BLM Gear

[Caoihmin]

Decided to level BLM to 50. I currently do not see static coil runs in my future so I need some advice on what gear to acquire. My main is BRD so this is just for fun.

At the moment I have the augmented IW Rod (no way I'm doing another relic fest), Demon Hat, Augmented IW chest, Demon gloves, Evenstar belt/legs, Demon boots.

Accessories are Augmented IW choker, Evenstar wrists, Bogatyr earrings, Augmented IW ring, Evenstar ring.

Stats are:

ACC: 497
Crit: 568
Det: 289
Attack Pot: 615
SS 408

Basically I read a lot of debate on gear secondary stats. For my current usage, should I be focusing on crit/SS?

[Cynfael]

There isn't much debate over secondaries for BLM. SS+DET in general; DET+CRT specifically for heavy AoE if you maintain a second set for that purpose. You don't even need as much ACC as you have since you aren't doing FCOB, tbh.

[Caoihmin]

Det and SS? That's interesting....

[Werhusky]

Det and SS? That's interesting....

Determination is a must for all DPS classes iirc which setup you ever use never fall below 300. General det > crit except bard where its recommended to proiorize crit. I personally also use crit builds on SMN and DRG but I only play my DPS just for fun (content up to T10).

Spellspeed... had till lately a pure Det/Crit build and wondered why my DPS sucked.... swapped a few pieces (High Allagan Belt instead of Evenstar same for choker and Evenstar hat for HA headpiece) just a slight +44 spellspeed and my DPS went up. Its simply because as blm the casttimes are long so you can dodge easier without castinterupts (I think).

Hope real DPS are answering better

[pandabearcat]

Basically, BLM has zero reliance on resource regen (passive regen, that is). So unlike other classes where skill speed/spell speed butts up against their passive regen and causes them to run out faster, BLM has no such issue.

Tightening your rotation basically just means more dps. BLM also has no crit procs or the like so crit simply remains an expensive stat.

[Skeith-Adeline]

Spell Speed is your single highest weighed stat. The fact that you have 408 spell speed actually distressed me lol. Even on my AoE rotation gear-sets (Dungeons, certain coil instances), I never clip below 540 spell speed.

[randysquirrel]

If you're not running FCOB, then as someone already said, your acc is much higher than it needs to be. T10 acc cap is 470 I believe (from memory I think T9 is 471?), all other content comes somewhere much lower than this.

SS> Det> Crit

[Caoihmin]

Hey thx guys for the input! I'll do some rearranging and see what I can muster!

[Nyalia]

Huh? Why are people saying Det over Crit on gear? Aren't the stat weights:

SS: 0.281
Det: 0.246
Crit: 0.234

So, on your Relic where you get as many Det points as Crit, sure, Det is better than Crit. However, on all other gear, you get 42% more Crit than Det. So an item that gives 20 Crit would give 14 Det at the same ilvl. Compare: Augmented Ironworks Hood of Casting with Dreadwyrm Petasos of Casting. The Ironworks has Det as the minor secondary at 14, and the Dreadwyrm has Crit as the minor secondary at 20. Also, Demon Robe vs Ironworks Robe - Ironworks has Crit as the major secondary at 44, Demon has Det as the major secondary at 31.

So, to see the true weight of Det as a stat on a piece of gear, you have to divide it by 1.42, giving you 0.173. That makes Det the worst stat on a piece of gear by a huge margin.


That said, there is never a point in the i120-i130 range where you actually choose between det and crit. Heck, there is only a single piece of BLM gear in the 120-130 range that has Det as a major secondary - the [Augmented] Ironworks Choker of Casting. Det happens to be naturally minimized on endgame gear for BLM, which is good.


Ignoring Coil drops, pentamelded crafted gear, and the Final Coil accuracy caps (but keeping in mind Shiva Extreme's accuracy cap of 470), the best build you can make according to Ariyala's BiS solver is this one: http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/QJA6

Pure Ironworks gives way too much accuracy, so note the non-Ironworks items included: True Ice Bracelet of Casting, Judgment Ring of Casting, Demon Skirt of Casting, and Evenstar Gloves.

Evenstar Gloves are interesting compared to the Augmented Ironworks gloves, when ignoring accuracy: 34.908 eINT [24+(25*0.234)+(18*0.281)] on Evenstar vs 34.444 eINT [31+(14*0.246)] on Augmented Ironworks

If you have different accuracy targets, your results may vary. Very little content actually requires accuracy at all. From what I've read, it's just Coil, Levi Ex, Moogle Ex, and Shiva Ex as far as I'm aware - base accuracy is enough for the rest of content in FFXIV. However, despite that being true..... the BiS solver still gives the same build as above as BiS! Weird.

As an aside, here are the best Coil drops for increasing your DPS as a BLM, and how much they increase it by (from the BiS non-coil build above), assuming you do not care at all about your accuracy:

• Augmented Ironworks Rod to Dreadwyrm Staff [T13], boost of 21.343 eINT: 610.74 ((81*6.726)+54+(51*0.234)) to 632.083 ((82*6.726)+57+(37*0.234)+(53*0.281))
• Demon Skirt of Casting to Dreadwyrm Tonban of Casting [T13], boost of 12.907 eINT: 57.364 (45+(44*0.281)) vs 70.271 (50+(47*0.234)+(33*0.281))
• Evenstar Gloves to Dreadwyrm Gloves of Casting [T12], boost of 8.921 eINT: 34.908 (24+(25*0.234)+(18*0.281)) vs 43.829 (31+(20*0.234)+(29*0.281))
• Judgment Ring of Casting to Dreadwyrm Ring of Casting [T10], boost of 7.703 eINT: 24.66 (18+(19*0.234)+(9*0.246)) vs 32.363 (23+(22*0.234)+(15*0.281))
• Augmented Ironworks Belt of Casting to Dreadwyrm Belt of Casting [T11], boost of 5.853 eINT: 26.51 (23+(15*0.234)) vs 32.363 (23+(22*0.234)+(15*0.281))
• Augmented Ironworks Earrings of Casting to Dreadwyrm Earrings of Casting [T12], boost of 1.018 eINT: 29.182 (23+(22*0.281)) vs 30.2 (23+(15*0.234)+(15*0.246))

(NOTE: Maxed Zeta (SS/Det) is 632.773 eINT ((82*6.726)+57+(38*0.246)+(53*0.281)), and an SS/Crit Zeta has the exact same stats as the Dreadwyrm Staff. This means that putting max Det on a BLM relic vs putting 31 Crit on it instead only increases your eINT by the negligible 0.69, and costs about 5m gil extra, so seriously, put Crit on your relic instead of Det as the minor secondary, don't waste your money like I did!)

Those are the only drops that boost your DPS, ignoring accuracy entirely. Of course, this puts your accuracy at the absurdly low level of 383, but people have reported never missing at that level in any content besides Coil, Mog, Levi, and Shiva.

Here is the BiS non-coil/mog/levi/shiva build if Coil drops are included (remember that a Zeta relic with max SS and the rest in Crit or Det is just as good (or slightly better than) the Dreadwyrm Staff): http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/QJAQ

EDIT: I tried to run a BiS solver instance that included pentamelded crafted items, but including them makes the calculations take a VERY LONG TIME. After four hours, the solver is only 2% done, and I am not a patient woman, so it's unlikely I'll let it keep going :P

[Maero]

Dunno i am going full det/ss on my Relic. Currently have all ss melded and around 21 short on det to finish off my Novus. I have seen Lilith Rods with piety, crit and various different combinations. Btw Piety in my opinion is a huge waste of stat on a Relic weapon, not sure why one would add it when if you really do need the little bit of extra mp just get melded gear or something.
Crit and i have not done testing but fairly certain is more beneficial to other dps classes, like example Ninja, drg or even Bard. Again not sure so don't call me out on this, lol
Like others have said unless your doing coil your acc is not too bad, i currently have had no issues for say T10 with 487 acc
As for pants, i myself and others still do use the Demon Robe of Casting and it works for my current and future build.
Alternatively one can also use Kimiru belt of casting and the Platinum ring, is it worth it? That i have not tested but may be an option. Again if you plan on running coil it may just be worthwhile to hold off, just get some augmented pieces until you can get dreadwyrm gear.