The Monk Temple

[Xell]

So what do you guys think? Should I be going for trying to get HQ Gryphonskin armor over Darklight?

How badly do you want to beat turn 5? Nothing up to turn 5 is so harsh that darklight isn't more than enough for DPS. Turn 5 appears to be the only content that you really have to squeeze out every possible point. If you really want to spend that money, it will certainly help purchasing some HQ gryphon with high level materia, to fill in the gaps of ilvl 90 gear you don't have. Unfortunately it's a bit RNG in that if you get that same ilvl 90 piece next week..you probably just wasted a ton of money. So if you aren't even up to turn 5 yet or aren't concerned with world/server first, I wouldn't bother.

[Powercow]

HQ gryphonskin is better than Darklight.

[Riot55]

So I guess my question would be is it worth all the money/effort to craft it? Or is it handedly beaten by relic gear/raid drops? It's hard for me to do comparisons because I can't really see the HQ stats especially with materia in to compare.

edit: posted after you posted about that. Still interested in it but yeah it might be a bit too high of an investment considering it's not going to last THAT long, huh? Is Relic stuff all better than it for sure? I only have a couple Darklight pieces and just didn't know if it's worth to skip it or suit up in that. I have a couple animal fats, what is the best piece to make stat value wise above a Darklight equivalent?

[Xell]

@Riot
All the math I've seen claims primary stats(str) far out-weighs the others. There is no way HQ ilvls can compete with ilvl90s in str. Throw in the fact that the Vit and def stats will be lower for the ilvl70s, it's hard to justify going with the 70s. Then again the only time def really matters is turn 5 and even that can technically probably be done in 70s. If you're intent on getting a piece a ring might be the best. You aren't sacrificing any def that way. Otherwise, I've heard chest and pants offer the most benefit from materia, but I haven't done any testing on that myself. All in all, if I was legacy or had 10 mil laying around, yes I would fill in the gaps of my 90 gear with crafted. With only 1 mil, I'm not quite willing to do it until it becomes cheaper. Also worth noting that if your group runs double monk(hard saying that with a straight face) it will take significantly longer to get your full 90 set, so it would probably be worth it to get alternating crafted gear.

[JokingCat]

so using dots will incrase your dps? i feel like its a waste of time on trash mobs, maybe dots are good for long fights but lets say you only use demolish on titan how much dps will you lose ? also fracture over ToD or both?

also a question if you start your rotation do do you use your dots at the beginning or when you have 3 stacks of gl?

[Almalexia]

so using dots will incrase your dps? i feel like its a waste of time on trash mobs, maybe dots are good for long fights but lets say you only use demolish on titan how much dps will you lose ? also fracture over ToD or both?

also a question if you start your rotation do do you use your dots at the beginning or when you have 3 stacks of gl?

Depending on the trash, you can sometimes fit Fracture/Demolish. Use your best judgment based on the encounter and your killspeed. ToD is best used on unfocused trash since the target your party is actively tearing into rarely lives 24-30s.

Remember that it takes 24s for ToD, 15s for Demolish, and 15s for Fracture to exceed any direct damage skill MNK has. As long as your DoTs last at least those respective durations, then they were worth it.

One theory suggests MNK apply DoTs as early as possible, then go through the normal rotation up to GL3, pop BfB/IR and overwrite ToD at 6s left and Demolish/Fracture at 3s left. This would get enough damage out of the weaker form of those DoTs - while still doing more damage than other skills - before overwriting with a more potent version. You could also wait for the DoTs to expire completely.

The competing theory is leaving off ToD and Fracture until GL3, simply because using them any earlier delays your advance to GL3. In this case, use your normal rotation with only Demolish in the third slot, then continue until GL3, pop BfB/IR and apply all DoTs. This is my personal preference.

Oh, and a note about primals: they have periods of invulnerability where DoTs will not damage them. You'll have to experiment and learn when they jump/teleport in order to apply DoTs intelligently and make the most of them. If you anticipate the primal is about to go invulnerable, do direct damage and DoT later!

[Chokee]

The competing theory is leaving off ToD and Fracture until GL3, simply because using them any earlier delays your advance to GL3. In this case, use your normal rotation with only Demolish in the third slot, then continue until GL3, pop BfB/IR and apply all DoTs. This is my personal preference.

i'm kind of confused at the demolish part. should i use it while building GL stacks, or should i only apply it after 3 stacks? i understand the part where you apply ToD + Frac after 3 stacks.

also, like someone asked earlier, if i use demolish as finisher on my 3rd combo, would it benefit from 3 stacks? or just 2 stacks?

[Almalexia]

i'm kind of confused at the demolish part. should i use it while building GL stacks, or should i only apply it after 3 stacks? i understand the part where you apply ToD + Frac after 3 stacks.

also, like someone asked earlier, if i use demolish as finisher on my 3rd combo, would it benefit from 3 stacks? or just 2 stacks?

I'll break it down from the start of the fight:

DK/Boot > Twin > Demolish (GL1)
DK > True > Snap (GL2)
Boot > Twin > Snap (GL3)
[Demolish will be on the way out]
DK > True > Demolish > Fracture > ToD

Attacks with added effects do not benefit from the bonuses they grant on use. So if you use Demolish with GL2 active, it will apply the DoT with GL2's bonus.

[kukurumei]

I'll break it down from the start of the fight:

DK/Boot > Twin > Demolish (GL1)
DK > True > Snap (GL2)
Boot > Twin > Snap (GL3)
[Demolish will be on the way out]
DK > True > Demolish > Fracture > ToD

Attacks with added effects do not benefit from the bonuses they grant on use. So if you use Demolish with GL2 active, it will apply the DoT with GL2's bonus.

You can acutally see the order of the "buffs" on your screen at the skill time.

damage
(debuff)
form
buff

in order of scroll down.

[Riichi]

If I'm at 2 stacks of GL and I use demolish, will I gain the 3rd stack of GL before the demolish DoT applies for max DoT damage?