Where to start in End-Game content? (Paladin)

[ArkAurelius]

So yesterday, finally cleared the story, and all the extra goodness that comes with it.

But its so much to do, i dont know where to start.

Should I start farming Castrum for Phils and get full Darklight?
Should I start working on getting my Relics?
What set of accesories should I start with? Darklights or dungeon drops?
Allagan or iLv90 sets? What should I aim for?

Im sure im missing lots of other questions but im kinda overwhelmed on where to start. Some guidance would be appreciated.

[Kitru]

For each of those in turn...

I wouldn't go for full DL. It takes too long farming CM to do that, plus, it ignores all of the loot in the WP/AK/HM tiers which are excellent stepping stones to higher tier content. I would do your daily roulettes (low level and main scenario, at the least; don't unlock HM Copperbell, HM Haukke, or Pharos and you'll always get the super easy WP/AK for your high level roulette) because that nets you 600 philo tomes each day along with 80 myth tomes. After finishing those for the day, I would run AK/WP since those give just as much philo tomes as CM/Prae, are generally faster, and provide you with i55 loot. Which gets us to...

You should start working on it as soon as possible. The starter weapon is super cheap now so it presents no obstacle. Chimera can be done with half of the group unconscious, as long as the conscious ones are paying at least the slightest attention, and Party Finder makes getting a group a joke. You should be trying to run AK anyways, and Hydra is only marginally harder than Chimera. The HM primals themselves aren't too hard either, with the primary limiter being the ilevel requirements (which means that you'll have to farm up a bit of gear just to get in 'em). If you can find a good LS/FC, you can often just get carried through them as soon as you meet the minimum requirements; sometimes, you can even find a random group that feels like carrying someone.

DL accs are better and provide an excellent cushion to get your myth/allagan accs. Plus, they're easier to get than the HM accs because you buy them rather than trusting the RNG not to screw you over (I think I've seen the Hoplite Ring twice. Ever.). I would probably get the myth ring first since you can only get 1 DL ring and the myth ring is BiS anyways (plus, it's cheap enough to buy your first week).

It depends. It depends largely upon your BiS. You want to maximize your parry rating while staying within a few points of 482 acc and getting as little skill speed as possible (speed stats are terrible). There are multiple loadouts that I've seen people use so it's left to your judgment.

[TurboSol]

I went straight to AK with nothing but AF armor to start getting lvl60 gear, but it's been nerf'd to lvl 55 now, then started my relic quest and farming WP to start picking up pieces of DL.. but, you COULD do the CT quest to get it unlocked, and it's easy enough with so many people, that you could basically be 'carried' through to start acquiring lvl80 equipment.. but it's limited to 1 piece a week... either way, WP and AK are going to be your best/worst friends for now.. grab loot and get DL pieces as you can.. I personally started off getting DL accessories first, then move onto armor, which you'll be building up myth tomes as well, so, lvl90 pieces as well

[Poosammich]

Start by trying to get some darklight, but WP should be a decent place too, just can't speed run the place. Fill in the gaps were you can, and go for DL soon as you can, Once you've got some of that and you're upwards of 5500 or so HP should be okay to start working on the relic. I myself wasn't comfortable in Titan HM until I had more than 5700 or so HP, and then ate food to get as close to 6k as possible. Table Flips hit for 3200+ without a cooldown.

[Claire_Pendragon]

I personally had nearly enough phil to buy some basic DL, but now, ppl level up so quick with roulette.

I suggest do your 2 randoms for phil/myth, buy what u can.

After that, depends on if u want to be efficient, or just have some fun.

I went with the later, and farmed ifrit for his sword, then garuda, then moogles, then titan for shield.

In the mean time, doing WP/AK for i55 gear, and then HMs for i60 gear. Until I had enough phil for DL.

Dont forget your CT runs.

a LOT of ppl will complain about a tank in AF, but honestly, that dungeon is SOOOO easy, even in full AF.
(most of the ppl i ran it with on day 1, were in full AF, it really doesnt require good gear to win, not even slightly)

If u want to be efficient, start ur relic quest, and aim to get ur relic weapon, and ignore farming the weapons.
simple market bought gear will do fine to get through titan.

[Darksword]

What I would do now, if I were you (I did this as WAR, but before 2.1)

1: Don't unlock the new dungeons yet.
2: Do the high level and Main Scenario roulettes every day.
3: Do WP runs via the Duty Finder.

What you should go for before moving on to harder content:

All Darklight Accessories of Fending. These are pretty cheap, you'll have all of them within a week if you're even an everage player.

Darklight Heavy Gauntlets
Darklight Heavy Plate Belt

Vermillion Haubergeon, Coif, Sabatons, and Sollerets from chest drops in WP and AK.
Darklight Macahuitl sword from the Tonberry King.
Darklight Kite Shield from the Tonberry King

With that gear setup there, you should be able to tackle Ifrit, Garuda, and HM Haukke and Copperbell without any major issues.

At this point you should start your Relic weapon quest. You should be good to go for everything up through Ifrit and Garuda.

Also by this point you should have some Myth Tomes saved up. Buy yourself a Thavnairan Mist. You're going to want 3 of these, so stash it away for a rainy day.

Now you're running Haukke and Copperbell Hard Modes. What you want is the Hoplite and Lords sets. Body/Feet/Legs/Head. Any combination is good. As you're running these, save up 900 Philosophy Tomes and buy a bottle of Radz-at-Han Quenching Oil.

Once you have some of this new gear, go ahead and go after HM Ifrit. You can farm him in the Duty Finder - most groups rarely lose to him. You want his sword to upgrade you.

Now you have full DL Accessories, Ifrit's Blade, Darklight Kite Shield, and all Hoplite/Lords armor. You should have 3 bottles of Thavnairan Mist and a bottle of Radz-at-Han Oil stashed away. Time for Crystal Tower. Your goal is to upgrade your body armor to the Warrior of Light body, a level 80 piece. It'll take you a few runs to get it, so don't lot on anything else. By the time you get it, you'll probably have enough tomes to buy the Heavy Darklight Flanchard to armor your legs and feet.

Now you have Warrior of Light armor, DL Legs/Feet, and everything else still looking good.

Now go kill Titan and complete your Relic weapon. You already have the Radz Oil that will be the last item you need, and you can turn right around to Relic Dude's forge and make your new Curtana and Shield both +1. Now you're ready to start eyeing Coil.

[ArkAurelius]

Thanks everyone, for the advice and giving a clearer goal on what to work on. Started fighting Ifrit HM, still lacking the sword but the battle's easy enough to MT. Just gonna continue farming it until I get the sword and all the daily roulettes till I have enough ToPs for the accesories.

Even with Party Finder, maintaining a party of 4 and up is rare since people cant seem to wait for a light or even a full. I try to get my friends to help though theyre rarely on. I'll work on the Relic eventually but for now, I'll find a suitable replacement with Trial/Dungeon Drops and Phil. with your recommendations.

This is another question. Is the HQ iLv70 Sword worth getting or is it just for vanity's sake? Of course the Relic outstats it initially but Materias can help going for a specific stat going higher. I'm only asking for the weapon, I dont find the Heavy Armor appealing at all.

[Muzy]

Yes, the crafted weapon is worth it, if only to tide you over until you get something better, especially if you get the philo mats yourself, buying one straight out is kinda iffy, depends on how bad your luck has been. It's basically equivalent to a Garuda weapon, as long as it's HQ.

[PetiteMalFleur]

I recently leveled an alt character and hit 50 as the new content was released. Here was how I did it: I purchased a HQ i55 pre-relic weapon. Your GC weapon would be fine too. I replaced all my low level jewelry and belt with level 47-55 HQ crafted. I unlocked all the end game dungeons, including the HM ones. Most importantly, I unlocked Crystal Tower. I started farming CT for my weekly i80 upgrade. The dungeon is really easy and my low dps was not an issue. I ran WP and AK a couple times to get a couple drops. You can get an i55 weapon here too. I tried to farm ifrit for a weapon but RNG hates me so I bought a 2-star crafted HQ weapon at some point before getting my relic. I probably should have saved my gil but got impatient. If you can get a primal drop just use that.

Once I got a couple upgraded items from WP/AK I focused on the HM dungeons for drops. As I farmed CT and did the roulettes I used my accumulating philosophy to replace my lowest iLevel items. Cap your myth every week and within two weeks you can make a major upgrade to chest, pants, or weapon.

[bob13bob]

buying crafted not worth it unless you're gill rich. You'll get more gear/time spent not buying any of it.
follow post here.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post1770394