Hellfire Guillotine vs Nothung

[Ashkendor]

That means you may end up making relic with parry and accuracy.

SE actually stopped putting Accuracy on weapons awhile ago. They do love putting Parry on them, though.

[CGMidlander]

H. Nothung has better secondary stat allocation (Crit/Det as opposed to Crit/Parry)

[Awful]

H. Nothung you're trading 100+ Det for parry yuck yeah it can be upgraded to 240 but so will the relic weapon later. Plus the step for it is easy (if you did get Nothung from the previous quest) and should take you a day or 2 of no lifing it.

[SpookyGhost]

They made the comment before that they wanted to have the raid weapon be the highest tier ilvl to incentivize raiding, so it'll be i240. Whether that will happen in 3.3 or not, I'd need a source on, as I'd assume the next relic step is probably on a half patch. Either way, the first step in the relic is a massive time investment, and then you need to invest even more into the current step, so just using your Lore for the weapon seems like a fine option. I guess the relic is more worth it if you're not raiding and you can afford the time investment on top of capping tomes weekly and anything else you plan on doing.

[Reynhart]

They made the comment before that they wanted to have the raid weapon be the highest tier ilvl to incentivize raiding, so it'll be i240.

For now, probably. But if you remember, they also said it for the Zodiac weapons compared to Coil, which didn't prevent them from being on par (or even better) near the end. And even if they stay 5 ilvl lower, itemization can still make them better, especially for tanks.

Whether that will happen in 3.3 or not, I'd need a source on, as I'd assume the next relic step is probably on a half patch.

We're also planning to add more storyline to the Anima weapon series in Patch 3.3, and it'll be possible to change your weapon's secondary stats at that time.

We'll be proceeding with a system similar to that of the alexandrite that was needed to create Zodiac weapons, but it will not involve materia. Just like the initial stage of the anima weapon quest, we'll be preparing several avenues for obtaining the necessary items, so you can choose a method that suits your preferences. The weapon enhancements coming in Patch 3.3 will make them comparable to weapons affixed with grade V materia.
Source (On the bright note, it says no materia involved )

Either way, the first step in the relic is a massive time investment, and then you need to invest even more into the current step, so just using your Lore for the weapon seems like a fine option.

Frankly, the last step can be done really quick... And since I haven't been able to buy a full Lore set, despite capping every week since 3.2, I'd have ended with a lower average ilvl if I had spent 1000 Lore on a weapon, since I already had the i210 Anima.

[Ultear_Milkovich]

I went for the Hyperconductive Nothung for my DRK (CRT & DET) and used my Lore Tokens to buy the BLM Lore Rod (SSP & CRT), as the BLM relic is not good for me (losing 100+ SSP, no).

I think that was a good move.

[jssanderson747]

Until you get a gobdip, the relic has better stats. No real getting around that

[MiniPrinny]

Hyperconductive Nothung is flat out better than anything else at its item level for two reasons. The first is its stat layout, Crit/Det is impossible to overlook, there isn't a better combination unless you're a Warrior and then its Crit/SkS or Det/SkS. The second is that relics, and this goes for all relics in the foreseeable future are assured to have their secondary stats capped. Currently, even with max melds, for whatever reason, you wouldn't be able to cap the parry on Hellfire Guillotine. And even if Hellfire Guillotine didn't have the parry and had SkS or Det, you would still not be able to cap those stats. Basically, if you're a Dark Knight, you get your Nothung and sit on it until you clear A8S or at least five to eight weeks pass of clearing A7S. And considering that A8S' damage check is much more lax than other fights, you should be able to do it long before then and wait out the Midan Metal Greatsword instead.

If you don't have either by 3.3, upgrade Nothung, because Hellfire Guillotine will still be garbage compared to it.

[Sarcatica]

Hyperconductive Nothung is flat out better than anything else at its item level for two reasons. The first is its stat layout, Crit/Det is impossible to overlook, there isn't a better combination unless you're a Warrior and then its Crit/SkS or Det/SkS. The second is that relics, and this goes for all relics in the foreseeable future are assured to have their secondary stats capped. Currently, even with max melds, for whatever reason, you wouldn't be able to cap the parry on Hellfire Guillotine. And even if Hellfire Guillotine didn't have the parry and had SkS or Det, you would still not be able to cap those stats. Basically, if you're a Dark Knight, you get your Nothung and sit on it until you clear A8S or at least five to eight weeks pass of clearing A7S. And considering that A8S' damage check is much more lax than other fights, you should be able to do it long before then and wait out the Midan Metal Greatsword instead.

If you don't have either by 3.3, upgrade Nothung, because Hellfire Guillotine will still be garbage compared to it.

Guillotine garbage? Suboptimal? Sure. Garbage? Really now, You are losing out on the DET vs Parry. How much are those gonna matter? Putting into numbers from Dervy's, ~7 DET = 2 STR/VIT. 109 DET = ~32 STR/VIT. That's roughly saying you get ~15AP vs if you don't meld anything on Guillotine. In a larger scheme, that's quite unnoticeable at best (somewhere around 10-15dps iirc, even less important if you aren't raiding a5s-a8s). The comparison isn't THAT bad. Ukonsvara VS the lore axe is a big one though. People just like to make it as if missing some stats is huge even though it's really not that big tbh.

[KrenianKandos]

Nothung was what made me decide not to spend my 7 Midan Gear and get the Guillotine. It just is flat out better secondary stats wise. Also, while I don't raid Savage, this made the choice even easier: 230 vs 230. If I had a faint hope to upgrade the Guillotine, then I would have considered it + the materia slotted for Det, simply due to the weapon damage increase.

As I will not be able to upgrade it until most likely 3.3, and they are making the Relic grow in power in 3.3 as well, I am just better off gearing the rest of my slots with Lore instead. I'll probably dump it on my Monk secondary when my Dark Knight is fully equipped.