How to Dragoon per Second: A DPS Paradigm

[JackFross]

Avoid holding GCDs just to get the Geirskogul in under a minute. GCDs contribute more than 10 times the potency of Geirskoguls. Better to just stretch it to 3 / 84 seconds than slow down the pain train.

Since I don't pop a potion in my opener, my initial BotD comes 1 gcd later, letting me squeak out 3 Geirskoguls before phase transition. At the end of the rotation I end up hitting ID>ID>[ID] (last one doing nothing to the boss and just re-upping my combo) which is probably not ideal. After, I slap him with Disembowel, wait about 1s for BotD, hit:
BotD>CT>IR>4th>HT>Leg+PS>TT>Jump>VT>Life [wash away]>SSD>FT>4th>gsk>phleb>CT combo>HT>FT combo+Jump>wash away>DFD>...

I haven't decided if I like that or just hitting CT and shifting everything else forward one, dropping Life+BotD on wash away just before I SSD>FT. It seems to work out better when I delay, though that might just be confirmation bias of me wanting it to work out better that way. :P

From there I don't know my full hard-and-fast rotation yet; still trying to iron out exactly how many gcds I get in between Hand of Prayer/Parting and Equal Concentration.
I generally drop another CT on the main hand along with a gsk, keeping botd flowing before I burn it and re-up it for Equal Concentration, where I do a full opener+potion without DFD.

Any advice on how to optimize better here would be more than welcome.




Also~ @discussion above: There's a set that's in the OP with 650 ss / 900 crit. It's "technically" bis, using the stat weights in the OP. I say technically because I still prefer Dervy's (since suuuper low det), though with his I'd likely still swap in Brio because the SS is too low for me.
650 ss: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/RM94

From there, though, you can swap to the Gordian booties and drop accuracy to 639 while boosting SS to 708, which is probably the set that's being referred to.
http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/RM95

[SunnyHirose]

2.4s isn't needed to have HT buff itself because of animation/debuff/buff delay and how attacks snapshot on the start of the attack, though when you are over 2.40 there is a slight delay where HT will drop and any oGCD's or autoattacks in that brief period may not have the HT buff - I'm not sure this is really worth getting the SS as well. For people with bad ping the extra SS helps maintain the HT buffed HT when double weaving or if jumps eat into your GCD.

I've modeled it a bit... yeah, it's not really worth worrying about the auto-attacks that won't get buffed. More SS probably hurts people with bad ping, since it aggravates the clipping they get.

Having greater leeway for Gsk is a good justification, and I will continue aiming for 2.40s.
My original question, though, was whether 2.40s was really *needed*. The guide emphasises this in bold, underlined text. Yet 2 posts up we see a BiS set with 579 SkS.
When new DRGs come along and read the guide, will they drop ilvls or delay upgrades just to keep 590+ SkS, when they could do better with 2.41s or 2.42s?
I suppose all this doesn't matter outside of savage anyway.

That is an issue I have with the guide. Healer attack speed buffs will mess with this, and they always were going to.

The 2.40 GCD conundrum is based on the theorem that every oGCD like BFB/GSK connection synergizes with each other producing optimum result(s) and also situation that you're given a free time frame to "whack the dummy", which is what we aim for, even in raid environment, having less than 2.40 is also recommended by A4S clearer such as Sunny/Yan Dere, they both have crazy high SkS.

I don't recommend any particular level of skill speed; I just don't have the spear drop. I think it's one of the few points where personal preference and circumstance come in, because the theoretical differences between the BiS sets worth considering is on the scale of single-digit DPS (I felt this way about 2.x monk as well). Sometimes less than .5 DPS. You can easily lose more DPS than that by just sneezing.

From there I don't know my full hard-and-fast rotation yet; still trying to iron out exactly how many gcds I get in between Hand of Prayer/Parting and Equal Concentration.

That's about where things fall apart for me, since tanks are not robots.

What I do for the hand phase (now that I'm in the clear for discussing specific fight tactics outside the FC):

- ID 2 or 3 times right before hand phase so you don't lose one of your debuffs
- For first Wash Away, attempt to use Jump to cheese the knockback. If unsuccessful, use Elusive Jump (good luck everyone else!). HOLD Spineshatter Dive.
- For second Wash Away, another Jump attempt. Use Spineshatter Dive before your assigned hand gets out of range.
- When it's time to high-five the hands, use as many Doom Spikes as you can get away with. Of course, don't do this for Equal Concentration (regardless of the mechanic, you don't have the TP for it). This is where RNG can screw you
- If the hands have to be un-clapped before the tornado phase, Spineshatter Dive should be up just in time for you to chase one of them. If not, well, ooh a cooldown (poing).

My DPS is notso hotso on that fight, but a big part of that is because I didn't buy pants until after A3 this week.

[Thendiel]

Also~ @discussion above: There's a set that's in the OP with 650 ss / 900 crit. It's "technically" bis, using the stat weights in the OP. I say technically because I still prefer Dervy's (since suuuper low det), though with his I'd likely still swap in Brio because the SS is too low for me.
650 ss: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/RM94

From there, though, you can swap to the Gordian booties and drop accuracy to 639 while boosting SS to 708, which is probably the set that's being referred to.
http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/RM95

Being referred to by whom? Should I remove the 650 SS set, or add another? I figured the 650 SS set belonged there due to its stat weighting and due to the fact that it provides a higher level Skill Speed than the other two (which some people might like as a question of preference--although, as you say, one could always just swap in a Brionac instead of a Gordian Trident with the others).