The Anima grind is not the problem.

[Aethaeryn]

So Heavensfire is roughly equivalent of 5 dex better and Armageddon has +4 dex. So in the absolute most extreme scenario, Heavensfire provides 1 dex equivalent more.

For reference, you can see the NIN stat weights above. SMN Stat weights are more simialr to 0.145 high for CRIT and 0.115 low for SPS

Are you disagreeing with me then? Can't really tell. Even if machinist's skill speed was closer in weight to dragoon or monk, Armageddon would only pull ahead by about 2 dex (assuming your crit weight example, which is likely close). That's less than difference between some races. Anyone who would find value in that difference at such a high price and grind point would probably already have the superior Gordian Musketoon anyway. I'm not touching it for now unless someone actually comes up with some real stat weights for machinist and shows that it's worth the difference.

[Kaurie]

Are you disagreeing with me then? Can't really tell. Even if machinist's skill speed was closer in weight to dragoon or monk, Armageddon would only pull ahead by about 2 dex (assuming your crit weight example, which is likely close). That's less than difference between some races. Anyone who would find value in that difference at such a high price and grind point would probably already have the superior Gordian Musketoon anyway. I'm not touching it for now unless someone actually comes up with some real stat weights for machinist and shows that it's worth the difference.

I wasn't really disagreeing or agreeing with anyone. I just wanted to clarify the numbers a little bit. I would say in most scenarios, the difference between Thordan EX and Relic is not that huge.

One thing to keep in mind is that this may work similar to ARR's relic, in that down the line we'll get to customize the weapon with the stats we want. Having this completed may help you get a headstart. It kinda depends if you have much to do right now or not.

[Aethaeryn]

I wasn't really disagreeing or agreeing with anyone. I just wanted to clarify the numbers a little bit. I would say in most scenarios, the difference between Thordan EX and Relic is not that huge.

One thing to keep in mind is that this may work similar to ARR's relic, in that down the line we'll get to customize the weapon with the stats we want. Having this completed may help you get a headstart. It kinda depends if you have much to do right now or not.

Yeah, that's why I'm waiting for them to ease the difficulty on the quest first and working on another weapon for now. MCH is my main squeeze, but I dabble in other things that would get more benefit from having the weapon than a possibly immeasurable difference at best. Guess it would help if I liked it from a glamour standpoint...