Soboro questions

[Tagus]

Hi all...

I finally got my Soboro Great Katana to drop yesterday, and I have a couple of questions about how best to use it. I'm sorry to have to ask, but I figure that the quickest way to learn how not to be an idiot with this thing is to talk to people who have experience with it. At first the Soboro seemed absolutely amazing... the multi-hit bonus kicks in regularly. However, from checking out some forums it sounds like people are concerned about the amout of TP you are giving a mob when using it. My questions revolve around this balance. Is the Soboro better than anything besides a Hagun or relic, despite the TP you are giving a mob by using it? Are there scenarios, such as meripos, HNMs, etc. where using a Soboro is "asking for it" because of the TP you're giving away? Are there situations that call for a Soboro to be used? Sorry to throw so many questions out at once. I guess it all boils down to when I should use it, when I shouldn't, and what the grey areas are. I could try to figure these things out through trial and error, but it would be really nice to get a few tips. ^^ Thanks for your help.

[Lampoon]

Before people jump down your throat with "search the forums before making your thread" nonsense, I'll give you few situations where it could be good.

Lv.50~75 GOOD :D

Salvage GOOD :D

HNM, not so good...


Just have fun with it.

[DaGod]

In fact... It depends on your sub, too. On HNM, problem is, you will feed mob tps for no purpose ( meaning : crappy WS). But if you sub rng and sidewinder your TP, then it can be valuable even on certain HNM. It really is situationnal ; but don't only take into account the TP feed for your judgement, but also the power of the WS you will deliver afterwards. Another thing, never 2hour with it equipped

[Tagus]

"Before people jump down your throat with "search the forums before making your thread" nonsense, I'll give you few situations where it could be good."

I figured that would probably happen, so no worries! I did search the forums, but 95% of the posts/threads I found were irrelevant gear lists and such. I figured instead of trying to spend hours patching together information I might as well just ask. Even if I only get a few decent responses, I'll be better off taking from it what I can.

[Tsuko_Asura]

In fact... It depends on your sub, too. On HNM, problem is, you will feed mob tps for no purpose ( meaning : crappy WS). But if you sub rng and sidewinder your TP, then it can be valuable even on certain HNM. It really is situationnal ; but don't only take into account the TP feed for your judgement, but also the power of the WS you will deliver afterwards. Another thing, never 2hour with it equipped

What HNMs do people use Soboro Sukehiro and spam Sidewinder on? <_<

[transmit]

Simrugh! ... oh wait...

[Pendulum]

I haven't got much salvage experience but from the few runs I have done that were with a ridill, multi-hit weapons are great on the way up but if you're on a boss, might want to put something with a better ratio of damage:TP fed.

My CoP Airship group used a soboro on our first run and we felt it made Ultima much harder as he was getting TP for Equalizer so quickly.

[[Cookies]]

Soboro is fine in EXP till Hagun. It's good for Salvage too on lower floors. But once you can use Hagun, that's about it.

[Ashira]

Mobs die too quickly in EXP/meripo to really worry too much about TP you're giving.. well hopefully anyway. Although I personally did enjoy using Onikiri when going through levels and levels and levels of Imps and Soulflayers around 68-73 etc... cuts down on some of that Amnesia spam, plus crit bonuses.

[isladar]

Soboro was pretty much invaluable to me when I was taking SAM to 75. I was the tank, and the constant spam of melee and WSs was pretty much the only hope I had to keep hate from the DRK and the RNG. Keep in mind, however, that in a party where you're NOT the tank, and you're not prepared to BE that tank, you're going to be frustrated, and likely frustrating.

I find at 75 I only really bust out the Soboro for Campaign (again, where I'm looking to tank) / Fortification spam, and Salvage. And once I'm fully geared in Salvage I switch to Hagun.

[Jones]

I've enjoyed my Soboro thoroughly. I'm 65 SAM and have used it exclusively since 50. My intention is to use it through 71, swapping to Hagun at 72. I do quite a bit of Salvage and Multihit weapons really rock there, so I'd bet early floor would be ideal for Soboro. I /DNC in campaign and having boatloads of TP is very useful.

In my static there is another SAM (non-Soboro) who feels that Soboro isn't worth it anymore because of the low WS damage. I'm parsing these sessions and I've always came out on top, and quite frankly I take hate less often than him too. The setup is SAM SAM NIN THF BRD BST, with 2-3 outside healers. >.>; With the rate the mobs go down, TP spam isn't much of an issue, but even when I've been in a more traditional party before this DD static, I never noticed any excessive TP spam from mobs; it seemed just like any other party.

=======

So I've got my own Soboro question. Gear setup (Just dinged into 65) is as follows:

TP: (last parse on IT Magmatic Eruca was only 80% acc, not sure if that's good enough)
Soboro
Mythril Grip +1 (not sure where to upgrade too)
Smart Grenade
Storm Zucchetto (4 Acc)
PCC
Storm Earring
Spike Earring
Hauby
O.Kote
Ulthalam's
Rajas
A.Mantle +1
Swift Belt
R.K. Breeches
Fumas

WS: (WS acc was 93% in the last parse)
Soboro
Mythril Grip +1 (not sure where to upgrade too)
RSE Sachet (Elvaan STR+2)
Sipahi Turban
Chiv Chain
Storm Loop
Minuet Earring
Hauby
Pallas
Victory Ring
Rajas
A.Mantle +1
Potent Belt
R.K. Breeches
Storm Gambieras (STR+2)


-Should Soboro users build differently from other SAMs in some areas? My question stems from grip selection at 65. Double Attack, Crits, or 3 STR? I've had SAMs tell me to not use DA with Soboro and others say to always use DA grip, even with Soboro.

-For SAM in general. Am I silly for using Potent Belt in WS? I thought I read somewhere (before I started SAM) it's either Lifebelt or nothing, but Potent seems like it's a fine choice til Warwolf. My WS acc was 93% in the last parse, which seems close enough to the cap for a limited sample set.

Anything obvious I need to fix at this stage? I've got a much better idea on how to gear up once I hit 72-75 and level into my Hagun and Usukane. I just want to make sure the trip from 65-72 is up to snuff.

[isladar]

with 2-3 outside healers. >.>;

...

-For SAM in general. Am I silly for using Potent Belt in WS? I thought I read somewhere (before I started SAM) it's either Lifebelt or nothing, but Potent seems like it's a fine choice til Warwolf. My WS acc was 93% in the last parse, which seems close enough to the cap for a limited sample set.

Those 2-3 outside healers are what's making it possible for you to go all out as you are, as I'm sure you realize.

Once you're on the fun train with Y/G/K, there's no purpose whatsoever for Lifebelt in a WS situation. As has been mentioned numerous times before, ACC in a SAM WS setup is not as imperative. The Potent is just fine until Warwolf.

[Cream Soda]

idk what it was about soboro, but I always kept it with me as well as the highest dmg AH gkt at the time and I always did better with the gkt. I'd generally swap to soboro at the start of every level and then once gkt quickly caps, I'd swap to a higher dmg gkt or to polearm.

[isladar]

I did the exact same thing, except I consistently found that the highest damage GKT I'd drag around with me would leave me dissatisfied with my performance.

[heavensword]

stuff

I was gonna offer a suggestion, but you're doing fine. Don't change your grip, either. The only alternative would be the Platinum +1, but even then I think you're fine with Mythril +1.

If you decide to switch to Hagun at 72, use a Pole grip instead. But really, Hagun = Soboro in exp (usually). I wish I had your situation when I was leveling up SAM. Or any job, for that matter.

[Callisto]

Generally because of eyeball parsing, high D gkt(excluding Hagun obviously) puts up pretty #'s, Soboro cranks out more overall damage, especially for the times you can 3 step Light with no MS :3

[Jones]

Thanks for the replies. Glad to know I'm thinking it through in a decent manner. Is the 80% melee acc. normal for this level?

I'm concerned, because the other SAM in my group parsed 90%+ acc on those same Crawlers, but he was one level higher and also has NIN leveled so GK merits might be involved. He's an experienced and well geared DD, so I doubt he was eating sushi, but I didn't catch what food he was eating. Between Soboro WS spamming and operating the Haste cycle for the group, I wasn't watching that closely. I ate a Meat Chiefkabob.

[isladar]

If he's parsing 90% + he can add more STR and ATT. You want to be able to sit at 85% with meat.

[Ophannus]

didnt rykenshin say SAM/DRG with soboro outparses a similarly equipped SAM/WAR with Hagun?

[Wenslydale]

If you're referring to this:

http://rukenshin.livejournal.com/16696.html#cutid1

Soboro isn't even mentioned.

And my two-cents:

The only time I was outparsed using a Daihannya (15k xp to Hagun!!!) by a Soboro was by a SAM/THF. Of course, I usually better geared then most SAM's I party with. (Not a Slight, but not everyone can afford the HQ orny attitude) Personally, Soboro is fun, but I like the numbers on a high dmg gkt.