gear to aim for, minus the insulting each other

[Squiggles]

that other thread is too chock full of arguing, so what should i aim for to reach caps off of this gear:
af head
ifrit claws
storm serg tabard
fingerless rap gloves of slaying / +16 str
felt trousers / str dex +10
af shoes
rubelite ring x 2
electrum gorget +25 attack
storm sergeant earring
veterans field belt

i would prefer an "ok for now" set that just caps str, rather than an ungoldy hard to get best of the best list, as i dont have the time to devote to being garuda/darklight/3-4x meld monk

[Mister-Wonderful]

You reach your caps by melding 2/3 materias on that gear.

[Squiggles]

how can i go about getting 310 int too

[Xianghua]

The only spot you can meld int is head/legs. Without getting triple melds or DL gear I don't think its possible to hit both str/int cap.

[Squiggles]

The only spot you can meld int is head/legs. Without getting triple melds or DL gear I don't think its possible to hit both str/int cap.

ok thanks, so is str cap, and int as high as i can, the best way to go then?

[Xianghua]

ok thanks, so is str cap, and int as high as i can, the best way to go then?

Yes. That will work fine until you can get DL/Triple melds.

[Squiggles]

how about weapons, ifrit vs garuda vs storm sergeant

[Almalexia]

Storm Sergeant (with Sanction) > Garuda > Ifrit > Storm Sergeant (without Sanction)

Looking at your current gear, Garuda may be the superior choice due to ACC. Otherwise, you'll have to lose an accessory (neck or ring) for ACC.

[Ruisu]

Ifrit > Storm Sergeant (without Sanction)

This is incorrect. The Ifrit base attack is 131 with 39.69 DPS. Storm Sergeants, even without sanction, are 132 with a 40.00 DPS. While the difference is small, the hooks still superior to the Ifrit claws.

Also, I wouldn't say the GC gear is superior to Garuda claws, at all. The Garuda claws may have a lower base attack, but since most MNK damage comes from your weapon skills, that 41.07 DPS is more important. Along with having the ACC boost. You really shouldn't even need to put INT on your weapon, anyways.

[Almalexia]

This is incorrect. The Ifrit base attack is 131 with 39.69 DPS. Storm Sergeants, even without sanction, are 132 with a 40.00 DPS. While the difference is small, the hooks still superior to the Ifrit claws.

Also, I wouldn't say the GC gear is superior to Garuda claws, at all. The Garuda claws may have a lower base attack, but since most MNK damage comes from your weapon skills, that 41.07 DPS is more important. Along with having the ACC boost. You really shouldn't even need to put INT on your weapon, anyways.

You are overestimating the value of DPS in WS calculation. DPS is used to improve WS damage so that lower delay/lower damage weapons like Garuda remain competitive against weapons with higher DMG/higher delay, not mop the floor with them. While it's true most MNKs will see 60 WS:40 AA damage in an ordinary fight and 70:30 in an extraordinary fight, this doesn't mean a weapon should be reduced to its DPS stat. There are other ways to increase WS damage--things the community has quantified.

40 INT is enough to send any MNK in AF head to the known INT cap. I understand you don't need INT from your weapon, but this is a transitional weapon until OP obtains INT from other sources.

Which is best for OP right now? That depends on the rest of his gear. If OP were to plop one of the two into his weapon slot as he is geared now, I would say Garuda is better for the sake of ACC. However, for overall damage, he would get the most improvement from sanctified GC hooks and ACC in one of the accessory slots. If Sanction is lost, he can fall back on Garuda or hooks as they are (I suppose it's too bold to claim Ifrit is better than unsanctioned hooks, or vice-versa, in any practical sense; for the sake of inventory space, lose Ifrit once you get hooks.)