DT Stats v. Other Defensive Stats

[Kensagaku]

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I figure it couldn't hurt to ask. I'm fiddling around with idle sets, DT sets, etc, and I'm wondering: at what point does DEF become more valuable than PDT/DT?

Some examples for things I was looking at:
Ogier's Helm: 45 Def, 0 VIT, 5% DT
versus
Yaoyotl Helm: 114 Def, 25 VIT (~12 more def)

Phorcys Schuhs: 28 Def, 5% PDT
versus
Whirlpool Greaves: 84 Def, 15 VIT (~7 more def)

Now before the "make path B Xaddi for both", that's an option that I'd have to work on over time. (Edit: That includes Cizin+1 with augs! Working on it. So no pointing those out.) But until I get to that point, I was wondering: at what point does greater defense become more valuable than PDT/DT gear against physical attacks? Obviously we're seeing nearly 3x the defense in these comparisons, versus 5% PDT/DT.

Actually, a thought that occurred to me on that note: is there a similar point at which MDB becomes more effective than MDT/DT for magical hits? I'm not very mathematically inclined for these formulas.

I'm sure that values vary based on your opponent (i.e. less defense against lower-level opponents, etc), but for the sake of argument, let's assume something like Delve I bosses as a baseline.

[Foldypaws]

Apologies if this is a dumb question, but I figure it couldn't hurt to ask. I'm fiddling around with idle sets, DT sets, etc, and I'm wondering: at what point does DEF become more valuable than PDT/DT?

Some examples for things I was looking at:
Ogier's Helm: 45 Def, 0 VIT, 5% DT
versus
Yaoyotl Helm: 114 Def, 25 VIT (~12 more def)

Phorcys Schuhs: 28 Def, 5% PDT
versus
Whirlpool Greaves: 84 Def, 15 VIT (~7 more def)

Now before the "make path B Xaddi for both", that's an option that I'd have to work on over time. But until I get to that point, I was wondering: at what point does greater defense become more valuable than PDT/DT gear against physical attacks? Obviously we're seeing nearly 3x the defense in these comparisons, versus 5% PDT/DT.

Actually, a thought that occurred to me on that note: is there a similar point at which MDB becomes more effective than MDT/DT for magical hits? I'm not very mathematically inclined for these formulas.

I'm sure that values vary based on your opponent (i.e. less defense against lower-level opponents, etc), but for the sake of argument, let's assume something like Delve I bosses as a baseline.

Caveat: "It Depends"(TM)

That said, as a very rough guideline, doubling your defense will halve your damage, assuming mob attack wasn't more than 4x or less than (half?) to start with. Delve bosses *probably* don't have 4x a typical defense although I don't know that it's actually been tested.


Take the first piece: 82 def vs -5% PDT. 82 defense is ballpark about a 10% def boost, or about -9% less damage. Assuming you had -45% pdt before the boots, -5% pdt = -9% damage, so it's a wash there.

Basically, take (1-(old_def/new_def)) and compare it to [1-(1-new_pdt)/(1-old_pdt)]. Use whichever stat gives you the bigger number.

[Lyramion]

As a general rule you can't go wrong with wearing ilevel gear. For enemy nukes the INT on it also helps to lessen dINT.


There might be some fringe cases like arhat's gi vs lower ilevels but Defense is actually good now.

[dasva]

You also gotta remember with ilvl you are getting a lot more than just def. As already mentioned you get things to help against magic including that int as well as mdb and meva. But even with physical you gain tons of evasion and even some vit which will help some. Also not sure if it's been tested on mobs but there might be a dstat factor for enemy crit rate as well. And also benefits of having offensive stats along with the defensive ones


As far as other options not sure what job this is for so I'll assume war... for heads for example you could get Ighwa Cap which has 1 less def than but 4 pdt Yaoyotl Helm and other nice stats as well or Lifelimb which is a little less def and 1 less pdt but still probably better than both the example heads. Leg selection is a bit suckier but there is Osmium Cuisses which is 138 def (which is way more than whirlpool) AND 2 pdt.

It should also be noted that you can add another 4% pdt to any naakual armor... which will end up being 1 shy of the non ilvls but a lot more of every other stat

[Kensagaku]

Oh. Pardon, job is DRG. My bad. But fair enough on a lot of those options, was more just a concern with the gear I had while I worked up to more effective ilvl gear. Admittedly, I forgot about the Naakaul options. Maybe I should remember not to throw a pair of Ejekamal Boots away next time...

Thank you for the advice, particularly on the multiple stat benefits. Will help me change a lot of things up, not just for this job but multiple.

[Subadai]

Motenten examined def vs pdt here:

http://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/36...de/32/#2416236

[Hitou]

Why would you toss them anyway? They're pretty good TP boots for the jobs they're on. Probably better options for most of the jobs but I like them with +2 haste to free up other slots. Whirlpool doesn't have much better stats than them too.

[Sechs]

If you're curious there's a Motenten spreadsheet to compare DEF to PDT.
When I used it last time I found many many unexpected surprises (as in: more often than not high ilevel items with good def and VIT came out being better than lower ilevel items with PDT)

[Lyramion]

Semi-releated:

I can only again advocate how fucking strong Gallant's Roll is now.

[Snprphnx]

Semi-releated:

I can only again advocate how fucking strong Gallant's Roll is now.

We haven't used it in a while, how much does it help on stuff like D and VD DM2

[Damane]

gallants roll XI is +30% with a PLD in pt, which is something you will notice on almost anything.

[Lyramion]

gallants roll XI is +30% with a PLD in pt, which is something you will notice on almost anything.

Another +12% with Barataria Ring. It really can give some insane Defense.