MNK/DRK Zerg. Discuss...

This discussion made me think and I did few simple tests once more. The tests I had run in the past to compare Seiryu's Kote and Melee Gloves +1 were done when I didn't have all the HP gear that I have now so they might not be representative. I didn't have capped Mantra back then either. So here goes:

HP% gear is indeed calculated on the base HP + any HP+ gear (the effect of Mantra counts as additional HP%). There doesn't seem to be much difference between the Kote and the Gloves for me. Depending on the gear I wear, the Gloves give between 12 HP less to 12 HP more than the Kote. In my current HP gear set and while under the effect of Mantra, it seems that the Kote give me 12 more HP than the Gloves (2957 HP compared to 2969 HP). This effect would drop to a difference of 10 HP in favor of the Kote if I had Bomb Queen Ring (3041 HP compared to 3051 HP) and to only 9 HP if I also had Bloodbead Ring (3088 HP compared to 3097 HP). So in the end, it seems the Seiryu's Kote actually does seem more effective, but this only applies to max HP and I think the Melee Gloves +1 have better stats overall than Seiryu's Kote (I'd always switch the Kote out for Gloves after the first blow). Anyway, I agree that the Kote can yield more HP than the Gloves when under the effect of Mantra (without Mantra, the Gloves always give more HP than the Kote).

Add an additional 180HP to these numbers (from Carbonara +1) to find out my max HP :). (I could cheat and even get a bit more with a weapon and grip with HP on and with Happy Egg, but I can't use these when using Faith Baghnahks).

I hope this clears things up. Kote and Gloves proc very close to eachother and depending on the situation the one yields more HP than the other, but only to a difference of up to 12 HP. For this small difference I'd rather look at the stats on both pieces; with that reasoning in mind the Gloves seem more suitable to me.