Apex CP Guide

[Psion]

I would like to point out that pup can also serve in the role of a nuker as well. (although if mobs are dying every 18 seconds or less this might be an issue due to the automaton's nuke recast timer.) With an "OK" nuker set, amplifiers, ice maker, and the typical mage setup (with only 100 JP gift) my automaton was pulling off 20-48k magic bursts, depending on if i had 1-3 ice maneuvers up. Once i had the timing down though 3 ice maneuvers for every skillchain wasnt terribly hard, although there was only a few seconds of wiggle room. Note this is without kenkonken, so i had to use condenser and a water maneuver beforehand. kenkonken pups would have an easier time of this. My pup is still missing somewhere around 50 pet MAB at the least, as well as 6 magic damage, so its nukes can obviously go higher... I imagine if you had herc with nice pet nuking augments (int, MAB/magic acc) this would climb up further still, as i was using taeon, naga tekko, and reforged pantin feet. I know for a fact that one pup has managed to hit 98k MB (and hit the damage cap using overdrive for fun) so there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. This was also without a geo or cor buffing the party either, as it was just a ls party with a pld, drk, my pup, two blms, and an apururu. we still were pulling in a great amount of JP despite the constant breaks and unconventional setup, haha.

Obviously pup might not be so ideal as a nuker if parties are going absolutely nuts and skillchaining + MB every 10-15 seconds, but they never have to worry about MP running dry. In those cases you might be better off using valoredge to help tank and skillchain with.

[Psion]

Actually, after getting two pieces of herc gear, one with 30 pet MAB and the other with 26 Pet MAB and 15 int, which gave me 15 more int and 38 more pet magic attack bonus, i went back and tested solo on an apex crab for funsies. after waiting an eternity for iroha II to both self sc and my automaton to have 3 ice maneuvers at the same time (not easy when she has floored accuracy and you can't time two two properly) i got a few sample nuke damages.

overloaded, no ice maneuvers: forgot, but it was like 6k, no magic burst either.
magic burst, no maneuvers: something like 15k
magic burst, one ice maneuver: 24146 thunder V
magic burst, 3 ice maneuvers: 65812 thunder V!

and as a bonus surprise, amplifiers apparantly lower the global magic recast timer. after cheering and looking at log to see his exact damage, iroha continued to self sc after fragmentation, and i left oniwaka deployed. she went on to do light right after oni MB, then did a double light... which he promptly cast thunder IV (because thunder V recast timer wasn't ready) for no ice maneuvers, 13506 damage MB. seeing as how this was only a few seconds after he cast thunder V, and the magic recast timer with mana channeler is something like 23 seconds, this shouldn't have been possible, yet it was. so it seems my fears of automatons being unable to keep up in a apex party might be unfounded, as they can keep MBing more often than every 25 seconds or so. granted, they wouldn't be 3 ice nukes like that 65k i did, but they'd still be fairly potent... and automatons never run out of mp unless you're never deactivating for some reason.

So in a fast apex party where mages might need to slow down to let mp regen, you could probably have the automaton continuing to MB off the melees skillchains even as mages rest mp back.

My pup still has a good amount of room to improve on pet nuking gear as well. i can still get a few more pieces of nuking herc, and the two i have can get magic acc for both, and int for one. i could also get magic attack bonus on my ormzhad instead of magic acc, i'm missing a deino collar, and an ukko sash for pet magic acc. oh, and 6 more pet: magic damage on my ambuscade back, which adds a massive amount of damage alone.

I would also like to mention this is without a GEO to increase his damage, nor a corsair with puppets roll for boosted magic acc/att. ;x

[Zeldar]

I always wondered how a properly geared nuking PUP did. Back in the days when we manaburned gigas tigers in shadowreign zones , I had a pup friend that outnuked well-geared BLMs.

[Psion]

oh yeah, i remember in 75 cap days doing 2.5k bliz IVs to NMs without mbing, like proto ultima.

Like i said, there's still a lot of room for improvement. if i was REALLY lucky on augments with herc im still missing 6 magic damage, 50 int, 100 magic attack bonus, and 105 magic accuracy for the automaton just from gear alone. (assuming all herc had pet: 15 int, 30 magic attack bonus, 30 magic acc, and with mab ormzhad) There's also 33 more pet MAB, and 58 pet magic acc from job point gifts im missing, plus a 1200 JP gift which would give me two more ice capacity. that would allow me to either use tranquilizer II plus a loudspeaker for more magic attack bonus, or more likely, ignore tranquilizer II entirely and use a loudspeaker 4, since i'd have more than enough magic acc to not need it by then.

So yeah, quite a bit of room for growth. :P did i mention he's still missing 38 magic skill? i've yet to cap him, haha. no resist issues at all though with tranquilizer II.

::edit:: an apex party was kind enough to give me a trial. unfortunately, only the leader was willing to try and the rest of the party was clamouring them to kick me before we even started, so i was rather nervous and made a lot of mistakes. sadly, testing only lasted 3 mobs. a few things i learned:

they were wsing every 20 seconds on average, meaning 3 ice maneuver nukes were a no go. 2 ice at best. oni did manage a couple 45k two ice nukes, but there were a few issues from mistakes being made. namely, darkness skillchain is a massive PITA to mb on, as the window is incredibly tiny. you have to deploy the very instant darkness sc animation starts, or its too soon (thunder V instead) or too late (blizzard IV). being in the state i was in, this wasn't very easy to hit.

Second, even if you get that down, bliz V with just turbo charger II equipped is too long a recast. I suggest both turbo chargers to help ensure its cooldown is ready by the next mb timer, or else you might be like my automaton and cast water V instead --; (really SE? you still haven't fixed scanner not working on elemental damage reduction types? crabs take like 25% damage from water element.) This leads me to the next observation which is:

Fast cast. in the raptor party i was using pitre pants with 8% fast cast. this time i had herc trousers, which lead to a notable lengthening of the automatons casting. i suggest an automaton fast cast set with pitre legs +1, naga path C for the other 4 pieces, and ukko sash. That would put it at 25% fast cast gear, giving you a MUCH wider window to land blizzard V mb. thunder MB and light sc is a lot easier, since he defaults to that if it's ready anyways. fast cast gear should also lower the recast of bliz V, hopefully enough that it's ready even in a fast party.

Anyways, that's my observation. 3 ice nukes is possible with kenkonken and 20 second skillchains, but without it you're going to need to rely on 2 ice nukes. that said, with a better nuking set the automaton can probably do 60k+ with two ice, so i'm going to keep experimenting!

::edit 2:: WOW i had no idea how potent overload sets are now. i was getting off 6 ice maneuvers right after activate (5 JP in activate effect) using puppetry dastanas, visucius's mantle, burana earring, buffoon's collar, and since i realized im not meleeing anyways, swapped in midnights for the overload reduction. This is without me having more int than my automaton, and without karagoz farsetto +1...which is definitely my next goal now. ironically you don't want to wear your fancy nuking set while using ice maneuvers, as this increases the automatons INT and makes it harder to overcome with your own int to lower the amount of burden produced. I'm thinking condenser isn't really needed as long as you reactivate the automaton every minute to lower the burden (and refresh mp). This would lower the time needed for 3 ice maneuvers to ~20 seconds, and 10 seconds or so for two ice, which is a lot more in keeping with a fast paced party.

[Rooj]

Apologies for the delay in editing, was banned from forum for 10 days
-Mentioned that EXP is split less in SoA dungeons
-Added a list of CAP bonuses
-Added PUP as a MB job
-Mentioned that the difference between a trust and a player is huge, so not to mislead yourself into thinking youre not ready for Apex because you tried it with trusts - though solo Apex is certainly doable.

I'd love to provide more camp options, but as I said every single one of my parties was in the same spot, and this is on one of the most populated servers so I really doubt you're going to find yourself at any other camp due to something like overcrowding - however, I still think options should be listed - so if you have ever EXPed at a different camp, even if solo, please provide me with the Zone and Position and Mob Name so I can add it I'll soon be posting this guide on other websites.

Also Psion, I'd like to thank you for the information regarding PUP, and more specifically, for playing a less common job and thinking outside the box. You are the type of player I prefer playing the game with. Much appreciated and keep up the good work!

EXP campaign in ~2 weeks, hope yall are ready ^^ I'll personally be utilizing the Monstrosity EXP bonus so I can get the Vorseal for it!

[BBWallace]

Hell I was the one pulling on a fresh 99(But Geared!) Geo.

[Shyles]

What is also nice about Puppetmaster is that there are several options for Apex depending on your pup build. I also soloed my Puppetmaster to 2100 on Apex Erucas mostly with a tank build, but Erucas aren't always the best mob for many pup builds because of elemental resistances. Unfortunately, there are not many lvl 125 Apex mobs that aren't resistant to light or blunt damage, so Erucas might still be best unless your Puppetmaster is already absurdly strong and can solo the lvl 137 Apex Skeletons in Inner Rah'kaznar (Bone Crusher gets +1 ftp against undead). Eruca's low defense really makes them good for any melee job.

Puppetmasters are very good at light skillchains, but they can't make darkness without an automaton WS, and they can't solo a 3-step darkness at all. So finding a mob that is weak to Light SCs might be better if you are using a Master-focused, or Hybrid DD build (ex: Master-focused: No pet gear, rdm pet... Hybrid: balances TP for both master and pet).

If fighting Erucas with Tank Builds:

Stringing Pummel > String Shredder = Darkness > MB

I used my puppet to tank, so I dropped my healer trust for Shantotto II for extra MBs, and used support trusts for the rest. Try to find the right balance between master TP gear in main equipment slots, and Pet -DT in accessory slots.


If you like a Master-focused DD build with support puppet:

Do 3-step Light skillchains: Victory Smite > Shijin Spiral > Victory Smite

Very easy to stay haste capped, since the RDM puppet will give you Haste II. You also won't need a tank trust because RDM will give you Phalanx, Stone skin, and cures. Sylvie is good for extra heals and damage buffs. No pet gear needed, but you will to work on proper sets for TPing and both WSes.


If you like a Hybrid Master/Pet DD build:

w/ Valoredge: Shijin Spiral > Bone Crusher > Victory Smite

w/ Sharpshot: Victory Smite > Armor Shatterer > Victory Smite

After capping Gear Haste and Accuracy (~1050 with food), pick up any extra Pet: Haste, Pet: sTP, or Pet: DA in accessory slots or augments. Master sTP isn't as important as you will be SCing with the puppet.

As a final note, Hybrid Puppetmaster easily offers the most potential damage out of any Puppetmaster DD builds especially with Kenkonken III, but it is also the hardest most tedious to use properly. It requires a few extra macros and a couple extra gear sets. Many Puppetmasters don't bother making Pet WS sets because they forget that Automaton WSes also have modifiers, or find them too tedious to use. But if you are using Inhibitor and know how it works, then you can add a macro to switch into a Pet WS set immediately after you finish your opening WS. You can get very nice Bone Crusher damage that way.

[Frysia]

Shyles, out of curiousity, what subjob did you use for this as DNC? Finally getting my gear up to par and I'd like to try doing this sometime.

[Shyles]

Shyles, out of curiousity, what subjob did you use for this as DNC? Finally getting my gear up to par and I'd like to try doing this sometime.

I used /sam for the extra sTP.