Gear & Damage Help?

[Roarke]

Hello, fellow Dragoons. I am a returning player to FFXIV who recently quit FFXI to play this again. I'm not so familiar with damage calculation and gear in this game, so I'm asking the forum for help.

This is my gear:

Storm Lieutenant's Trident
Drachen Armet
Drachen Mail
Drachen Breeches
Felt Bracers (Blue) Double Melded 24 STR 3 PIE ACC+5
Cobalt Sollerets (Red) 3 STR 3 ACC
Explorer's Earring
Electrum Gorget
Rubellite Bracelet
Rubelite Ring x 2

Are there any quick gear upgrades I should aim for first? Are there any optimal builds? Are the Felt Bracers better than the Drachen Hands with 40 Attack Power since I have less than 350 capped STR and less than 310 caped PIE?

Thank you.

[Silvano]

Look down a few posts at Dragoon's Max Status

Quickest upgrades are probably:
Cobalt Haub/Tortiseshell Scale Mail/Darksteel Haub with PIE, somewhere around 30+.
Felt Bracers with STR, again 30+ optimal.
Upgrade jewelry to +1s, slap on a tourmaline or rubellite bracelet depending on what you need.

STR/PIE are always better until you hit the caps.

The chart you posted is from a post that dates back to January. I believe that chart is out of date. If you look through the STR/PIE/ATK testing thread you'll find that stats have had major changes since then. As of right now the returns are about:

STR = 0.8 dmg per point until you reach ~350
PIE = 0.7 dmg per point until you reach ~310
ATK = .35 dmg per point

You can find the tests/data on the 2nd page of the thread.

My own testing on DPS vs Attack Power confirms ATK ~ .38-.42 dmg increase per point

[Izodius]

My own testing on DPS vs Attack Power confirms ATK ~ .38-.42 dmg increase per point

I generally split the difference and go with .38 for comparison purposes. Need moar testers!

[Silvano]

I generally split the difference and go with .38 for comparison purposes. Need moar testers!

Well, I say .38~.42 because if you look at damage increase over ALL things (Auto, Jump, and WS), it's .38, but if you only factor in WS damage increases, its closer to .42 ^^

[Firesped]

dmg as in D value or DPS value?

also is Jump based on D value or DPS value

[Hyrist]

Jump is based on D value - that much I can confirm.

Answering where exactly on the calculation Attack fits, however, is a different issue. I'm not even sure the damage formulae is fully understood yet.

[Silvano]

It won't be exact, but the testing done by many people, as well as myself pretty much shows how you factor Attack Power in to your build equations.

Certain weapons have certain caps, and then you pump Attack Power when you hit those caps. Garuda's Beak is the new 350/310 cap. Basically, it's better to use Ifrit's Harpoon until you have Garuda's Beak and don't worry about hitting 350/310 ^^

Also, yes; Base Damage has the greatest influence on Auto-Attacks, Jumps, and technically Dragonfire Dive since it isn't a "Weapon Skill". DPS is what you use to judge stat caps for that weapon, as well as WS damage overall.

[Krausus]

if you are looking to gear up cheeply then I would probably grab Storm Sergeant's Tabard until you can get a high piety chest piece and then +1 the rest of your jewelry. Militia Subligar if you can get your hands on it is a nice piece as well, and paragons crown if you have acess to it is much better than AF