
Rate of Gain for Combat and Magic Skills
The introduction of in-game systems such as Level Sync and Fields of Valor, while expediting job level increases in the low and middle level ranges, has caused gains made in combat and magic skills to lag behind.
To address this issue, the rate at which combat and magic skills increase during low and middle job levels is set to be given a boost.
Circle-type Abilities
Up until now, the benefits granted by Circle-type abilities have been lackluster relative to their ability delay. The July version update will see these abilities imbued with additional effects for greatly enhanced usability.
The following abilities will benefit from the above adjustment:
Holy Circle / Arcane Circle / Warding Circle / Ancient Circle / Killer Instinct
Blue Magic
Two new blue magic spells are scheduled to be added in the coming version update.
Monday, May 04, 2009
You are not your fucking Hagun.
Starting a new Monday morning trend here. I am going to profile a piece of equipment every Monday morning and discuss why it is a good piece of gear, why it fills your needs, why you should get it or any other reason it could be useful. It could be something obvious, or it could be something off the beaten path.
The Stats: So to start off lets go with something completely essential instead of something interesting, the Hagun. 
The Get: As I said before you can get this on the AH because it is a pretty old piece of gear, made back when SE thought it was OK to actually use the AH to by and sell end-game gear. Right now though you will pay a pretty penny for one with most servers going for around 3 mil to pick one up. If you don't want to pay to play you can always try to do get it through the ENM Sheep in Antlion's Clothing. Up to two of them can drop but the drop rate isn't that high at about 10%.
#1 ~ Monk
#2 ~ Samurai
#3 ~ Ninja
#4 ~ Dragoon
Chaotic Pellucidity
Teabags and KY Jelly
The Bloggaru!
