best stat for damage per spell?

[Superuser]

Hello,
What stat is the best for raising damage per spell? There are 3 things that can boost the spell damage, but I'm not sure as to what is the best, pound for pound so to speak.

+int, +magic attack bonus, or +elemental skill

Any information anyone has would be appreciated.

[Icemage]

Elemental boosts accuracy, and should your first priority if you're interested in improving your average damage per spell, since it reduces resists (unless you're fighting things that are lower than Very Tough).

Magic Attack Bonus comes next - it's particularly noticeable when casting higher level spells like Ancient II.

INT helps slightly with resists, and adds a few points of damage, but should be your lowest priority, since a lot of BLM gear adds INT already (enough to hit your point of diminishing returns).


Icemage

[Jei]

For damage = magic attack bonus all the way. 1 magic attack bonus adds straight 1% damage boost to your spell. When your spells can deal above 1k and you stack up 20-30 magic attack bonus, you get major boost.

Elemental skill only helps with resist. Not damage.

Int helps both but at very small amount compare to directly boosting magic attack or elemental skill. You'll be boosting Int at low levels anyway since you won't have any any items that give the above 2.

[Superuser]

Thanks guys for the info. So the set from Assault that gives alot of +Magic Attack Bonus is good stuff for a blm after AF then. You guys rock :*~

[Meepster]

what level are you superuser? theres lots of different gear available. Correct me if i'm wrong, but the earliest you can get magic attack bonus is lv 34 (Republic Circlet) which happens to be a very useful item, in fact, i still use it to this day when san'doria is in control. Moldavite @47, Sorcerer's ring(active @yellow HP)@lv 50, then the looong road to Igqira and Yigit gear, and of course, the seemingly impossible to attain Novio earring. I would consider HQ staves as well, seeing as prices are the lowest ive seen in years. NQ staff= +10% dmg, HQ= +15%. as for INT, theres tons of gear. You should definitely stack up in the INT area as much as you can because not only does it add dmg on top of your MAB, but theres an initial INT check between you and the mob every time you cast. You'll see a significant difference in damage and resist rates if you stack up on the two. at mid-later lvs, you can wear your AF hands + shaman's cloak for a nice elemental skill boost, although if you want more damage, theres other combos. You can always test out different combos and see how it works for you.

[Raydeus]

INT helps slightly with resists, and adds a few points of damage, but should be your lowest priority, since a lot of BLM gear adds INT already (enough to hit your point of diminishing returns).

I'm interested in that part, I've seen you often mention that after certain amount of +stat you start getting diminishing returns.

Can you tell me where can I find the info about all this? I'm interested in learning more about it.

[Superuser]

The post was originally for my girlfriend, but she's 50. We were considering going to camp the mob to get the Shaman's Cloak because that does definately look nuts.

Right now she has +23 int but none of the other stats, all just +int.

[Taskmage]

I'm interested in that part, I've seen you often mention that after certain amount of +stat you start getting diminishing returns.
Can you tell me where can I find the info about all this? I'm interested in learning more about it.http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Calculating_Magic_Damage