STR/PIE/ATK Testing

[Gidonoidon_Sur]

Giantsgall won't benefit from anything more than ~320/290. Then pump w/e.

Those caps are so low...why? I easily surpass those. So after those numbers str and pie no good? What should i stat for instead of str and pie, if true?

[Silvano]

Stat caps are based off of Weapon DPS, hence the lower caps. Once you hit those caps, aka "soft" caps, the STR reverts back to the 2:3 Str:Attack Power ratio, so pumping Attack Power is cheaper, easier, and more effective. Actually it may 3str:2apow, I haven't tested that part of it.

[Raubahn]

Stat caps are based off of Weapon DPS, hence the lower caps. Once you hit those caps, aka "soft" caps, the STR reverts back to the 2:3 Str:Attack Power ratio, so pumping Attack Power is cheaper, easier, and more effective. Actually it may 3str:2apow, I haven't tested that part of it.

i'm wondering whats the Flame Lieutenant's Spear caps are because currently i can hit 350-310 np but when i have 332 STR and 300 Piety but in the process adding extra ATK (51+) and more Crit attack (40+) i'm seeing some "small" changes to my Doom Spike and Chaos Thrust on parser to level 54 Pigs.

any idea?

[Silvano]

Good changes or bad changes? Keep in mind that hogs have a DEF buff.

[Raubahn]

Good changes or bad changes? Keep in mind that hogs have a DEF buff.

kinda good tbh i'll try it on some other mobs the only reason i tried it on Hogs in mor dohna was because some of them are 54 i didnt want to test it for 52

[Tango]

Been focus'ing on a pure atk build lately using DL and atk gloves, seems like my dps is stronger. Finally got a few different sets to test stat caps vs atk build. I can get 375/320, or 320/260+710atk. I'll probably do some testing this weekend. The problem with testing this is the result is simple for lvl 52 ish mobs ie on trash you go stat caps rout for most impact. But when you look at ifrit it seems the atk build is much stronger. Also I can get divine on food so there is also a bonus from that standpoint.

[massimocaladbolg]

Do you think it's possible that because auto-attack is more used on iffy-x , that makes your DPS go up with an attack build? Since you have such short windows of opportunity to use WS etc. Or were you just referring to the Iffy weapon?

[JusticeReborn]

I will try to make a “poor man’s” and a “rich man’s” gear layout for DRG. Assuming you have my base stats of 255 STR, 244 PIE, 532 Attack with Ifrit Harpoon, you would need +95 STR and +66 PIE to cap.

Poor Man
Weapon: Ifrit Harpoon
Head: Paragon Crown (+10 STR/PIE)
Body: Cobalt Habergeon with 2x PIE (+6 STR, +32 PIE, +6 ATK)
Hands: Felt Braces + 2x STR material (+32 STR, +3 PIE)
Waist: HP belt
Legs: Felt Trousers + 8/8 STR/VIT (+ 12 STR)
Feet: Cobalt Sollerets (+3 STR)
Rings: 2x STR (+30 STR)
Neck: Electrum Gorget (+25 ATK)
Net: 348 STR, 289 PIE, 563 Attack (no food)

Rich Man
Weapon: Ifrit Harpoon
Head: Darklight Helm (+20 ATK, +15 STR)
Body: Cobalt Habergeon + 3x PIE (+6 STR, +6 ATK, +48 PIE)
Hands: Felt Bracers + 3x STR (+48 STR, +3 PIE)
Waist: Veteran’s Field Bets (+2 STR)
Legs: Felt Trousers + 3x STR/DEX (+25 STR)
Feet: Darklight Caligae (+15 PIE)
Rings: Flex position for Accuracy or ATK
Neck: Electrum Gorget+1 (+30 ATK)

Net: 351 STR, 310 PIE, 588 ATK, (+ 22-58 Acc)
*I only mention Acc since 1.21 has shown considerably lower Acc for melee, and
Dragoon skills have inherent lower Acc.

Side Notes:

Power Surge: Adds +39/39/40 or +118 ATK total to Dragoon.

Invigorate Bonus from AF: It’s only about ~300 more TP total for invigorate.

Fist of Wind AF Bonus: +10% cooldown reduction for +30% total. Note, you can equip the AF boots, activate Fist of Wind, switch boots and still have the bonus.

For a while I'd used the above as my gear guide for DRG. But now, with the addition of a the GC weapons with their bonus, I've been rolling out on DRG like this for a bit:

Weapon: Storm Lieutenant's Trident (Accuracy : +20, Crit Rate : +5, Storm gear set (5): Attack Power +30)
Head: Drachen Armet (Crit Attack Power : +40, Str : +2, Pty : +2)
Body: Storm Sergeant's Tabard (HP : +60, Str : +10, Accuracy : +5, Attack Power : +10, Storm gear set (3): Enmity : -20)
Hands: Felt Bracers (Accuracy : +5, Magic Evasion : +11, Pty : +3waiting to find one with +32 STR as recommended above)
Waist: Veteran's Field Belt (Accuracy : +5, Str : +2)
Legs: Storm Sergeant's Hose (HP : +80, Str : +10, Storm gear set (3): Accuracy +10)
Feet: Cobalt Sollerets (Accuracy : +3, Str : +3)
Earrings: Storm Sergeant's Earrings (Attack Power : +4, Storm gear set (4): Crit Attack Power +7)
Necklace: Electrum Gorget +1 (Attack Power +30)
Bracelets: Storm Sergeant's Bracelets (Attack Power : +3, Storm gear set (3): Str +7)
Rings: Rubellite Ring +1 x2 (STR+ 18 x2 = +36 total)

My base stats (with only the above weapon equipped) are STR 258/PIE 241
While wearing this, without food, my stats are at STR 328/PIE 246. I also end up with Attack Power of 579, Accuracy of 389

I'm not sure if or how the bonuses from the GC weapon and gear affect the "primo" gear a DRG should be wearing. But I am definitely open to recommendations on how to best improve overall.

Obviously, I need a bunch more PIE, and I see above that most of it comes from the Body piece, but doing that means I'd be losing the GC bonuses (in addition to the innate bonuses of the gear)...

So what's the overall recommendation? Should I still shoot for Poor Man/Rich Man above, or is there a new gear set to shoot for?

PS - I don't have any of the Primal weapons, and doubt I'd be able to pull one in before Nov 1...


EDIT: I was looking at the above again... it looks like, given my current gear stated above (stats at STR 328/PIE 246), I have a shortage of 22 STR and 69 PIE. So I thought about it and it looks like, if I remove one of my +18 STR rings and replace it with an +18 PIE ring, I now need 40 STR and 51 PIE to hit cap. This would mean, taking the Felt Bracers and Cobalt Sollerets I have, I just need two +20 STR materia melds in one, and a +25/26 PIE double-meld in the other. THen, I keep the current gear I've already got and still hit cap with it. Make sense to anyone else?

EDIT2: Well, the above edit was good in theory, but per this handy materia table I found, PIE materia can only go in Body slots, which completely ruins the entire premise I just laid out. I could still max STR via the Hands slot, but my PIE will be lacking. So, back to square one then. Suggestions welcome!

[Silvano]

I would just stick with what you have; the devs have already said the way stat materia work in ARR will be different/less effective.