After a year off - gear input please

[Deimos]

I've just taken a year off from FFXI, and I'm about to start playing again, so I'm trying to catch up with all the new gear that's come out. I posted yesterday looking for a site where I could easily filter item lists, and now I've started looking through things.

However, being out for a year, I'm missing a ton of "basic" knowledge about the new events that have begun since I quit. Anything related to WotG is totally beyond my understanding at the moment. For example, I'll find an item that looks good, and go check the source of it. It comes from a "Zeni Notorious Monster", which means absolutely nothing to me. I click a few links and see that it involves pop items bought with "zeni" which come from using "Soul Plates" with a "Soultrapper 2000", all of which I also know nothing about.

What I'm getting at is: right now it takes me quite a while to figure out if a particular piece of new equipment is even attainable. Now, I don't mind doing the research, and I'll definitely read up on everything new eventually, but I'd like a bit of a jumping-off point. So what I'm hoping to do in this thread is post some of my gear, and then I'm looking for input on which pieces could be improved with not-terribly-difficult-to-obtain gear.

That is, I'm not intending to join an extremely hardcore LS again, as that was what lead to me taking a year off in the first place. I don't want this game to start feeling like a second job again. So I'm looking for advice on gear that could be obtained by someone in a medium-size LS, that could pull together and do some 10-15 person events once in a while, something on that scale. Assault gear, low-mannable ZNM drops = good. King abjurations, Dynamis gear, etc = bad.

Anyway, here's the gear lists for the "important" things (ie no BST gear, MNK soloing gear, etc). Some of the gear listed may be redundant or really situational, I just made these lists up earlier today by dumping out a list of the items in my inventory/safe/etc through Altana Cubby and then sorting out what jobs/setups it all belonged with.

Thanks for any input at all, I greatly appreciate it.

MNK

Weapon: Destroyers
Ranged: Tiphia Sting
Head: Walahra Turban (TP), Optical Hat (WS), Temple Crown (Focus), Genbu's Kabuto (Chakra)
Neck: Faith Torque
Ears: Brutal Earring, Merman's Earring, Minuet Earring
Body: Shura Togi, Temple Cyclas (Chakra)
Hands: Ochiudo's Kote (TP), Tpl. Gloves +1 (WS), Melee Gloves (Chakra)
Rings: Rajas Ring, Sniper's Ring, Jaeger Ring, Flame Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Black Belt (TP), Life Belt (WS)
Legs: Byakko's Haidate (TP), Shura Haidate (WS)
Feet: Dune Boots (TP), Melee Gaiters (WS)

NIN DD

Weapon: Senjuinrikio
Sub: Fudo
Ranged: Bomb Core
Head: Walahra Turban (TP), Shr.Znr.Kabuto (WS), Optical Hat, Ninja Hatsuburi
Neck: Peacock Charm, Ninjutsu Torque
Ears: Brutal Earring (TP), Suppanomimi, Minuet Earring (WS)
Body: Haubergeon, Ninja Chainmail
Hands: Dusk Gloves (TP), Ochiudo's Kote (WS)
Rings: Rajas Ring, Sniper's Ring, Jaeger Ring, Flame Ring
Back: Forager's Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt (TP), Warwolf Belt (WS), Life Belt
Legs: Byakko's Haidate
Feet: Fuma Sune-Ate (TP), Rutter Sabatons (WS)

NIN HNM Tank

Weapon: Hades Sainti, Terra's Staff
Ranged: Nokizaru Shuriken
Head: Walahra Turban, Arh. Jinpachi +1, Genbu's Kabuto, Ninja Hatsuburi
Neck: Harmonia's Torque, Ninjutsu Torque
Ears: Eris' Earring +1 x2
Body: Arhat's Gi +1
Hands: Seiryu's Kote, Dusk Gloves, Yasha Tekko
Rings: Mermaid Ring, Bomb Queen Ring, Jelly Ring, Merman's Ring x2
Back: High Brth. Mantle, Boxer's Mantle
Waist: Swift Belt, Warwolf Belt
Legs: Byakko's Haidate, Yasha Hakama +1, Koga Hakama
Feet: Yasha Sune-Ate, Nin. Kyahan +1, Fuma Sune-Ate

BRD

Weapon: Apollo's Staff
Sub: Staff Strap
Ranged: Nursemaid's Harp, Horn +1, Faerie Piccolo, Traversiere +1, Gemshorn +1, Mary's Horn, Cornette +1
Head: Bard's Roundlet, Genbu's Kabuto
Neck: String Torque, Wind Torque
Ears: Loquac. Earring, Musical Earring
Body: Errant Hpl., Minstrel's Coat
Hands: Chl. Cuffs +1, Sha'ir Gages
Rings: Minstrel's Ring, Angel's Ring
Back: Jester's Cape +1
Waist: Forest Rope, Corsette +1
Legs: Chl. Cannions +1, Byakko's Haidate
Feet: Zenith Pumps

PLD

Weapon: Macuahuitl +1, Tutelary
Sub: Koenig Shield
Ranged: Rosenbogen
Head: Valor Coronet
Neck: Shield Torque, Parade Gorget
Ears: Buckler Earring, Hades Earring, Loquac. Earring, Stoic Earring, Pigeon Earring
Body: Gallant Surcoat
Hands: Homam Manopolas
Rings: Bomb Queen Ring, Jelly Ring, Hercules' Ring, Mermaid Ring, Merman's Ring x2
Back: Boxer's Mantle, High Brth. Mantle, Marid Mantle
Waist: Warwolf Belt, Forest Sash
Legs: Adaman Cuisses, Gallant Breeches
Feet: Glt. Leggings +1

[Rama]

It seems you know pretty-well how to gear your jobs for what they are doing.
Nyzul Isle offers you the Askar, Denali, and Goliard sets. Denali Feet are good for MNK WS, hands are a good -2%dmg for nin. Askar head might be worthwhile for your PLD (in a non-turban haste head sense) and the feet have -2%dmg. Goliard feet are pretty awesome for bard, 4chr 2macc +3hMP.

ZNM system gives you Enkidu, Aurum, and Oracle's sets, as well as some other bits. Enkidu's feet would be a worthwhile upgrade for NIN and MNK TP sets, Aurum feet could do well on your PLD/NIN in absence of Homam. Oracle's feet are very strong for BRD as long as you can afford the CHR loss in that slot.
Also from ZNM: Hissho Hachimaki (head) is +8acc +8attk a nice upgrade for Asuran fists.

Salvage can be done with nearly any 6-10 competent people and accomplish anything. Downside is the effort/reward ratio from salvage is a bit low. Usukane as a full set is awesome for MNK NIN DD, and as parts, each have their uses. Ares body is extremely useful on PLD. Marduk's body/head/legs are all outstanding for BRD.

WoTG could offer your PLD some pieces from the Iron Ram set. Also there are quests to obtain the expensive portions of the last 2 gobbiebag upgrades in old Sandy and Bastok. Just remember, for the love of God, if you first get spit out in sauromauge in the past, go IMMEDIATELY to another maw (i.e. rolanberry) and exit.

[Viq]

I'm down for helping out with stuff, Deimos. If the Nyzul Isle gear interests you at all, I'd all for doing that again. I still have a disc on floor 80, so we could farm the bulk of it easily. Hit me up in game sometime when you figure out what you are going to aim for.

[LinktheDeme]

Get the Deimos Cuirass

[Colm]

The ZNM system is all contained within ToAU. It's basically a way to get people to use the soultrappers and plates that were introduced with Pankration. You can get the currency to buy them either by doing Pankration, or trading IS currency to the relevant NPC. You then talk to Ryo in Whitegate, and ask what the mob family target is. You then go out and take pictures with the soultrapper + plates. You get more "zeni" by taking pictures of higher-levels monsters in the mob family, and if the mob is lower on HP. Once you have enough zeni accrued, you can buy a pop item for an NM.

As far as I know, most of the ZNMs aren't terribly hard to low-man. There's just always one or two little tricks that each one has that you'd want to be aware of.

A couple fairly easy upgrades would be Perdu Blade for your offhand Katana, and either Balrahn's Ring or Ulthalam's Ring. The katana is an IS item, and the rings are rewards from finishing the ToAU missions.

Nereid Rings are also supposed to be really nice for BRD.

[Thorny]

Enkidu's feet would be a worthwhile upgrade for NIN and MNK TP sets

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. 1 Haste > 3 DEX 4 attack..

[dejet]

haste is always better(almost ok...) but it depends how you play your jobs i guess. his nin can hit the haste cap in other ways maybe so maybe that 1 haste would be better off as 3dex 4attack. it all depends on what gear you can get your hands on. by the looks tho you have some top of the line stuff im at a comp at school so cant look at each and every item but is he at the 25% haste cap on nin/monk?

o also you cant hit that 25% haste without the feet can you? again cant look at gear here or i would myself.

edit: you posted as a monk. they added in a past update a new JA "kick attacks" idk if people build for this any other way. however a more skilled monk might be worth talking to about this. i think it was ment to give monks a shot at DDing on HNMs. slower attacks higher dmg.

[Lexa]

For your PLD< I'd forget the Tutelary - it's pretty much extremely, extremely situational at best, these days. BQ Ring and Jelly Ring are also retired pieces for most PLDs - though I'd pull out my BQ Ring if I was going for an e-peen Spirits Within build to open a fight, but I rarely have the space for yet another gear set. Ditch the Rosenbogen and get a Lamian Khayman(sp?) - the +1 is very nice, but expensive on most servers. The NQ serves you well, though. The Stoic and Pigeon earrings, as well as the marid mantle, can also pretty much be retired. Everything else looks good.

You might eventually want to use your Turban and Swift Belt on your PLD for /NIN, and there is a belt called Trance Belt which personally, I think is superior to Warwolf. It used to be very expensive, but has dropped a lot in price - at least on my server. Can't hurt checking it out.

[Deimos]

Thanks for the comments so far. And yeah, my PLD is by far the most gimped of my jobs, it was the last job I leveled, and I rarely ever got to use it. People just never let you come PLD when you have BRD, for some reason.

There's definitely some outdated stuff I could probably dump, things like Tutelary used to be good before the Macu+1 came out, and the HP earrings are definitely not really needed.

From what I've looked through so far as well as peoples' suggestions, it seems like there's a decent number of "easy" upgrades I could look into:

MNK: Not much to do, Usukane Sune-Ate would be ideal but those aren't trivial. Maybe the Denali boots for WS, but those are pretty minor. Hissho Hachimaki seems pretty good, probably a small WS headpiece upgrade. Other than that, the only real upgrades are items that nobody's found yet, that most likely come from Pandemonium Warden or something.

NIN: Definitely a Perdu Blade needed for offhand, still tons of Assault to do for that. Usukane Sune-Ate, as above. A Fire Bomblet wouldn't be a bad idea, and Ethereal Earring would probably be good for NIN/DRK.

BRD: I grabbed a Nereid Ring from the AH, and I'm starting to look into how much work it'll be to do all the ToAU missions for the Balrahn's Ring. Yigit Gomlek from Assault, and probably either Oracle's Pigaches or Goliard Clogs for the feet. Also considering buying an Osode, the price on that isn't quite as daunting as it used to be any more. The only other decent upgrades are probably Marduk pieces, though I'm not really sure if the head or legs are better than what I have, and the effort + price-tag on the body piece is pretty intimidating. (About 10M for a Salvage body still? Ouch.)

PLD: Ares' Cuirass is probably the only feasible bodypiece upgrade at the moment, and even then, 10M would be pushing the "attainable" line for me, especially with how often I use my PLD. Ethereal Earring definitely needed here as well, and Trance Belt is probably a pretty good idea.

So overall, I think I'm still in pretty good shape. A few upgrades here and there, but Assault, ZNMs, and Salvage should cover most of it. Really, I guess not much changed in the year I was gone, you'd think I'd know by now that the chance of SE adding anything that obsoletes old gear is pretty slim.

[Thorny]

haste is always better(almost ok...) but it depends how you play your jobs i guess. his nin can hit the haste cap in other ways maybe so maybe that 1 haste would be better off as 3dex 4attack. it all depends on what gear you can get your hands on. by the looks tho you have some top of the line stuff im at a comp at school so cant look at each and every item but is he at the 25% haste cap on nin/monk?

o also you cant hit that 25% haste without the feet can you? again cant look at gear here or i would myself.

edit: you posted as a monk. they added in a past update a new JA "kick attacks" idk if people build for this any other way. however a more skilled monk might be worth talking to about this. i think it was ment to give monks a shot at DDing on HNMs. slower attacks higher dmg.

NIN can't hit haste cap without using a yellow hp macro for shinobi ring(or staying in red hp for earring, but lol).

[Raen Ryong]

Bomb Queen Ring and that are still useful for a "Cure III" macro, ie when you give yourself HP to cure for extra hate; handy when you're sitting on a high-full MP pool or need sudden hate and your JAs are down.

[Alistaire]

Also, einherjar update makes Ritter Gorget much more obtainable now.

[Ruiner]

Why would you buy an Osode for BRD? What does it give you over 50k Errant Houppelande other than 30 MP? Is that really worth 3 mil?

[Cream Soda]

For your monk, you'll want to boost in AF then proceed to WS in Okote. Aside form that and other things already mentioned, you're good to go in that department.

[Deimos]

Why would you buy an Osode for BRD? What does it give you over 50k Errant Houppelande other than 30 MP? Is that really worth 3 mil?

30 MP isn't insignificant (that's more than a 10% boost to my normal MP pool), and the 17 VIT difference when you have a Skoffin or something chasing you can't hurt. Sure, it's not huge, but most upgrades in this game aren't.

Frankly, with the general opinions of people on BG towards optimizing our characters, that strikes me as a pretty backwards-ass thing to say. Is the extra 20M for Dusk Gloves+1 really worth it? Is the cost of upgrading a relic weapon really worth it? Are the hours of meriting for 9 points to get 1 more STR really worth it?

I think a better question to ask is, if I can afford an Osode for my BRD, why shouldn't I buy one?

[Ruiner]

30 MP isn't insignificant (that's more than a 10% boost to my normal MP pool), and the 17 VIT difference when you have a Skoffin or something chasing you can't hurt. Sure, it's not huge, but most upgrades in this game aren't.

Frankly, with the general opinions of people on BG towards optimizing our characters, that strikes me as a pretty backwards-ass thing to say. Is the extra 20M for Dusk Gloves+1 really worth it? Is the cost of upgrading a relic weapon really worth it? Are the hours of meriting for 9 points to get 1 more STR really worth it?

I think a better question to ask is, if I can afford an Osode for my BRD, why shouldn't I buy one?

Well, I only said this because you said that you couldn't afford Salvage bodies. Three million Gil would do a lot towards one of those, and they'll do a fuckload more for you than some VIT on your BRD, which won't get hit through Utsusemi anyway.

[dejet]

NIN can't hit haste cap without using a yellow hp macro for shinobi ring(or staying in red hp for earring, but lol).

talking about monk mostly sry i did not say that.

[Hushigoshi]

Honestly, if you got enough gil lying around to pick up an Osode, might as well put the gil towards a Sha'ir Manteel and not bother with the Yigit Gomlek.

[Awoir]

If you're gonna spend 3mil on a BRD body why not spend one or two more mil and get sha'ir?

Edit: beaten =(

[Rama]

If you're looking at Osode as strictly a BRD piece, you can be served nearly as well by the AF+1 body (10vit 10chr 6string skill). Or there's the "little bit more" for sha'ir as mentioned above

Osode has a few situational uses across 4 of his jobs. MP/CHR/VIT/Def on Bard. Good on monk for howling fist/dragon kick and Chi blast (lol). Good on BST for charm and MP. Ninja... Citadel buster maybe?

You might have missed it during the break but Howling fist and Dragon kick got changed by SE. If you set up a different build for it, Howling Fist can often do as well as or better than Asuran fists on certain targets (particularly high-defense targets). I get good results using a few solid STR and VIT pieces and Thunder gorget. Genbu's kabuto, Kirin's Osode, Alky bracelets, and Warwolf belt are a few of the things I use on Howling fist that I wouldn't touch on Asuran. Also, whenever I end up with 250+tp from amnesia, a footwork Dragon Kick wearing Dune boots is pretty awesome.