The Ultimate Black Mage Resources with Damage Calculator

[YanderePrincess]

Crit is better, but there are plenty of better pieces to get your accuracy from. Running a det + acc piece means you lose so much crit and spellspeed that its not worth the increased Int.

I never mentioned any det+acc pieces. I'm trying to decide between det+SS and crit+SS and the det+SS pieces have more SS than the crit+SS pieces.

Also, I'm already i97. I have the weathered evanstar hat and gloves. I'm just trying to determine if it would be better to use the scylla head/gloves (if I get them) until I gain access to i110 pieces.

Also, doesn't crit become less useful the more you already have?

[HaroldSaxon]

Sorry, I got confused with yourself and the other person asking!

Crit's actual scaling is linear (in the way that going from 350 crit to 400 crit will give you the same increase as 400 to 450). It does have some diminishing returns in the fact that an 5% increase in crit from 5% to 10% is worth more than a 5% increase from 10% to 15% (as in the first instance its a 100% increase, in the second its only 50%). But those are only extreme numbers, in reality a smaller increase in crit isn't going to be affected by those diminishing returns by that much, and won't really outweigh the fact that you get more crit point for point on a piece of gear compared to det.

Gear choices; if you are going for i100 pieces, and you aren't running crafted gear, then i'd probably still run the Evenstar Hat, Gloves and Feet. Those pieces are awesome. The Everstar Chestpiece and the ST legs would probably be the better combination. If you aren't going into new coil, then you can run the ST waistpiece, but if you need the accuracy, run the Evenstar belt.

Its better to drop a bit of spellspeed to run more crit than have det if that makes sense.

[YanderePrincess]

I am doing second coil, but my static is still fairly new to it. We've only beaten T6 so far and are starting to learn T7. I grabbed Scylla body from ST primarily because I wanted to glamor it onto whatever body I'm wearing at the time on blm, but it also gives me an acc option when I need it (though I don't need more acc for T6 and T7 because I got HA Choker from T6 last week).

For T8/T9, I would need to use the scylla body instead of scylla legs, as the acc on scylla legs wouldn't boost me high enough over the weathered evanstar legs.

There's also the fact that on the scylla head/hands, they have more SS than the weathered evanstar have, and SS's value does increase as you get more of it, right?

[HaroldSaxon]

Yeah, spellspeeds value does increase as you put more into it, in a similar way as to how crit decreases. But it isn't by a huge amount.

The spellspeed does make a good difference when you have Seleen out. Having a 2.05 GCD for half the fight is nice.

At the end of the day though, I try and maximise crit and spellspeed, and trade off det for accuracy where I can. Your accuracy should be fine once you get the ring from T6 (or the choker).

[Pinworms]

We should reset this thread after each significant patch to keep the pages shorter in order for new readers to jump in on the conversation. OP - can you make a new thread with JUST your info in it and let the community start the conversation there instead of across 4+ patches 80'pages and so many topics?

Thanks!

[YanderePrincess]

I have the choker already. I'm sitting at 443 accuracy atm.

I really don't like the idea of giving up too much det, though, since crit doesn't mean as much when your base damage is lower. Also, our job is already highly RNG dependant. Crit makes it more so.

[HaroldSaxon]

I have the choker already. I'm sitting at 443 accuracy atm.

I really don't like the idea of giving up too much det, though, since crit doesn't mean as much when your base damage is lower. Also, our job is already highly RNG dependant. Crit makes it more so.

The whole crit/rng argument gets pretty much destroyed in long fights, which is where spellspeed is good anyway. Over a long fight the amount of crits you get will tend to your critical hit rate, especially if you have a large amount of spellspeed.

Determination is the lowest weighted stat, and gives you the lowest amount point for point. At i100:

Chest/Legs:
Main:27 det/38 crit/38 spellspeed, Secondary: 19 det/26 crit/26 spellspeed

Head/Gloves/Feet:
Main: 16 Det/23 Crit/23 Spellspeed, Secondary: 11 det/16 crit/16 spellspeed

Waist/Jewelry:
Main: 12 Det/17 Crit/17 Spellspeed, Secondary: 9 Det/12 Crit/12 Spellspeed

As you can see, you get far more stat out of crit than det. Its fair enough if you choose not to run it and run determination instead, as you can run with whatever you want, but it gives far more stats than it does determination, and is weighted higher.

[CasuallySerious]

Determination is the lowest weighted stat, and gives you the lowest amount point for point.

I agree with most of what you said however determination is actually our highest weighted stat once you get a good weapon. The high allagan staff has WD of 77 but even at 75 WD det is worth 0.283. Spellspeed is next and then crit is the lowest. Now if the choice is 19 speed/crit vs 13 det than the 19 will still be better but if the stats are even - Det > Speed > Crit with a weapon that has at least 75WD.

[Uninstall]

I agree with most of what you said however determination is actually our highest weighted stat once you get a good weapon. The high allagan staff has WD of 77 but even at 75 WD det is worth 0.283. Spellspeed is next and then crit is the lowest. Now if the choice is 19 speed/crit vs 13 det than the 19 will still be better but if the stats are even - Det > Speed > Crit with a weapon that has at least 75WD.

Really? I thought determination is the stat that scaled worse with gears while crit is the one that scaled better with more damage. This is why I sanded my gloves instead of my hat as HA mask is 18 crit vs HA glove's 12 det.

[YanderePrincess]

Really? I thought determination is the stat that scaled worse with gears while crit is the one that scaled better with more damage. This is why I sanded my gloves instead of my hat as HA mask is 18 crit vs HA glove's 12 det.

I think you're right, at least if I'm understanding the resources at the start of this thread correctly (and the information in them is correct).

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, too. Crit is a % increase in damage, albeit not equal to the full % of crit, I think (Crits are 150% damage, right? so I think that would make every 1% increase in crit rate = +.5% dps). From what I've understood about determination, det is a flat increase to damage, not a % increase to damage. As in, X det = Y points of damage, rather than X det = +Y% damage. So, if you were adding 20 damage from your determination at base damage 20, that's a 100% increase in damage. But, if you're adding 20 damage from your determination with a base damage of 100, that's only a 20% increase, and at 1000 damage, that's a 2% increase in damage. If someone who has a clear understanding of how it works could confirm, cause this is just what I'm getting from trying to assimilate a lot of math that is otherwise beyond me. lol