Why upgrade relic weapon?

So, I have been working on upgrading my Gae Bolg, doing books, then to alex. I decided to check out what the stats are for the Ironworks spear to compare. Can somebody please explain to me why anyone would want the relic vs ironworks? The Novus has +45str +53vit, Ironworks has +48str +56vit +42acc +24Det... Why did the relic lose two stat categories along the way?? It just seems like it would be less time consuming to get the relic fully upgraded when you could spend less than 3 weeks in tomes for a better equivalent.

I understand that the ironworks can only be upgraded once, and the relic can probably continue upgrading (in theory), but lets be honest. You know new, more powerful weapons are going to be released in the expansion. So why am I wasting my time? I've even heard rumors they are going to pretty much push the relics to the side in the future anyway.

Thoughts? If I am missing something, enlighten me. :)

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Originally Posted by Frost_Trunks

So, I have been working on upgrading my Gae Bolg, doing books, then to alex. I decided to check out what the stats are for the Ironworks spear to compare. Can somebody please explain to me why anyone would want the relic vs ironworks? The Novus has +45str +53vit, Ironworks has +48str +56vit +42acc +24Det... Why did the relic lose two stat categories along the way?? It just seems like it would be less time consuming to get the relic fully upgraded when you could spend less than 3 weeks in tomes for a better equivalent.

I understand that the ironworks can only be upgraded once, and the relic can probably continue upgrading (in theory), but lets be honest. You know new, more powerful weapons are going to be released in the expansion. So why am I wasting my time? I've even heard rumors they are going to pretty much push the relics to the side in the future anyway.

Thoughts? If I am missing something, enlighten me. :)

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Well the relic doesn't lose it's secondary stats. At the Novus point in the relic chain you get to chose your secondary stats. Also they will always have some sort of relic equivalent as it does not require raiding at all. There is also another upgrade for the current relic slated to release.

Also gear replacement is always going to be a thing expansion or not. The one of the major draws to an MMO for many people is gear progression aside from content progression. You'll have to sit down and figure for yourself if you think the time invested in getting said gear/weapons is worth it not. If you're doing raid content upgrading gear is pretty important, but if you're not doing that kind of content you can certainly get by with far less if you so chose.

Well, the Novus is i110 and the Ironworks is i120...so, uh, duh, the ironworks has higher stats?

The Longinus (zodiac version of your relic) is going to have higher stats than the base Ironworks weapon, and the Augmented Ironworks will beat out the Longinus. If we get a Longinus Zenith at some point, it will probably beat out the Augmented Ironworks.

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Originally Posted by Ricdeau

Well the relic doesn't lose it's secondary stats. At the Novus point in the relic chain you get to chose your secondary stats.

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I just read this on Reddit, thanks for your reply. Make a lot more sense. Wish they would have included something in the database on this so I look like less of a n00b. Thanks again =)

I can't prove this, but take a moment to consider it. What are the names of the Zodiac grade weapons?

Excalibur.
Ragnarok.
Longinus.

Etc. VERY mythology heavy names. They just gave us these items, do you really think they would discard them in less than six months? I highly doubt it. Excalibur, in general, is huge in the Final Fantasy franchise. That isn't something they would throw out for a weapon that wasn't going to hang around.

At least, that's my feeling on the subject.

Supposedly, they are going to be in their 'ultimate form' when 2.51 lands

I got my knuckles because RNG screws me.

I read somewhere that zodiac brave us the final quest but the weapon upgrade will still continue in a different quest.

Keep in mind that the relics are totally customizable, and they will always be up to date with new content as it releases. The relics are there as an immediate tool for raiders to have access to before gaining the tomes for Aelina's weapons or even the weapons at the finale of each coil, assuming those stats are even worthwhile (because who wants parry on their axe? Forget that garbage.)

As for your lance, the best you can get is crit/det and the only lance that offers these stats in a worthwhile quantity is the Dreadwyrm lance at 37/38. Your Longinus however can see 53/36 as you trudge toward your t13 loot. As for the Ironwork lance, the det is nice but it comes with a massive accuracy boost. If you're already at the accuracy cap (which you should be if you're getting these weapons for raiding) then that lance is utter garbage compared to the other two at that level (the relic and DW)