what stats do i need? what cross job skills should i use?

[Wicka]

So if DEX no longer applies to crit rate or evasion, what stat does modify those parameters? I have noticed that a bit of gear increases both of those things but surely there is some other stat that they are derived from. As much as I like to High/Low my characters for party play, I also like to take classes and play them out of the box. I would really like to be able to spec a PUG to be a very evasive, almost tank-like version of the class. I understand that the roles each class is meant to fill tend to define the way the class grows, but some directional freedom is definitely something I love in RPGs. Sure I am playing a DD class, but I am playing it very differently than my friend and we are both effective in different ways. I would be willing to sacrifice a little consistent damage for more evasion and higher crits.

Anyway, it seems that STR and INT are the stats to push if you want to High/Low PUG. Is that what I am seeing here? Also, where can I find a detailed description of some of the number breakdowns? Sort of a list that shows what numbers are derived from others and how they correlate.

[Narfalicious]

Mousing over the stat gives the basics of each stat, and I think its the 1.20 patch notes that they state what class' auto-attack is affected by what.

[Estellios]

No "raw" stat modifies Evasion or Crit rate, but like you said there is now a larger amount of gear that gives those stats (especially Evasion) and in higher potency. If you want to make a set or focus on Evasion it's best to grab whatever gear raises evasion and meld Evasion materia onto Body and Feet.

PGL can tank in most situations as long as the rest of the party doesn't push out high damage/curing immediately at the start of a fight, and as long as you are able to pump out consistent damage. People have used PGL tanks on Ifrit just fine, although apparently because his level is so high Evades are really rare and it's best to gear for HP in that situation.

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

If you have trouble hitting, rock 4 accuracy rings.

Seconding Narfalicious. Pick up 4 rings such as: Dated Bone Ring, Dated Copper Ring, or Dated Brass Ring to boost the accuracy by 8~12 points.

Cross-Class Abilities:
Lancer gets an ability like Invigorate which increases your TP generation for a while.

Archer gets an ability like Quelling Strike that boosts the TP generation of your next attack and in a party setting, reduce some of the threat your move will generate.

I would probably get the Conjurer ability for Cure for those times when you just need the extra heal between using Second Wind.

[Wicka]

Thank you Narfalicious, I don't use a mouse when playing because of the poor specs of my current compy. The mouse lag just bugs the hell out of me. So as a result I never hovered over any of the stats. And also thanks for pointing me to the 1.20 patch notes. I started right after 1.20b so I missed them.

And thanks to Estellios for the advice on just using gear to spec one way or the other. I had the suspicion that I was going to need to do that anyway and it is nice to hear in the affirmative.

[Squiggles]

Seconding Narfalicious. Pick up 4 rings such as: Dated Bone Ring, Dated Copper Ring, or Dated Brass Ring to boost the accuracy by 8~12 points.

Cross-Class Abilities:
Lancer gets an ability like Invigorate which increases your TP generation for a while.

Archer gets an ability like Quelling Strike that boosts the TP generation of your next attack and in a party setting, reduce some of the threat your move will generate.

I would probably get the Conjurer ability for Cure for those times when you just need the extra heal between using Second Wind.

do i need stoneskin/sentinel, etc like some people have suggested?

[yukikaze_yanagi]

you'll end using sentinel in every primal fight, so yes. Stoneskin isn't mandatory, but is usefull while soloing

[Theplatter]

My Current PGL Setup:

Point Allotment:
STR +23
INT +22

Gear:

Weapon - Murderous Mogfists (solo/SB parties)/ Ifrit's Claws (nm fights)
Head - Paragon's Crown
Body - Rainmaker's Tunic w/Savage Might (crit att) Materia
Hands - Fingerless Raptorskin Gloves of Slaying w/STR Materia (could also use Heaven's Fist materia for att+)
Legs - Felt Trousers w/Ironman's Will (STR/VIT) Materia
Feet - Cobalt-plated Caligae w/Bloodthirst (hp+) Materia
Waist - Penance
Rings - Dated Garnet(STR) x3

Other Job Abilities:
Invigorate, Keen Flurry (lancer)
Bloodbath (marauder)
Cure, Stoneskin, Raise (conjurer)
Decoy, Chameleon, Quelling Strike (archer)
Sentinel (gladiator)

[silverdragontyr]

Not bad gear. For those wondering, just remember to balance your stats. A lot of tests seem to indicate stats cap at 280, although none of this is set in stone. Also, while Int affecting auto-attacks is still highly debated, it for certain affects Blindside by a very noticeable amount.

[Almalexia]

I have only seen one test for ARC that indicated ~280 DEX and PIE stop giving returns on damage. However, PGL does not gear for DEX or PIE.

You will also notice, in the link provided, Seiken states how STR and ATK have no apparent cap on Lv. 52+ mobs. PGL may treat these stats differently. Maybe PGL can stack STR/ATK practically unchecked. Maybe there is a cap like ARC DEX/PIE. Someone should test this.

And INT isn't "highly debated." It clearly affects PGL damage, just not as much as STR point-for-point. Hell, maybe INT is an uncapped stat and we don't know it yet.

Edit:

Someone should test this.

And I did.

STR and ATK testing on PGL:

Target: Lv. 52 Zaharak Halberdiers

I used Ifrit's Claws for all tests.

Each trials includes 500 attacks (critical hits truncated)

Trial 1:
STR 280 - The alleged stat cap
ATK 520
INT 242

Min 77, Max 91, Avg 84.48

Trial 2:
STR 304 - 24 points above alleged stat cap
ATK 520
INT 242

Min 80, Max 94, Avg 87.27

Trial 3:
STR 327 - 47 points above alleged stat cap
ATK 520
INT 242

Min 82, Max 96, Avg 88.91

Trial 4:
STR 280 - Baseline to compare with Trial 1
ATK 578 - I have no way to increase ATK incrementally. This is from my materia'd glove.
INT 242

Min 85, Max 100, Avg 92.80

Trial 5:
This trial uses my usual PGL gear, which is the same as Platter's above. We'll call this the "Pugilist Platter," a tasty sampling of the optimal gear available in 1.20 (i.e. "not bad gear.")

STR 306
ATK 578
INT 252

Min 90, Max 105, Avg 97.96

Conclusions:
This corroborates neatly with Seiken's findings regarding STR and ATK. What surprised me, though, is just how powerful ATK is.

With 47 STR over base, I managed an average of 88.91 damage.
With 58 ATK over base--I used Ifrit's for all tests (+30ATK) so this is just counting gloves--I had an average damage of 92.80. Both min and max damage were also higher.

I have 246 STR bare-assed. Note that I used 280 STR initially to test any alleged cap, meaning I was already wearing 34 STR in gear to start. By trial 3, I had 81 STR over my naked stat. The only way to increase it from there would be to use Paragon's Crown (+5 more STR than Sipahi) and Rainmaker's Tunic (+6 STR more than naked)--of course, these also have other stats that modify PGL damage, so I did not use them.

Let's assume it takes ~23 STR to increase average damage by 2, based on my data. I would need about 46 more STR than trial 3--that is, 127 STR total--to match +88 ATK. We see again that familiar 3:2 relationship.

Practical conclusions:
If you have a slot, put ATK in it.

If you cannot put ATK there, put STR.

If you cannot put STR there, put INT.

If any of these competes for a slot, use the formulas below:

ATK>STR>INT
1.5xSTR>ATK
2.5xINT>STR
3.75xINT>ATK

eg: Use Flame Sergeant's Sarouel (ATK+9) unless you can get 14 or more STR on pants.