[Wake N' Bake]

Alright I've been truly loving my Republic Knuckles. Theyre simply amazing but I've been told by a guide and a couple people the next weapon I'm going to want to pick up is Impact Knuckles? But imo it doesn't look to me that the impact knuckles are better. Can anyone explain to me why they would be?

Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Republic Knuckles republic

Allakhazam.com: Final Fantasy XI: Item: Impact Knuckles impact

[DakAttack]

Extra accuracy, better damage.

[Wake N' Bake]

republics faster, and has atk though not to mention its other mods

[Neverslip]

I like my Tropical Punches... but never took Mnk too high.

[Armando]

MNK weapons are tricky business. Anyone that gives you an answer that's not based on math is, at best, making an educated guess (at worst just plain guessing.) See, the heart and soul of any weapon is its DPS - the ratio of DMG to Delay. The problem is, MNK weapons simply add a certain amount to your barehanded DMG and Delay. So, on their own, the weapons don't tell you much about their performance. To get a clear answer you'd have to know your base DMG and Delay, but that changes as you level (DMG depends on H2H skill and the Delay depends on your current level of the Martial Arts trait.)

Basically it involves a lot of math, figuring out your barehanded DMG and Delay for at least one level, adding the DMG and Delay of various weapons to your base DMG and Delay, and comparing the different DPS values.

EDIT: Currently working on an Excel spreadsheet that'll automate the process and let me find the answer.

[Durahansolo]

Originally Posted by Armando

EDIT: Currently working on an Excel spreadsheet that'll automate the process and let me find the answer.

That is something I've always wondered myself but never had time to sit down and look into. (Talking about MNK H2H delays.)

[Solymir]

Originally Posted by Armando

EDIT: Currently working on an Excel spreadsheet that'll automate the process and let me find the answer.

If you get that to work there will be quite a few people that appreciate it.

[Armando]

The correct answer is Cougar Baghnakhs at 20, then Lynx Baghnakhs at 24. Lynx continue to beat Impact Knuckles at 32, although Claws+1 will beat Lynx Baghnakhs. Good luck finding those on the AH though. Disclaimer: The differences are pretty small between the better weapons. Assuming an fSTR of +3, Lynx pulls ahead by 5% raw DPS. The 2 Acc on Impact Knux contributes +1% hit rate. So the difference is about 4%.

And that's why you should always take equipment guides with a grain of salt.

Unless I wrote it.

Spreadsheet usage: Type in Level, fSTR value, weapon DMG and weapon Delay. Should be accurate, although naturally I don't have a way of accounting for +Skill merits or equipment, or +Martial Arts for that matter. But hey, at Lv.75 you generally don't have a whole lot of variables to consider, so whatever.