What Should I Do? Weapon Questions :x

I want to play SAM competitively but at the moment I don't have a LS or friends currently playing (lonewolfing it).

I know I need to get either the EMP 90+ or the 99 TP bonus Gkat. Both would be a considerable time investment due to the lack of help. The TP bonus gkatana is easily obtainable solo, the emp not so much.

My question is. Will I be okay dmg wise if I just go for the lvl 99 TP bonus gkatana till I can get help with obtaining a 90 emp?

I tried reading through the argument thread for the 99 tp katana vs the EMP and its just a lot of back and forth confusing me.

All I need to know for right now is if the 99 TP gkat will be comparable/competitive damage wise with use of SHOHA outside of abyssea.

Another serious question. You see a lot of pugs shouting for "emp/relic DD" Would the 99 TP Gkat qualify me for one of those spots? (not literally since I dont have a relic/emp, but damage wise).

99 tp bonus is fine for VW, but probably not for Legion, Odin2, or ADL. So if VW is your definition of competitive you'll be fine, but outside that I'd find a way to scrape together a few mil to buy Masa 90 or something. I think what you found is 99 tp bonus > 85 masa, but most serious ls's wouldn't utilize 85 emps anyway.

Ty for the reply ^.^

Yeah I realized I would need to finish at least up to the 90 EMP, beyond 90 might be outside my means for the amount of time I play currently.

At the moment the max tier content I am doing is probably VW. I'd need a linkshell on my server to do Legion ( have not seen pugs for it yet).

What about my last question? For VW and below? Can a 99 TP Gkat be considered relatively equal to a 90 emp for that level content?

Yeah, 99 tp bonus is fine as far as I'm concerned. You shouldn't be doing the most damage if your group wants to win prov, but you'll be fine for any level of voidwatch if some relics/emps are mixed in. I'd still equate 99 tp bonus to 85 emps.

Thanks a bunch ^^

Definitely not Legion, not sure about Odin2 but it's fine for ADL. SAM gets a 15% damage bonus against ADL anyway and ADL honestly doesn't have that high of stats. Get a 5-hit and he'll be fine.

Good LS don't really utilize 90 emps either. Want to be useful/in demand for everything but don't have time to make a good weapon? Level SCH and WHM.

Don't forget SMN!

Or cor...

COR can DD quite well actually, would still need a 90+ Arma for it which is the same path as Masa. COR shines against the ixion in Legion that loves to run every couple of seconds, while other DD are chasing it down to continue killing it COR gets to sit there shooting away.

Good (buffed)dds will still do better than cor on Ixion.

I didn't say COR would do the best, I just stated that it can still be a good DD. lol

If you're referring to the Warding Circle boost, that 15% (17% with AF1 head) DMG-boost does not apply on ADL.

regardles tp bonus 99 GK is perfectly fine on adl speaking from experience.

TP Bonus GK is a great weapon to have while you're going for your 90 anyway, should definitely pick one up. The trial can be done from start to finish in less than a week. Try to shout for other SAMs to join you on the Tachi Kasha killshot one (or is it Koki, I forget), it speeds it up a lot quicker.

If you're like me, you're probably only wanting it to boost your SAM in VW for now before you start thinking about more difficult content. Seems to do a great job there as is.

Ive done VW with some TP bonus GK's and they seem to do fine enough, it is considered the best katana outside of 90+ masa, 95 amano (already posted here, sorry).

I did apocalypse during a time where drk was not very high on the dps list (all about drg and sam) because i enjoyed the job so i can appreciate the fact you love a job and you want to pimp it out. If you are looking for a job to play DD competitively do OAT GS drk, IMO its the best easily obtainable weapon which will still put you in a position to compete vs well geared DD's, and it should be able to put you in a position to join pugs for emp/relic dd's.

I've hit the 300 beast kill trial in about 3-4 hours of work so far. Went quicker than I expected. The 300 beast kills are pretty time consuming though, didnt realize you could do it in a pt with other sams, so thanks for that tip ^.^

SAM has always been one of my fav jobs (I love DRG too but... loldrg). I was always forced to play WHM when I did end game (once you go WHM you don't go back). It got to the point where I refused to level it when the cap went past 75 lol. Had played on and off over the years, finally got my SAM to level cap, and now I'm trying to gear him out. I have 5 hit with 26% haste in TP gear at the moment. Probably need to start looking at better WS gear.

So much to do.

Finished lvl 90 tp gkat. WoooOOOOOOoooRMS!

In my current gear I have 5 hit with 26% haste and +26 acc (Not counting dex). (TP set)

I was wondering if that was adequate. Tried to do a search for current info, but I get a lot of out-dated unrelated stuff. I suppose there isn't much I can do gear wise anyways, it's mostly waiting for stuff to drop -.-


This is my current TP set. I have to +2 my AF3 still. And get the unkai nodowa(neck) still. After I upgrade helm or legs I will replace the current strap with the 2% double attack one.




And this is my shoddy WS set. I currently do not have a lot of gear options at the moment, I basically just equipped whatever STR pieces I Had.




Does anyone see any easy upgrades than the few I mentioned?

For the grip I honestly would replace it with pole grip now, I don't have any hard math to support this. But I think 2% double attack will come out ahead on dmg than the small amount of haste you gain from Arbuda.

As far as TP bonus VS Masa, Yah TP bonus will do fine in most evants as others have already said. If you have bst99 it's completely feasible to solo Masa to 85-90, Dipper can solo cara easy, falcor can take down CC and gooey can kill isgebind. None of these will be fast fights and it will take a while to get your items, but it can be done 100% solo this way if you're having trouble finding other people to help.

Edit: As far as easy upgrades, if gil is no issue there's quite a few you can make to your Shoha set, other upgrades would require NNI and VW gear. I'll post my sets if you want.

Thanks for the response ^^

Gil is a meh issue. If it's under 10mil I can get it in a reasonable amount of time.

I do a lot of VW (whatever shout groups are going on my server). Have no way of doing NNI at the moment, anyone who can do it wants a pretty penny for the run through (and on my server I am pretty sure they exploit to do it). I will eventually be able to get a Masa when my friends start playing again lol.

Would be cool to see your sets ^.^

TP Set
(note this is not a true 5hit set and swap out neck for STP+3 when I don't have any regain)



Shoha set
(moonshade is Att+4 TP bonus+25)

I'm not a hardcore SAM, but this works pretty well for me.

TP: 25% Haste & 5-hit build


Shoha


These sets are mostly just pieced together from other DD sets- you can always get an NQ piece here and there to save quite a bit of money, and it's doubtful you'd see a truly noticeable difference in overall damage losing 1-2 STR anyway... Just to get you started.

Question:

The 100% 200% 300% tp mods for Shoha... Are they flat values, like at 200% it's a 2.15 mod till you hit 300%, or is it a sliding scale depending on how much TP you have? Like 225% tp = somewhere between 2.15 and 2.65.

as far as I know all TP mods on WS are a sliding scale

Another reason to finish those missions then lol. Thanks.

Some easy upgrades for you:

TP:

Try for +2 Legs and Body, then you can wear a Zelus Tiara. If you're not at Haste Cap still, switch belt for Bullwhip/Phos Belt since you won't need the STP with TP Bonus GK with other gear. Unkai necklace isn't really necessary with TP Bonus GK, your other slots should cover the STP you need. I use Agasaya's for now until I can get Ganesha's.

WS:

Mekira-Oto for head (+1 if you can afford it)
Pyrosoul Ring (if you can afford it)
WoTG earring
Avant Cuisses +1
Mustela Gloves or Heafoc Mitts

If you want an idea of Kantonotachi sets without NNI/VW gear, here's mine so far (still incomplete)




Keep your Ace's body for WS, I still don't have one yet.

That should be a 5hit. (almost the same sets I use)

Couple things, you are on the right track. TP set seems fine.

Your Shoha set is kinda wierd. Ogier legs need to be swapped to Avant+1. (WS damage only effects the first hit) Justicar's neck should be Ganashe's mala (capped acc) or torque (low acc). Shoha has a large att bonus and a big modifier. Belt should be windbuffet.

For Fudo you'll want to WS in 12stp. (in gear)

Rose 4
Brutal 1

So you just need 7 from another sources. (Raja+Saotome feet is the common way of achieving enough stp)

So far I am loving the TP Gkat. It's performing very well for me compared to a similarly geared friend with a level 90 empyrean.

I know down the line if I want to do current end game I need a 95+ Empyrean(from the looks of it), but for right now the tp gkat is suiting my needs and I'm happy with it :D