DRK Strength Cap And Other WS Stats.

I have been thinking about this for a while, because i have read somewhere that stacking too much STR for Guillotine is a bad idea as you can cap your strength attribute, which makes attack more important.

I am not an empyrean, mythic or relic weapon holder, I usie Guillotine WS, using Twilight Scythe, in Abyssea with enhancement buffs and atmas like RR/VV/apoc, i have been wondering just how much STR i should be using.
With my weapon skill gear set (outside Abyssea with no buffs at all, on /SAM) i have STR 95+67 MND 72+7 Attack 628 WSACC+22 ACC+17.

In abyssea i noticed that my STR was at roughly 106 after Atmas and enhancements, then i added my weapon skill set and i managed to reach 137ish (would need to go back into abyssea to find exact stats) which is about right as i have 28 STR difference between my TP and WS sets.

Is STR capping out? Does this mean that i should try and find more gear which bring attack and MND? As STR is capping out and MND and ATK is nowhere near.

I have tried to read the formulas for calculating damage but having trouble understanding it, i do know about basic formulas as i learnt about them in school but i could not do them at a college level, so if anyone could break this down to me in more simple terms, it would be great.

Basically i do not want to be using certain STR gears that i have if they are going to be useless in Abyssea, i could sell them and find something else, please do not just say... Get this piece of armour, go and do this, i am aware of good gears which my DRK needs and i am working towards those when i have the time and resouces to obtain them, thankyou for any tips.

Not helpful, am i just reading wrong information entirely?

http://ffxi.gamerescape.com/wiki/FSTR
http://ffxi.gamerescape.com/wiki/WSC
http://ffxi.gamerescape.com/wiki/PDIF
http://ffxi.gamerescape.com/wiki/Calculating_Weapon_Skill_Damage

Make sure you're actually reading the whole thing and not skimming.

FSTR Caps the mod itself doesnt, which guillotine has STR as a mod 25% STR and 25% MND.

The STR cap would only apply to a Torcleaver DRK 60% VIT mod, STR is still your best friend for guillotine.

Oh Gradd that is nice to know, so i could just stack as much STR as i like, does ACC even matter?? I was thinking whether or not i should be using my Abyss cape and just sub it in for Cerb Mantle+1

I tried reading those, like i said it is just not easy for me to grasp it all, i attempted maths at college and failed miserably, thanks for the help though.

Inside abyssea depending on what your fighting ACC matters very little, if you can get a Atheling mantle I would use that for guillotine, if its out of your reach (very easy item to get 100% Drop) then stick to Cerb +1 till you can get one.

For Older content ACC should always be capped, I havent screwed around with the newer VW content yet but ive heard ACC is pretty relevant there.

I always kept some ACC as that is what DRK really needed, and because im Elvaan i need it just that bit more, i will be doing the NM for atheling mantle at some point when i get around to it.

So that is good to know, i just stack STR as much as possible, ignore ACC, and if there is any MND going with the STR (Like i do on my drk afv3 feet +1) i can use that.

What about Attack though? I am currently torn between using Jingang Hose STR+7 or Black Cuisses STR+4 Attack +14.

Race is hardly something to factor into your job (In ACC terms at the least). You're not gonna wiff any more than some Taru playing DRK, there's like a 1-3 ACC difference.

This is my current Guillotine build (I'm not quite done with Redemption yet).



I'm not sure what your DRK gear looks like but none of this is necessarily hard to get.

I am aware of the Race thing.. it is just what i was told back in 2004 when i was starting out, get as much ACC as i can because a DRK elv will need it, that is what i am saying.

Easy question: Af3 Legs.

Why a Fire Bomblet and not Bomb Core? Also i can get my Twlight helm and mail soon when i start brewing my shinryus... DRK AF +1 hands i should have got when i lead my limbus ls years ago but i got the feet instead lol.

Uh ok. Then don't bring it up if you know :P

Yes i am losing DRK body and legs at the moment, need the seals for those.

I took a long break when abyssea first come out so i am playing catchup, pimping out my THF first because it is more useful for abyssea, but DRK is definitely my main job, always has :)

I will swap both my hands/Ammo if I dont need the ACC to Heafoc Mitts and Bomb core, other than that it pretty much stays the same. If I am hurting on Attack I will use Grim Cuirass for a Body.

I literally never use guillotine though, once you get Torcleaver there is no going back.

Caladbolg is one of the easiest Emps to do too. Both NMs are a cake-walk.

I could definitely get my hands on most of those gears on that set, Atheling mantle, vulcan ring, twlilight gear... already got the pole grip, i am doing right on that one.

Snow gorget and belt i may have to work on at some point.

I do not want Caladbolg, i refuse to go on the bandwagon and get the GS, i am Scythe DRK! :)

I have the Ultimatum at the moment and all i need to do is start getting Chloris buds... Redemption would be awesome.

The belt is super easy. 100% drop from Isgebind, can get KI from Gold Chest, and if no one's helping and you're feeling impatient, you could always brew it :x


It's not much of a Bandwagon really, it's more-so DRKs who are actually trying to get on other jobs' level of DMG.

Now that is nice to know, i got so many NM to beat, so many different gears to find, it is confusing at times lol.

I understand that, some DRKs want to be squeezing out every single inch of damage they can, but i like a challenge, if i can get a trophy like a Redemption, something which is more rare and actually looks suited to my DRK, along with being pretty dam powerful, i will be happy and have a lot of fun with it :)

I think you will be disapointed if you make Redemption, I am making it for town gear and high defense mobs, properly buffed though torcleaver will still do better on High Def Mobs.

On average inside abyssea Guillotine will outdo Quietus with proper atma.

Makes for a nice WSC boost for Guillo at the least :3

I have never had a relic or an empyrean in this game, just having one would be a really huge accomplishment for me, i always wanted an apocalypse but never had the time to work towards it every single week sponsering dyna runs.

My main job is DRK, the main weapon is scythe, whether its the best or not, i would be really happy to have one, i could play with it for a while, if i get bored with it i could always work on a Caladbolg and use both whenever :) To be honest though i have been a career DRK since 04, i could never get bored of using a scythe lol.

Anyway i am off to bed, thanks for the tips, given me something to work on, goodnight :)

scythe is a good weapon, on weak mobs guillotine can do more then quietus, however quietus is still far better to use simply for the aftermath and it doesnt do bad damage its pretty consistant

The danger of stacking mod, especially for guillotine, is that it goes through two floor before it reaches the end number. For instance, adding 11 str will give you only 1 WSC sometimes. 11 x 0.25 = 2.75, 2.75 is floored to 2, and 2 then is multiplied by wsc alpha which is 0.85, so you get 1.7. And 1.7 is then floored again, so you only get 1.

This is obviously on an absolutely worst possible scenario, and adding 11 str will still give you 7-8 attacks, which is great. But IMHO, you should try to do att (if in great volume) > acc (until capped) > str > mnd. The good thing about str is that, if your fstr is not capped, you get triple dip on fstr, wsc (if the ws has str mod), and attack, hence why ppl recommand stacking str. But if you got something like 5 str vs 15 attack, you will be better off going with the 15 attack.

I would do adaberk for body over twilight, and anguinus belt over snow. and perhaps onyx gloves or perle gloves over AF+1. Everything else looks pretty ideal. You can have multiple sets anyway, one with LR down, one with DE up, one with LR up etc etc...

So what do people think is better for the waist, Anguines or Snow Belt?

I was thinking of getting onyx gloves, i am still using Perle for the WS, not sure which is better, i do not really fancy spending time in Limbus again just to get the hands +1.

Also i do not really think i will get an Ada Hauberk, Twilight body will do for now, when i get round to brewing my shinryus, how does the Afv3 body stack up against it though?