lvl 60 equip dilemna

[Tetsura]

Alright so i hit lvl 60 a couple days ago and i'm trying to get all the gear i'll need to get me to lvl 65. I've worked up about 450~470k and i'm faced with a problem between how to spend it.

These are the items i want:
Healer's Earring (31k)/ Morion Earring (74k)
Lightning Staff (145k)
Fire Staff (195k)
Sleepga 2 (130k)
Aquilo's Staff (500k)
Elemental Torque (410k)

Ok so these are the items i want, i really want to get all the major elemental staffs (Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water) as soon as i can get my grubby hands on them, but i'm worried about hitting lvl 65 and not having enough for the Elemental Torque (which is a priority target).

Also i have 2 LS's right now that have been bugging me about going to do BCNM60 instead of our usual BCNM40 runs, so they insist that i would need Sleepga 2 (even though we have a brd :( )

Just looking at all the costs of this stuff makes me cringe, but now i have to decide which should i buy now and which to get later. I'm kinda just hoping i'll get a nice BCNM40/60 drop and it'd help sort this whole thing out.

If posting my equip would help please say so. Thanks

[Silkiv]

I would get the Sleepga2 + Fire Staff + Thunder Staff. 470k

Sleepga2 would allow you to backup the bard in case of him/her failing. It also would get you more parties and BCNM invites outside your LS.

I'm not sure how fast you will get to 65, but if you can't make another 400k at worst if you could make 130k you could sell your staves for the torque.. but at least having the staves now would help til lvl 64.9. Right? :)




I would rate updating your ice staff above getting Healer's Earring / Morion Earring however. Those are nice fluff. But aren't the end game equipment staves and torque are.

[Gavin]

lucky, HQ staves are 1.2mil >3 mil here :p, that's why i only have 1 HQ and all the other standards hehe. I would suggest getting thunder and fire staves after ice and dark, seeing as they're your other most powerful spells.

[Rodin]

HQ Dark Staff is 300k on Rag. 500k for HQ Light Staff. And 700k for HQ Ice Staff. Damn I guess Rag's economy isn't screwed after all :eek:

[Nodoka]

Sleepga2 overrides all other sleep spells I think.

[Mininou]

Originally posted by Nodoka
Sleepga2 overrides all other sleep spells I think. indeed

[Tetsura]

Well i level pretty fast i guess, i'm already lvl 61...

I think i agree with you all about the staffs and torque come first, they are certainly more important then the earrings (which i really only want to make my earring slot a little more useful,currently using enhancing earring).

Ok so the general consensus is Thunder + Fire staff + Sleepga II?

Still not sure about Sleepga II though, because i plan to be doing BCNM40 with my LS often so i dont really have the seals for BCNM60 anyway untill i start lvling bst again. Would Sleepga be enough in a PT situation? Sleepga II just made a price jump overnight and is now sitting at 150k+ (only 1 in AH atm). What if i could do quest for it? i'm working towards that now with the required quests, and i'm sure i could get people to come do it also.

So now my only real question is: is Sleepga II worth the 150k+ price tag just for party use instead of elemental seal Sleepga? Andif not what should the remaining money go into (roughly 150-170k now)

Thanks for everyone's input this is one question i felt i needed expert advice on :sweat:

[SephirothYuyX]

Some people dont realize that Sleepga2 is FREE ^^

Do the quest.

[Coinspinner]

Er... by most accounts, the quest requires an alliance of level 70-ish people. ><;

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by SephirothYuyX
Some people dont realize that Sleepga2 is FREE ^^

Do the quest.

That quest blows. Basically, the only way to get it done is to be in an HNM ls and hope that they take a day off doing HNM and have a full group take out the NM. Agas *can* be taken out by 12 lv70's, but he SERIOUSLY sucks. Plus, considering the amount of aggro-type mobs there are around, you need a decently high-level group for add-clearing, unless you only have to do it once and you don't care about a wipe. Just so you know, in SE's twisted sense of irony, BLM's are nearly useless on Aga's. He'll flat out resist most of your spells unless you're 70+ (even then, you'll get multiple 1/10th resists or worse), and he loves casting upper level -aga's. Bring high-level heavy-damage melee's. Rangers, Darks, Monks all help out a ton, as they do boat loads of damage. But seriously...this quest blows. Better off buying the spell then doing it once you have a group of people that owe you a favor (luckily, around lv70, melee's start needing to do WS quests, so you can usually help a few of your friends do theirs, and they'll be much more inclined to help you out with the Sleepga II mob. Just don't get them killed...)

[Tetsura]

bought Lightning staff last night for 134k so that leaves me with some money left. I'm kinda waiting on Fire staff to drop a little more (currently 185kish), looks like it could be the next on the list for a equip undercutting.

So now i've got mixed replys on the Sleepga 2 quest. I knew beforehand that it was tough, though i wasnt sure how tough. I may be able to muster around 7-10 lvl 70ish players (some higher some a little lower) would that be enough?

[AtraposBLM]

I highly doubt it. If you're all pimped to the canes...well maybe. With a near perfect group (no other BLM's, highest level tanks, high level melee DD (preferably ranger or 66+ dark).....maybe. Agas is HARD.

[Icemage]

Not only is Agas difficult to beat, but the lead-up quests aren't much fun either.

NOTE: One of the biggest dangers of fighting Agas is his Level 5 Petrify attack. Make sure you have a white mage who isn't at a level which is a multiple of 5 (65, 70, 75) or you could be in serious trouble against him. He doesn't need much time to wipe you out if everyone is petrified, since he has very powerful magic, and the area you have to fight in doesn't give you any room to back away as a white mage unless you're very good with Sneak while in the middle of combat.


Icemage

[Tetsura]

talked to a good friend ingame today about Agas, mainly i asked was he tough. She replyed that he wasnt. I had heard that Agas was quite dificult so i asked how many people it took, 12? 18? She says 6.

Now i trust this person alot, and she's been lvl 75 for as long as i've known her, and speaks japanese fluently as well as english. Also she's quite modest so i cant see her fabricating a story to impress people.

Is it possible your over-estimating Agas's strength/dificulty?

[mdn]

no. buy the spell it's worth it; and buy erase too.

do you want to party with a drk using full af and +str rings or do you want to party with one using a hauberwhatlmdaldfk and snipers? now do you want to party with a blm who can sleep the 2 adds the puller brings or have the party wipe? not to mention, zm4 and 6 both require it, as does at least sandy 7-2 and any bcnm60. healer's earring doesn't help by the way. i have one right now and if i nuke hard i still get aggro and if i play right i still don't get aggro.

[Raiyu]

Staves > Sleepga II > Torque

I usually tend to say get the spells you need first, but considering what you said you're planning on doing the next few levels... that is the order I would purchase them.

All 3 are needed in the endgame so you'll have to get them all anyways.:spin:

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by Tetsura
talked to a good friend ingame today about Agas, mainly i asked was he tough. She replyed that he wasnt. I had heard that Agas was quite dificult so i asked how many people it took, 12? 18? She says 6.

Now i trust this person alot, and she's been lvl 75 for as long as i've known her, and speaks japanese fluently as well as english. Also she's quite modest so i cant see her fabricating a story to impress people.

Is it possible your over-estimating Agas's strength/dificulty?

6 lv75 people might be able to do it. The thing is Aga's casts a lot of Aga III spells (Hence his name), so if you have your healers close up, they'll get rocked by the AoE. If you move them back, they'll get aggro'd by crabs, and then you have mobs that are really annoying to deal with as aggro's. The mob himself wouldn't be that bad with 6 lv75's, and is about level with what I said (12 lv70's). It's just that the area he's in sucks, his AoE sucks...it all sucks lol.

[Altruist]

BTW as far as the original post goes, my advice is that you NEVER spend more than 8k on earrings. End game both earrings you will want are rare/ex, moldavite and abyssal, you don't need the mp, 1 or 2 int for 70-1mil gil isn't worth it.

[Tetsura]

thanks for all the replies everyone :biggrin:

I'm lvl 65 now (@9k so will be 66 tonight), i have a full static pt that meets 5 days a week for 4 hours a night so i'm lvling very quickly, but as always gil is a problem. I have forgone the idea of buying a morion earring or healer's earring for that matter and will wait for the Abyssmal earring. I've also since bought a thunder staff (131k), but am holding off on Fire untill i can figure out how to spend my money.

Here's a short update on equip prices and items now needed:

Fire Staff: 195~200k still
Sleepga II: 170~200k (it seems to vary widely between the 2)
Aquilo's Staff: 500k still
Elemental Torque: 600k!! (soon after i hit 62 it leaped in 1 night from ~420k to 600k and has since stayed there)
Black Cloak: 180~200k (used to be 95k -_-)

Then of course there's the small extras like Arcachne obi, and phantom tathlum (replace morion tathlum).

Problem is i have to be much more conservative about my money now that i'm lvling much too fast to keep up in gil (lvl once every 3 days). And i'm at 290k on hand and another 200kish in AH atm.

I'm thinking Black Cloak is probably top priority so there goes about 190k, i'd like elemental torque... but it's not worth shelling out 600k atm when i need other things as well imho.

Also, I've completed the quests working up to Sleepga II quest. So i will hopefully be able to get help and finish that soon which might save me some gil. If anyone has any sagely advice, or has been in this same situation before please help me :(

[astraycat]

The order I would get the stuff in would be:

Black Cloak > Elemental Torque > Sleepga II > Fire staff > Aquilo staff

I'm assuming you have an Ice Staff(if you said you did I'm sorry my memory is teh suck ^^) so the only reason to upgrade to an Aquilo would be if you have extra gil laying around(the +5% dmg on Ice spells is nice...but in a few levels you wouln't be using Blizzard III so much as you get your IV line of spells).

Black Cloak is what you'll be wearing up until errants, and even past them depending on what mobs you fight, and thus you definately should shell out the cash for that. Next is the elemental torque, which you'll be wearing forever and ever and ever. It really does help with resists, and if you manage to get the cash for that before 68 then get it first, otherwise go with the cloak.

Sleepga II is nice, but you said you had a BRD, and they can take care of just about anything. For those who said Sleepga II overides all sleep spells, it doesn't :X Sleep II = Sleepga II > Sleep = Sleepga. Go outside and try it, after Sleep II a Sleepga II will have no effect. Sleepga II lasts longer than Lullaby though.

The Fire Staff is nice, but like the Aquilo the only reason to get it to would be to use with Fire spells, and you'll stop using Fire III as a main spell pretty soon, so it's really not all that needed for a while yet.

Another thing you may want to look at is spell cost. On Garuda Water IV and Aero IV both have rather outrageous prices: 250K and 90K respectively. But you don' t really have to worry about those yet.

[Sadeira]

have you gotten a moldavite earring?

the earring makes a much bigger difference than even +1 phantom or morion earring

also, consider getting the new iqqira stuff if you can afford it. the iqqira body is quite awesome with the +5 or 6 to magic atk bonus and elemental magic skill and the conserve mp +4 makes up for the fact that you lose refresh effect from black cloak and +mp healing from errant houpelande. the iqqira gloves are ok if you want something that's between zenith mitts and your af hands. iqqira pants are not worth it (they're worth more than the body on my server so definitely not). the feet...no one has made the feet on my server yet but i'm sure once they're made, they're going to sell like hotcakes since there really isn't many good feet pieces for blm :/

one thing you MIGHT want to consider is getting astral rings. once you're at 75 and if you're fighting hnms, int becomes less important and mp moreso. so you may not have to buy those coveted snow rings ^^; . i have a snow ring but i hardly wear it when i go hnm hunting. int isn't nearly as important as elemental magic skill and having mp or using items that recover mp or save mp.

also, astral rings are just useful across all mage jobs so it's just worth having if you want to level red mage, white mage, summoner, and bard (at low level).

[Tetsura]

Yes i have the moldavite earring (man it was anoying to get ^^;). Maybe i should mention my pt and equip as it stands...

Static Pt 65~67:
Pld/war Hume
War/nin Elvaan
Drk/thf Hume
Whm/smn Mithra
Blm/whm Taru (me)
Brd/whm Hume

Whm has Vermillion and a bunch of +mp gear, War and Drk both have Hubergeons and snipers and such, Brd Opopo Crown +60~ chr, Pld got vit rings, mercenary earring, gluttony sword, and that kinda stuff. Then me, the gimp lol.

Ice/Thunder/Dark Staffs
Full AF
Moldavite earring and Enhancing earring
Morion tathlum
druid's rope
Zircon rings
Black cape+1
Black Silk Neckerchief

Just hit 66, so i'll probably farm for phantom tathlum and stuffs tomorrow...

We just got our Light SC going with Mistral Axe >> Spinning Slash and a Thundaga II MB. Was doing Swift Blade >> Cross Reaper before that with Pld (ya lots of haste lol) for Dark SC and a Waterga III MB. Should be moving to Gustav tunnel on friday for skels.

Seems like the majority feel Staffs to be first priority, followed by Elemental magic skill, which seems a fair assesment. Looking forward to 69 for Firaga III on Light SC on skels, so i'd like to have a Fire staff by 69.

Thanks for the replies, they're helping me alot to make my decision. :thumbsup:

Edit: forgot to mention that our static is planning on staying together untill 75 so it's safe to assume that for all intensive purposes my equipment will be catered to their needs. Also threnody rocks :biggrin:

[Sadeira]

remember to buy all your spells first before you buy equipment. having aero 4 and water 4 should be a priority over having a black cloak and such.

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by Sadeira
remember to buy all your spells first before you buy equipment. having aero 4 and water 4 should be a priority over having a black cloak and such.

Actually, I would rather have the proper staves before buying the IV line of spells. I couldn't land better than 50-60% of my Water IV's without a water staff (it jumped to a good 90%+ with), and without water staff, my max damage was somewhere around 680, but the "consistent" damage for whenever I landed it well was only about 640 damage. Barely more effective than my 600 damage Blizzard III, and less effective than my 650 damage thunder III. With Water staff, I could land Water IV for 750 damage consistently - NOW it becomes a useful spell. If you don't have the proper staff, it's almost not even worth casting the spells without that staff (except on MB..where the 10% difference is STILL huge). In EXP situations, there's really no reason to ever cast Water IV at lv70. Without water staff, it's a waste of MP. With Water Staff, unless you have a high-quality tank, or a paladin that's getting tricked on, 750 damage in one shot pretty much rips hate 8 out of 10 times you cast it.

Plus, aside from Water IV and Aero IV, none of the IV line is much more than 10k. AND most mobs aren't weak to Aero...so yes, maybe consider buying Water (although you'll mainly be exping on things that are weak to ice, thunder, and fire) IV, but Aero IV you can buy whenever you find yourself wanting it (pretty much never, as Firaga III is your best light burst until Thundaga III, and Blizzaga III is your best dark burst, and you get it at lv71...same time you get aero IV).


If for some reason you're in a really weird party, and you'd be bursting Aero IV...then maybe buy it before getting other staves, but I honestly don't intend to buy it until my gear is complete, or I hit lv75, or I get one of those random ass parties that needs it for something.

[Deadsoulja]

sleepga2 is absolutely necessary, and for whoever it was saying sleepga2 doesnt overwrite sleep2 is absolutely right, but considering the cooldown on sleep2 is around 25-30 seconds ( i dont remember exactly) sleepga2 will get them all slept at the same time. In regards to bcnm60s, sleepga2 stacks on top of bard sleep, making them stay slept much longer. in all bcnm situations, i have been a sleeper first, and a nuker secondary. for kindred seal bcnms you will also need sleepga2 if you do spiders. also, if they are going to take you to do the bc60s just because you have sleepga2, you will be making the money back anyways from the items that drop from the bc. so you pretty much get the spell which is necessary, and maybe some extra cash.

[riceburner4540]

i have to agree, the staves make all the difference. the spells shouldn't be a problem, except water IV and maybe aero IV, but if your party is nuke dependent (like most of mine), elemental torque and black cloak should be a high, high priority. by nuke dependent, i mean 40% or more of the damage comes from me, each battle. i don't plan on buying water IV...i'll get it some day, but i have much better things to spend my money on (like more staves :biggrin: ).

in bcnm battles where i have access to sleepga II, this is what i usually do...start the battle off with elemental seal + sleepga (for those sleep resistant bastards, like anticans) and then follow up with sleepga II about 45 seconds in...voila, 2 minutes and 15 seconds of uninterrupted ant bashing. oh yeah, it just so happens that the antican bc60 drops elemental torque :biggrin: . i have to agree with deadsoulja on our role in bcnm battles. sleep first, buff up, prepare to take a few hits, and if you have extra mp and if there's absolutely nothing to do, nuke once or twice...but i'd rather take the time to rest for more mp.

Barely more effective than my 600 damage Blizzard III, and less effective than my 650 damage thunder III.

/sigh...i guess thats the taru difference -_-;;. i thought i was gimped until i partied with other blms, all of whom were higher leveled than me (70-71 while i'm at 68-69), yet i consistently outdamaged them by 10-50 points, depending on spell and upwards of 100 on MBs (hume, taru, elvaan, it was pretty much the same). then i realized, i'm not really gimped at all! but then...here comes atrapos with his spells dishing out 40-50 more than mine :mad: maybe i should've gone taru :sweat: k...sorry, i'm done.

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by riceburner4540
i have to agree, the staves make all the difference. the spells shouldn't be a problem, except water IV and maybe aero IV, but if your party is nuke dependent (like most of mine), elemental torque and black cloak should be a high, high priority. by nuke dependent, i mean 40% or more of the damage comes from me, each battle. i don't plan on buying water IV...i'll get it some day, but i have much better things to spend my money on (like more staves :biggrin: ).

in bcnm battles where i have access to sleepga II, this is what i usually do...start the battle off with elemental seal + sleepga (for those sleep resistant bastards, like anticans) and then follow up with sleepga II about 45 seconds in...voila, 2 minutes and 15 seconds of uninterrupted ant bashing. oh yeah, it just so happens that the antican bc60 drops elemental torque :biggrin: . i have to agree with deadsoulja on our role in bcnm battles. sleep first, buff up, prepare to take a few hits, and if you have extra mp and if there's absolutely nothing to do, nuke once or twice...but i'd rather take the time to rest for more mp.



/sigh...i guess thats the taru difference -_-;;. i thought i was gimped until i partied with other blms, all of whom were higher leveled than me (70-71 while i'm at 68-69), yet i consistently outdamaged them by 10-50 points, depending on spell and upwards of 100 on MBs (hume, taru, elvaan, it was pretty much the same). then i realized, i'm not really gimped at all! but then...here comes atrapos with his spells dishing out 40-50 more than mine :mad: maybe i should've gone taru :sweat: k...sorry, i'm done.


When you hit lv70, you'll find all your spells suddenly take a 30-or so point jump in damage. So the taru difference is actually only 10-20 damage, which is nothing major. Although you *do* probably have more +INT gear than I do...lol. You might only gain 25 or so damage...but still, lv70 gives us our last Magic Attack Bonus, which results in a *noticeable* increase in damage. Don't feel too bad. If I was outdamaging you by 40-50 points when you were also lv70...then you could feel saddened by not being taru....but I'm pretty sure you'll be fine :P