MNK 50 Gear

[Alerith]

Could someone review my gearset and give me some tips or pointers? I've been 50 for only about a week, so I'm not entirely sure how I'm stacking up against other MNKs.

I've been doing (what I think is) excellent damage and I've had no complaint's from any groups, but I want to be sure I can't be making my set better.

Note: Darklight is currently out of the question.

My setup:

Flame Sergeant's Patas
Flame Sergeant's Tabard
Flame Sergeant's Sash
Flame Sergeant's Hose (Now that I have the set bonus without these, should I go back to AF legs?)
Explorer's Moccasins
Fingerless Raptorskin Gloves of Slaying (Double melded for + 51 Attack Power)
Flame Sergeant's Circlet (Still testing vs AF headpiece)
Peach Blossom earring
Electrum Gorget (Planning to replace with Explorer's Gorget)
Rubelite Bracelets
Flame Sergeant's Ring
Explorer's Ring

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[AmyNeudaiz]

Mnk is more about constant damage instead of spike crit damage from what I understand. Try replacing some of that crit rate gear with something that adds to your constant damage. Mnk AF boots work just fine.
And take this advice with some salt, I'm no Mnk expert.

[Alerith]

Well, as I said, I'm unsure of what kind of numbers other MNKs get. But 2000+ critical Howling Fists sound really, really nice. If that's the average, then I can probably start changing out the Crit gear, but my main damage hasn't really suffered as far as I can tell. My average hand to hand damage is about 190 per fist.

[Chardrizard]

Aim for min of str350 then int to 310 then add attack afterwards. Adding constant damage wont do as good as adding WS damage since 70% of our damage comes from WS alone.

[AmyNeudaiz]

Well, as I said, I'm unsure of what kind of numbers other MNKs get. But 2000+ critical Howling Fists sound really, really nice. If that's the average, then I can probably start changing out the Crit gear, but my main damage hasn't really suffered as far as I can tell. My average hand to hand damage is about 190 per fist.

Well you can get a crit on howling fist every time with blindside, so crit rates don't do much for mnk. Adding to your non-crit is more of a priority than adding to your crit rate.

Adding constant damage wont do as good as adding WS damage since 70% of our damage comes from WS alone.

You misunderstand what I said >_< constant damage as in non-crit hits. Not AA vs WS damage.

[Estellios]

Luckily for you, you're one of the Flames and we get a really nice amount of gear for MNK. Enough that I have a lot of options on what to wear in order to activate the Flame Lieutenant H2H set bonus. As Signore Chard mentioned, you should be aiming for STR and INT before worrying about any Attack+, unless of course you can't get any STR or INT at all in that slot.

Just from company gear, I can recommend picking up Flame Lieutenant's Jamadhars, Flame Sergeant's Bracelets, and possibly Flame Sergeant's Earring.

The Jamadhars are absolutely amazing and since so many pieces of Flames gear are great for MNK you can get their set bonus activated easily. Get them ASAP because they are easily accessible and really strong. The Bracelets have INT+7 with the set bonus, which is more than even +1 Zircon Bracelets (they only have +4) and it contributes to your set bonus. The Flame Earrings set bonus is 30 hp, which is IMO better than -1 enmity but more importantly most earring stats are inconsequential so you can sacrifice that slot solely towards activating set bonuses.

Round these pieces out with the Sash and Tabard you already have and you can activate the bonuses on all of these items.

For a head piece, the AF is actually really good and is what you should be using unless you can get a double melded int+ headpiece. Although getting under 75% hp for the Circlet isn't too bad, it can be dangerous and speaking as a WHM it is tough to leave people at specific HP% just due to the nature of some skills.

Aside from that, yes you should go back to AF legs. They are perfectly fine and the stats are great until you can get your hands on some double melded STR legs. I'd also recommend the AF feet as well as they have INT alongside their attack power bonus that will increase your damage slightly more than the strait Attack+5 on the Explorer's feet. Explorer's does have Crit rate bonuses but as was mentioned, you can easily force crits with Blindside so it's not as necessary and you might end up riding the hate line as it is.

Focusing on your getting your STR up, you should get ahold of Rubelite Rings instead of the two you have (although Flames one will be fine and you can forgo getting the Flames Earrings if you use it). You can try for STR+ Gloves as well, but keep in mind that you will need to get over 34 STR on your gloves in order to beat your current gloves.

[AmyNeudaiz]

Why people think INT is better for MNK than Attack power is beyond me. Wasn't is every 4 INT was equal to 1 attack power? Just makes more sense to add attack power instead.


EDIT: I was given incorrect information, don't have an anurism.

[Chardrizard]

Because they are MNKs WS anand AA modifier, beside there srent really spots where you need to cchoose INT over attack, INT is usuallly at slot where attack isnt applicable.

[Almalexia]

INT doesn't translate to ATK power. INT exists as its own modifier in damage calculations. I am curious as to where you got this 4:1 ratio.

The community's findings on combat calculations indicate the most effective way to increase damage point-for-point is first STR, then the secondary stat (INT, in MNK's case) then ATK. For best results, cap STR for your weapon, then INT for your weapon, then acquire as much ATK as you can handle--in that order.

However, these findings are dated and do not consider the changes to critical hit rate/attack power. Not that I mean to imply compromising core stats for crits is the right way to go, but it adds extra contention to the head and feet slots for MNK.

To OP:
The current itemization precludes MNK from getting any use out of ATK-melded gloves. It hurts, I know--I'm in the same boat. The slots with the largest STR options are your hands and fingers; you'll fill the gap to cap with body and legs. Any excess STR will free up accessories for INT, ACC, or ATK, but your hands will be cursed with STR for the foreseeable future.

If you have the dosh, or frequently hamlet, the militia earring is a valuable piece for an otherwise junk slot.

[Drexel]

Why people think INT is better for MNK than Attack power is beyond me. Wasn't is every 4 INT was equal to 1 attack power? Just makes more sense to add attack power instead.

Do you bother to read test results at all, seems like you just post stuff you think up or dream about. Every post I have ever seen from you regarding stats and damage is wrong and weakens the community’s understanding of damage calculations. Please quit misinforming the community with your ignorance. Damage wise 1 INT is about equal to 2 ATK as far as WS damage is concerned till it caps out. Also it modifies how potent Blindside is further adding to its benefits.