Samurai Merit Question

[HypnoticOfAlexander]

New poster here, so be easy on me. I've been a lvl 75 Samurai for over 2 years now, but i just recently reactivated my account and started playing again. Before i quit, i merited a little bit, and placed 2 merits in crit and 2 in Great Katana (hoping this wasn't a mistake, didn't know much about merits at the time) Anyways, i've been told and have read that the best way to go is max 3/3 overwhelm, 5/5 meditate, and 5/5 Store TP first. Is this accurate? Was i wrong for putting merits in GK and crit, and if so can i fix that? I'm a pretty decently geared sam (I will list equipment below) and I'm wanting to lean towards the 6-hit build. I need some suggestions from you experienced Sams out there, because a lot has changed from the time when i played (2yrs ago) Also, how many merits can i recieve/mess around with. My nin is lvl 67 and i will be taking it to 75 soon. I need all the help and suggestions i can get to help me get up to date with the FFXI times. Oh yea, has the WS damage changed a bit? I remember i used to easily knock off 2k+ WSs. I was killing EP orcs in Davoi last night as /thf. i got a few 1.2k gekkos, but nothing too impressive. Went back as /war and averaged 700-900 (using shinsoku) with a few reaching 1.1k+. (but seemed to gain TP much faster) Is this normal?
Thank you in advance, --Hypnotic


Gear: (WS build 1st, attk/acc build 2nd)

Weapon: Hagun, Shinsoku (testing right now) STR+5
Head: Wyvern Helm (STR+5) Optical hat
Hands: Pallas's bracelets: (STR+9) Ochiudo's kote
Body: Hachiman domaru (for WS STR+8)Hauby-for attk/tp
Legs: Myochin haidate (STR+3)
Feet: Hachiman sune-ate (STR+2) Fuma sune-ate
Rings: Flame Rings x2 (=STR+10) Snipers x2
Earring1: Bushinomimi (STR+2)
Earring2: Fowling earring (STR+1)
Back: Amemet mantle +1 (STR+2)
Grip: Axe Grip (STR+3)
Belt: Warwolf (STR+5) Potent or Life
Neck: Chiv Chain (STR+3)
Ammo: Tiphia Sting

If you add the STR i sub in for WSs, it comes out to +58 w/ no food. Add Hasso to that and it is +68. I know i definitely have a few slots to improve on and i'm working hard to get, but this from what i know is some pretty good gear. I just want to know what kind of dmg other sams are putting out since its been so long since ive played and my WS numbers just seemed a little odd. (also please let me know what gear i can improve on, even the obvious "hard-to-get stuff" Thanks again guys ^__^

[Malacite]

Shinsoku is garbage. Hagun and Soboro are the best GKT you can get (other than Amanomurakumo of course)


Recently, SE did a major update to two handed weapons. 1 STR = 1 Attack and 1 DEX = 1 Accuracy now instead of the old 2:1 ratio.

Also, Tachi Yukikaze, Gekko and Kasha all got a major upgrade. Their old TP modifiers used to be 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 at 100/200/300 TP respectively. They all got bumped up by 1.0, which makes Hagun even nastier than ever since you'll be doing triple damage at 100 TP.


Your merits are just fine for now, and actually maxing out GKT right away is a good idea. Combined with the new stat changes, you'll likely never need sushi again in merits.

After that, I'd say max out Store TP first (to help facilitate a 6-hit build), then either Meditate or Overwhelm depending on your preference. Get Shikikoyo last so whenever you have excess TP (more than 100%) you can give it to another party member. This is very nice for missions and other events.

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

The Order of the Blue Gartr Linkshell forum has a discussion of weapon skill changes in the Advanced Player Discussion forum. The modifiers have changed, but they are not what was reported in the response above. Also the Wiki is updated with the information below:

Yukikaze, Gekko, and Kasha now have the following fTP modifiers:
100%TP -> 1.75 (previously 1.50)
200%TP -> 2.00 (no change)
300%TP -> 2.50 (no change)

The Hagun is still the best Great Katana at 100%TP against most enemies, but this has made the Soboro and Onimaru much better.

[Sevv]

I would get crit done first

4 crit -> 8 GK -> 3 overwhelm -> 5 meditate -> 5 store tp -> 3 shinsoku (sp? share tp) -> 8 hp -> 8 archery -> 4 parry -> 5 str

[Malacite]

>. > well when i checked Blue Gartyr it was 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5

http://www.bluegartrls.com/forum/vie...hp?f=2&t=22742

The numbers you're giving come from Studio Gobli.

Based on the results I've seen, I'm gonna have to stick with BG.


Also, Crit isn't a top priority for SAM (unlike with WAR DRG or NIN who have crit based WS) so I'd leave it alone until you're done maxing out the more important skills. (meriting store TP helps maintain the 6-hit build while swapping out hachiman for better gear.)


Also, my friend who was testing Gekko with Haubergeon and Hachiman Domaru saw significant increases while wearing the domaru over haubergeon. This further leans towards BG's numbers. a 25% increase in the modifier would not allow for the discrepancy he was seeing between the difference in STR values.



Mind you, if those other numbers are right, then Hagun is actually pretty weak now, and Shinsoku won't be the garbage weapon it was before. It actually balances out the other weapons nicely.

One reading shows 1.75, 2.0 and 2.1 though... that better not be the case. That means they beefed up 100 TP, but severely toned down 200 and 300 (which from my own experience, does not appear to be the case)

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

I'm definately going to have to find some time to test the fTP change myself. I would probably change to Great Katana if it is truely 3.0 at 200%TP. Currently on the enemies I'm fighting nothing seems to come close to polearm, but I haven't tried a Hagun. I have friends who would loan me one.

[raidenn]

Try loading yourself with STR gear (means hachiman over hauby) and check the damage on gekko, kasha and yuki. I think the damage modifier for those 3 is around 20-50% on Str. I could be wrong with the percentage.

[Zempten]

Thought it was 75% STR >.>

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Tachi:_Yukikaze

[HypnoticOfAlexander]

Thank you for all the resonses! I actually have some question reguarding 6-hit build and haste. Last night got W. turban, fuma sune-ate, and working on dusk gloves. These items would put me at 10% haste, then 10 more from hasso? I am currently using O kote for attk/tp. Would the dusk gloves (attk+5 haste+3%) be a good replacement for the o kotes? Haste +20% sounds badass, and in the future im only going to get more. Another question: How much Store TP do i need to get the 6-hit build? i do NOT want to use the whole hachiman set lol. I figure with my new haste gear and a few pieces of Store TP gear i can attain the 6-hit build effectively. I want to use hauby for attk/tp, then hachiman domaru for WS, so there goes that piece. I want to use fumas for attk/tp, so there goes the store TP for those. I guess i'm really just needing what gear sacrifices i'll need to make. (Gear is on my 1st post) Thanks again --Hyp

[Malacite]

You need 47 Store TP to reach 6-hits.

With 5 merits, that gives you 10, + 25 from traits by level 70 meaning you still need about 12 from gear. Hachiman Kote are great for this, since you get STR +4 and +8 Store TP, paired with a Rajas Ring (+5) and you're set.

Haste is something of an oddity, as you need to pile on large amounts to see a significant difference (but once you get up there, WOW)

Also, the hachiman set is quite good. Unless you can get your hands on the really good haste gear (Haidate, Swift Belt etc) you're not going to see as big an improvement over other items.

Personally, I got my eye on Saotome Sun-Ate. 5 DEX and 8 attack is pretty damn nice on the foot slot, though I still use Hachiman atm for the +2STR and Store TP.

STR makes a huge impact on your WS now (not that it didn't before, but now that 1 STR = 1 Attack along with the increased TP mods to yuki/geko/kasha it's just that much better)

[Dymlos]

Hell, one thing I'm wondering is how the hell am I gonna get my Daihannya. I plan to use the Sipahi Jawshan until I can afford a Hauby. Man SAM's getting so expensive right now. ; ;

For those who are wondering, I'm currently Lv 57, almost dinged to 58.