Vocabulary o wo

Hii all,

Was wondering if someone could help me with some vocabulary I see quite often on the forums and such. When going into a new game with its own lingo and vocab I like to be as knowledgeable as possible. Haha. So if i could get these answered that'll be great!

1. T1-11 (I'm assuming these are some type of dungeons)
2. SATA (I'm starting off as a Rogue to Ninja and I see this a lot. I'm assuming it means Sneak Attack/ Trick Attack)
3. Parses (I see this a lot when looking up rotations)
4. GCD (Global Cooldown? What abilities does this refer to)
5. CD (Cooldown? What abilities does this refer to)
6. ilvl (Has something to do with armor and weapons? How do I get them what's the cap?)

Thanks in advance!

1: You are correct. It refers to different stages for the Coil of Bahaumut, an endgame raid.

2: Again, correct. The SATA moniker is grandfathered from FFXI where THF had that combo.

3: Parsing is not authorized as far as I know, but it is a third party program installed on a PC that allows you to actively monitor target output. In most cases, damage. People use parsers to test rotations to see which is most effective.

4: It does mean Global Cooldown as you said. In a nutshell, there are two kinds of abilities. GCD and Off GCD. If you click an ability and a bunch of others become temporarily greyed out for about 2.5 seconds - it's a GCD move. Its a unified cooldown shared globally with several other abilities. Off GCD are moves that have their own cooldown and are usually much longer than 2.5 seconds or so.

5: Correct. These are usually in reference to your Off GCD (oGCD) abilities. These are important because people tend to weave these in between GCD abilities.

Example: As a MNK, Bootshine and Twin Snakes are GCD. I do one, wait 2 someodd seconds, then do the other. I have a 2 second dead period there. I have Internal Release as one of my CD's. I can use it even if my GCD is occupied. I can use it in that 2 second period.

6: Correct again. Once you hit 50, the logical way we level is with better gear, which is where iLvl comes into play. All equipment has a physical level (what level is required to equip it) and an iLvl which is sometimes higher than the required level. Your iLvl is an average of all of your gear currently equipped.

When you hit endgame you will start to get Tomes of Soldierly which can be used to purchase iLvl100 gear up in Revenant's Toll. You will also get higher iLvl gear drops in endgame dungeons. Where to go and what to do really depends on your class/job. I actually don't know what happened to the AF2 stuff that you used to buy with Tomes of Mythology. Assuming they are now dungeon drops too and went the way of Darklight (iLvl 70) gear.

I believe iLvl 135 is the new cap with 2.4. Also, you can start your relic weapon quests one you hit the endgame which are tons of (sarcastic) fun. You don't generally buy weapons once you hit the endgame. You earn them or you find them as loot.

Myth gear is now dungeon drops. Accessories drop from coffers and there are gear placeholders that drop from expert dungeons that you can trade them in for myth gear from a NPC vender in Mor Dhona.

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Originally Posted by Camalott

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Awesome! Wow thanks this helped a lot! You also brought up a couple other questions I forgot about too. Haha.

1. Tomes (Is there a I guess an efficient way of spending these? I don't want to waste them once I start earning them)
2. Seals vs Tomes (I know you can buy armor with either, but again is there an efficient way of spending these and when?)
3. Darklight/ Whitelight armor (Something I remember seeing in video and when you just mentioned it.)
4. Weapons/Armor (I guess to sum this reply up. Haha. Do I have to buy armor and weapons at all, or do I just wait till 50 to get them from seals, tomes, and drops? Again most efficient way to prepare for end game when to buy, where to buy, etc.

Thanks for the help again!

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Originally Posted by Woggers

Myth gear is now dungeon drops. Accessories drop from coffers and there are gear placeholders that drop from expert dungeons that you can trade them in for myth gear from a NPC vender in Mor Dhona.

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Place holders is gear that you use till you get your desired gear im guessing?

1) Honestly, just buy what you want. The gear is tailored to your class. I think CNJ/WHM may share gear with SCH. Don't quote me. You'll know it when you see it. Different pieces cost different amounts. People usually buy the cheapest parts first so they can gain immediate access to the enhanced stats. Body and Legs are most expensive. Belts and accessories are the cheapest.

Gear bought with Tomes of Soldiery is in it's "weathered' iLvl100 form. It can be further upgraded into its iLvl110 form. I know there are drops (like Sands of Time) in some endgame dungeons that will allow you to do this. I think you can do this with Seals from hunts as well. I'm not a hunter in any capacity so someone else would have to answer that one. Tomes of Poetics, I haven't even looked at that gear yet but I know it's probably way up there in stats. iLvl110 and above at least.


2) Again, I'm not a seal guy so I couldn't answer definitively. From what I remember, seal gear is mostly for looks, not for function. Seals can get Blood Splattered Logs, which can be used to upgrade existing gear and whatnot.

3) Darklight is an older set. I believe it used to be purchased with the long-since defunct Tomes of Philosophy and was iLvl70. Now they exist as drops in dungeons. I've found darklight drops in many Hard Mode dungeons.

4) You want to keep your armor updated at all times as best you can. Honestly though, you can slack up to the endgame and nobody will probably notice a cut corner here or there unless you are a tank. Just by keeping up with your storyline and your job/class missions, you're going to get free gear appropriate for your level as a reward. May have to buy an item here or there. Mostly jewelry. I actually took MNK from a brand new character up to end-game and never bought a single (non accessory) item or weapon.

Truth be told, the first weapon I bought my MNK was the Cesti for his Relic quest.

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Originally Posted by Camalott

6: Correct again. Once you hit 50, the logical way we level is with better gear, which is where iLvl comes into play. All equipment has a physical level (what level is required to equip it) and an iLvl which is sometimes higher than the required level. Your iLvl is an average of all of your gear currently equipped.

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Just wanted to add that, although Camalott is right that 50 is where Item Level (iLvl) plays its most important role, it's not where it first comes into play. All equipment has an Item Level, and even some of the low-level stuff has item levels higher than their (equippable) level. For instance, there are some bonus helms that are Level 1 and Item Level 11, and the first trio of dungeons drop gear that's Level 15 and Item Level 17. While leveling, any piece whose iLvl is higher than its level is clearly a good piece.

Item Level doesn't, however, mark all reasons for a piece to be better or worse than another one, though. For instance, with crafted gear, a High Quality piece is better (usually significantly better) than its Normal Quality equivalent, but they'll share the same Item Level. Also, when materia is added to gear, it can make the gear significantly better, but that's not indicated by the Item Level, which will remain the same. So when it comes down to deciding which piece is better than another, Item Level gives you a quick indicator of whether it's likely to be, but check all the actual stats if you want to be sure.

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

2. Seals vs Tomes (I know you can buy armor with either, but again is there an efficient way of spending these and when?)

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One big difference is that you'll start accumulating GC Seals at around level 20, whereas the major sources of tomes come into play at level 50 (and maybe some hunts in your late 40's). Getting your chocobo mount and then ranking up in your GC are generally the first two priorities for spending GC seals, but once you've done that, there are several levels of gear available that make good alternatives to dungeon drops either for players who like to solo and don't run enough dungeons to get drops, or simply if your luck with drops hasn't given you an update for a particular gear slot for a while.

Once you get to endgame, GC Seal gear provides some nice starting pieces that you can wear while earning the tomes that will provide upgrades to it. (Edit: I should say, GC gear provides starter weapon and jewelry. You'll get your first set of endgame armour from your level 45 & 50 job quests.)

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

4. Weapons/Armor (I guess to sum this reply up. Haha. Do I have to buy armor and weapons at all, or do I just wait till 50 to get them from seals, tomes, and drops? Again most efficient way to prepare for end game when to buy, where to buy, etc.

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Dungeon drops are nice when you get them, but you may not get every piece at the time it would be most useful. Any slots you haven't gotten a drop for in several levels you'll want to upgrade some other way. Whether you craft those upgrades, buy them with gil from players who do, or buy them with seals from your Grand Company comes down to how much time, gil, and seals you have to spend. Early on, I either crafted gear myself or bought crafted gear from the Market Boards. (The high-quality crafted stuff is quite good.) That's largely because I was saving my GC seals for ranking up in the GC. As I neared endgame and reached max rank, then I started accumulating more seals than I needed, so bought some gear through the Grand Company instead.

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

Place holders is gear that you use till you get your desired gear im guessing?

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That's one common way that term is used, but what Woggers is talking about in this specific case are items like the Antique Helm, which aren't actually gear in their own right at all. They're tokens you can trade in for iLvl 90 pieces (that used to be bought with Mythology Tomestones).

For Seals, there are GC Seals, which come from FATEs, Leves, etc., which you spend at your GC for lots of different things (gear, minions, furnishing, crafting materials, etc.). There are also Allied Seals, which you get from Hunts, and have a similarly diverse list of purchasable items.

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

Place holders is gear that you use till you get your desired gear im guessing?

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In this case, no. The new dungeons actually drop things like "Antique Tassels". Those can then be exchanged for any ilvl 90 belt. I forget the name of the other antique pieces but there is one for each armor slot.

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Originally Posted by Niwashi

Just wanted to add that, although Camalott is right that 50 is where Item Level (iLvl) plays its most important role, it's not where it first comes into play........

.......So when it comes down to deciding which piece is better than another, Item Level gives you a quick indicator of whether it's likely to be, but check all the actual stats if you want to be sure.

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Sorry, I should have clarified that part. Thank you for bringing it up in my stead. Sometimes I don't see the forest for the trees.

Thanks everyone for all the help!

So from what I think I understand this is how it goes?

1. GC = Pre 50 armor/ weapons, Early 50 armor/ weapons?
2. Tomes = End game armor
3. Dungeons = Somewhere in between?

Order of importance I guess when it comes to equipment I guess would be?
GC < Dungeons < Tomes


I just want to prepare for level 50 and the end game. I don't want to look back regretting doing something I should have waited till later. Haha. I'm sure we all know how that feels. xD

You've got GC gear pretty much correct.

Tomes & dungeons are mostly reversed, though. Tomestones of Soldiery give i100 gear, which can be upgraded to i110 (via Hunts, Syrcus Tower, or 2nd Coil). Tomestones of Poetics give i120 gear which can be upgraded to i130 (via Final Coil). The highest gear you'll get from a dungeon is i90.

There's also:
Syrcus Tower ("easy mode" 24-man raid): i100 armor (can't be upgraded)
Second Coil: i110 gear
Ramuh Extreme: i110 jewelry
Shiva Extreme: i110 weapons, jewelry
Final Coil: i130-135 gear

Coil & ST are raids, the Extremes are arena boss fights, so I'm not sure if you're putting those together with dungeons. But the lines get blurred a bit among all those things. Your likely progression will be to use a little crafted/GC gear to get into the earliest 50 dungeons, then mix and match your way through dungeon drops & tomestone gear, work on your relic and possibly get a few weapon drops from primals and/or coils (if you do coils) and/or tomestones, working your way through more difficult content.

I wouldn't worry too much about regretting things. You might have to spend a little more time on something than you would otherwise if you buy something "early," but it's not likely to be a massive loss. Going from fresh 50 to raid-ready happens fairly quickly, and nothing is irreversible.

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Originally Posted by Bixby

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Mkay. So what I'm look at is when I hit 50 get GC armor and weapons.

So dungeons, raids, and primals give tomes (still dont really understand what these are)/ drops; and these tomes (ilvl100-up)/ drops (ilvl90-down) is where i'll be getting my armor going towards end game? Haha. Sorry for going in circles.

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

Mkay. So what I'm look at is when I hit 50 get GC armor and weapons.

So dungeons, raids, and primals give tomes (still dont really understand what these are)/ drops; and these tomes (ilvl100-up)/ drops (ilvl90-down) is where i'll be getting my armor going towards end game? Haha. Sorry for going in circles.

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Don't be sorry. It's a confusing mess these days, honestly, even without having to figure out what's old info and what's new (people still talk about "philo mats" when philosophy hasn't been obtainable for months). The progression from fresh 50 to best-in-slot is not a clear line, but a bunch of blurry zigzags.

GC weapon when you hit 50, yes. GC armor, I personally wouldn't bother; you get your Artifact armor (the armor that makes you look like your job from classic FFs) from job quests at 45 & 50, and that's good enough to last until you get upgrades. The only slots you'll need to fill in are accessories, and I'd suggest getting those off a crafter/the market board. There's i48-i49 jewelry that will get you started for a reasonable price, and when you're done with it, you can convert it to materia and sell that; the GC gear you'd only be able to turn in for GC seals, which are easy to get.

Tomes are just another kind of currency, like GC seals and allied seals. You get tomes from (mostly) level 50 dungeons, primals, and raids, plus a few other sources (hunts, treasure maps, beast tribe dailies). At 50, the daily roulettes offer bonus tome rewards on top of whatever the content itself rewards.

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Originally Posted by Bixby

info info infooo.

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Awesome! Thanks! Ok I think I understand a lot more now. Haha. GC weapons at 50, Artifact Armor at 50 (completely forgot about those), and tomes to gradually get higher ilvl equipment for end game?! Haha. I just hate waste...when it comes to time, spending currency, etc. So the more waste I eliminate the more i'll enjoy the game. Haha.

If you have a smart device, the Libra Eorzea app (Google Play and iTunes) is a great resource that I constantly use to construct spreadsheets of equipment progressions.

I can compare stats and start to develop a gameplan from it. Sometimes it will tell you where you can get it if it is sold or if it is loot. Sometimes you'll have to cross reference with Google.

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Originally Posted by Camalott

If you have a smart device, the Libra Eorzea app (Google Play and iTunes) is a great resource that I constantly use to construct spreadsheets of equipment progressions.

I can compare stats and start to develop a gameplan from it. Sometimes it will tell you where you can get it if it is sold or if it is loot. Sometimes you'll have to cross reference with Google.

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Yeah I got it the other day. It has been very useful. I'll probably make an excel sheet for my progression too now. Haha. Thanks for the idea. xD

When it comes to dungeons and tomes, it basically goes like this: run the high level dungeons you can, and obtain drops from them to gear up once you hit endgame. You'll want to hit areas where the gear is a definite upgrade, but not where you're sorely outclassed. So, starting out you'll likely want dungeons that drop level 60 gear. The libra eorzea, fansites like GamerEscape, and the play guide on the lodestone are handy ways to see what drops a dungeon has. Once you've got a smattering of upgrades, feel free to advance to the next tier.

Alternatively, you can hit the highest level dungeons you can, and skip some of the lower tiers. This CAN be faster, but people won't like to see you do these, and if other people had the same idea you'll likely end up just wiping repeatedly. Crystal Tower seems designed for this, with the first phase dropping ilvl 80 gear, the second phase ilvl 100 gear (and the items to upgrade soldiery gear), and having 24 people so your individual contribution is less.

Now, as you run dungeons (and certain other endgame events like beastman quests) you'll get tomestones. There are two, tomestones of soldiery give level 100 gear that can be upgraded to 110, and tomestones of poetics give.... I think it's level 120 gear that upgrades to 135. They're also used to obtain weapons of their respective tiers, but need an extra item to do so. The item for soldiery drops in Syrcus Tower and the second coil, while the item for poetics drops in final coil and presumably will also drop in the final phase of CT. Anyway, use tomestone gear to upgrade slots you haven't really gotten drops for, and you can eventually use them to fully gear up in almost the best gear.

Now another thing to note is your relic weapon. You can start a quest for this once you beat the main scenario, and continually upgrade it throughout the game. Reaching level 90 is easy, and should be a great weapon to start with. Past that, it gets rather grindy and it's up to you whether to keep going, or get weapons from primals, tomestones, or final coil.

Primals drop various non-armor items. The hard mode of the first 3 and good king moggle mog drop weapons. The extreme modes of those and ultima hard mode drop accessories. Leviathan, ramuh, and shiva all drop weapons from their extreme mode versions, and the latter two drop rings as well. At the moment, only ramuh and shiva don't drop things you can find better of elsewhere for easier, but the others can be useful for stepping stones.

Finally, binding coil is 8-man dungeon content with the hardest fights, and drop armor and accessories from each turn of a given coil, and weapons from the final turn of each coil. At the moment, only the second and final coils are relevant, but you WILL want to be well geared first, at least full level 90 for second coil, and full level 110 for final coil. Still, this is currently how you will get the best gear.

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Originally Posted by OUTIILAW

I just want to prepare for level 50 and the end game. I don't want to look back regretting doing something I should have waited till later.

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The thing is, there really isn't anything you can do at level 20 to prepare for level 50. At 20, you should be focusing on what makes your level 20 game better. Wait until you're 50 to worry about level 50 stuff.

Well, I guess the A and S rank hunts can technically be done at any level, and they do drop the tomes you'll want at endgame, but you won't score well enough to get very many until you near endgame anyway. I'd suggest get into your 40s, probably late 40s, before spending any significant time on hunts. I did actually take part in one on a level 10 character once, but only because it happened to spawn right next to me and I thought it would be fun to see what would happen at that level. I got like 2 myth tomes out of it, which I thought was kind of cool, but on my level 45 (at the time) character, I could have gotten 80 myth, 20 soldiery, and 20 Allied Seals for the same hunt.

As for stuff you could do early in the game and regret later, the only thing I can think of is using up a lot of materia to upgrade leveling gear that you outgrow quickly and then needing to either buy more materia (which can be outrageously expensive for some tiers) or spiritbond to create more (which is time consuming, especially if you don't get the type of materia you were hoping for). At endgame, one of the upgrade tiers for your relic weapon will involve adding lots of materia to it, so you'll want to save the good combat-stat materia for that. (For materia with crafting or gathering stats, there's no equivalent to that relic upgrade, but people generally have more interest in melding their top level 50 gear to best-in-slot parameters than in having melded gear while leveling up.)

So, hunts are the only thing I can think of that you could do, but not efficiently, at your level, and materia is the only thing you might use up too much of (not that you couldn't just get more if you did use up all the materia you had while leveling, just that re-obtaining it adds another grind).