+Skill or MAB/INT?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I was going over various things now that SCH is 75.

I think I've hit the MND cap for Stoneskin and Possibly Phalanx as well. I suck at the math behind this, but I'm at 267 Enhancing skill (seems my present cap with AF would be 271) and 62+45 MND with present gear. I think that covers the 350 stoneskin cap and probably Phalanx's cap as well. I'm just basing this off the fact it takes about three of four smacks from a greater colibri for Stoneskin to wear off and also that it makes main healing a PT almost TOO easy. Don't think there's much more to do here.

Not worried about Healing potency, if its needed, that's what Rapture is for.

On the nuking side, I think I'm leaning more toward workin on more M. ACC+, elemental and enfeebling skill gear than I am more MAB and INT gear. I have Moldavite earing and Vicious Mufflers and don't see a visible need for more than what I have. I am working on Yigit regardless, but here's the thing:

SCH can cheat to get magic potency boosts - storm spells and Ebulliance - and it usually works.

I can get Fire IV or Blizzard IV over 1k and probably Thunder IV as well. Its the resists that are getting to me. Going from that 1.1k Fire IV to 100 on Fire IV does not please me.

What strategem I use does vary by mob type. If its Aspir-able, I generally rotate Alacrity for Aspir spam and Ebulliance for nuke potency. For mobs I can't Aspir, I turn to Parsimony mostly.

I don't think my INT build is impressive its 77+32 INT right now. I use Druid Slops with AF body for nukes, but sometime wonder of Jet Sereweels would be better. I have MC Braclets, but I'm not always in the zones to use them in and probably wouldn't want to displace Vicious Mufflers until I had Yigit or Goliard hands anyway. If I use AF body, it means giving up errant body right now. Doesn't seem to matter either way from the manaburn PTs I've had over the last few levels, but I prefer accuracy and +15 skill will give that.

I'm also thinking maybe about getting Haste gear to really exploit Alacrity. SCH is a real MP efficiency whore, if I can halve the recast of Aspir, why not get it down just a little more?

Anyway, I'd like to get some thoughts on this if I could.

[Malacite]

If we're talking nuking here, MAB will always trump INT, and +skill is really for resist rates (ignore my job levels please -.- I actually have played BLM to 60 on my taru and have been hovering various BLM forums for years; I do know what I'm talking about)


For things like Gravity, +skill > +INT

[Mog]

On the nuking side, I think I'm leaning more toward workin on more M. ACC+, elemental and enfeebling skill gear than I am more MAB and INT gear. I have Moldavite earing and Vicious Mufflers and don't see a visible need for more than what I have. I am working on Yigit regardless, but here's the thing:
.

For nuking, stick with intelligence and Magic Attack Bonus...not so much Magic Accuracy.

Do you have any elemental magic skill merits? If so, I wouldn't be too concerned with Elemental magic skill. This is from a black mage standpoint though, so I'm not sure how much different it is for you. When you're fighting something out of the ordinary, such as HNM's, NM's, whatever, you'll want to wear elemental skill. The torque particularly helps with this.

SCH can cheat to get magic potency boosts - storm spells and Ebulliance - and it usually works.

I can get Fire IV or Blizzard IV over 1k and probably Thunder IV as well. Its the resists that are getting to me. Going from that 1.1k Fire IV to 100 on Fire IV does not please me.

What strategem I use does vary by mob type. If its Aspir-able, I generally rotate Alacrity for Aspir spam and Ebulliance for nuke potency. For mobs I can't Aspir, I turn to Parsimony mostly.

I don't think my INT build is impressive its 77+32 INT right now. I use Druid Slops with AF body for nukes, but sometime wonder of Jet Sereweels would be better. I have MC Braclets, but I'm not always in the zones to use them in and probably wouldn't want to displace Vicious Mufflers until I had Yigit or Goliard hands anyway. If I use AF body, it means giving up errant body right now. Doesn't seem to matter either way from the manaburn PTs I've had over the last few levels, but I prefer accuracy and +15 skill will give that.
.

Since int is a factor in resists, I would use mahatma slops or jet seraweels over the druid slops. They're not worth it imo. I'm not sure of other hands besides the MC for scholar though, besides the vicious mufflers.

But yeah, just think of it like this. For normal mobs, stack MaB and int (assuming you have a decent amount of merits ). For larger mobs, you'll want to play around with elemental skill and see how much works for you. For scholars, they have a lower base Elemental Skill than blms, so you'll need the gear for it.

Hope that helps.~~

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Thanks for the replies thus far.

For nuking, stick with intelligence and Magic Attack Bonus...not so much Magic Accuracy.

Do you have any elemental magic skill merits? If so, I wouldn't be too concerned with Elemental magic skill. This is from a black mage standpoint though, so I'm not sure how much different it is for you. When you're fighting something out of the ordinary, such as HNM's, NM's, whatever, you'll want to wear elemental skill. The torque particularly helps with this.

No Elemental Magic skill merits at this time, I just finished capping out EXP for 75, so magic skill merits are up next. With Dark Arts at AF Body active I'm granted 271 Elemental Magic Skill at present, which takes me from B+ skill to roughly A- skill territory, I believe.

So perhaps I am overthinking skill gear since full merits would put over the top for average merit situations. Theres a deep part of me that's an accuracy whore and always wants to get things as accurate as I can.

The AF body is just too damn good for most things tho, so it might be a mainstay for nukes. Its not only +15 to Elemental, but +15 to Enfeebling and Dark Magic skill as well when Dark Arts is active. AF pants also grant +15 to Enfeebling and Black Magic enfeebs are still affected by the bonus, but at a greater MP cost and Light Arts strategems won't affect them. So Enfeebling merits are always going to be good for this job either way.

Since int is a factor in resists, I would use mahatma slops or jet seraweels over the druid slops. They're not worth it imo. I'm not sure of other hands besides the MC for scholar though, besides the vicious mufflers.

Patrican Cuffs, Goliard Hands, Cobra Unit Gloves, Yigit Gages are the other options I'm aware of. All of them have some merit to them, but for nukes, it seems that Vicious may still win out.

But yeah, just think of it like this. For normal mobs, stack MaB and int (assuming you have a decent amount of merits ). For larger mobs, you'll want to play around with elemental skill and see how much works for you. For scholars, they have a lower base Elemental Skill than blms, so you'll need the gear for it.

Hope that helps.~~

Ok, thanks. My INT build is arguably weak... for a Taru, anyway. which is probably just saying I'm average. I had so many main healer invites pre-72 that INT wasn't really a major concern. I suppose I'll just concern myself with Elemental/Enfeebling torque for the time being and work out those Jet Sereweels, Yigit Gages, Balrhans Ring and Elemental/Enfeebling Torques and INT gear for the time being. After I get what is purchasable, I can start farming toward those HQ staves.

[Mog]

Thanks for the replies thus far.
No Elemental Magic skill merits at this time, I just finished capping out EXP for 75, so magic skill merits are up next. With Dark Arts at AF Body active I'm granted 271 Elemental Magic Skill at present, which takes me from B+ skill to roughly A- skill territory, I believe.

So perhaps I am overthinking skill gear since full merits would put over the top for average merit situations. Theres a deep part of me that's an accuracy whore and always wants to get things as accurate as I can.

The AF body is just too damn good for most things tho, so it might be a mainstay for nukes. Its not only +15 to Elemental, but +15 to Enfeebling and Dark Magic skill as well when Dark Arts is active. AF pants also grant +15 to Enfeebling and Black Magic enfeebs are still affected by the bonus, but at a greater MP cost and Light Arts strategems won't affect them. So Enfeebling merits are always going to be good for this job either way.
.

The AF scholar body is golden for nuking. I would never take it off, even if you were fighting normal mobs. That extra +15 elemental skill really helps and I would definitely take that over the errant houppelande. (even though I see LOTS of scholars nuking in the errant body for 10 intelligence, but that's beyond me)

Ok, thanks. My INT build is arguably weak... for a Taru, anyway. which is probably just saying I'm average. I had so many main healer invites pre-72 that INT wasn't really a major concern. I suppose I'll just concern myself with Elemental/Enfeebling torque for the time being and work out those Jet Sereweels, Yigit Gages, Balrhans Ring and Elemental/Enfeebling Torques and INT gear for the time being. After I get what is purchasable, I can start farming toward those HQ staves.

Sounds like you've got a good plan. Even the errant slops will suffice if you can't afford the jet seraweels. HQ staves are of course a luxury, so I wouldn't worry about those until you get the crucial gear out of the way, which is what you're doing!

[MrMageo]

Depending on what your looking at nuking it really all depends. For Hnm's etc it is really best to hit the 300 skill level before heading into MAB.

Also aim to get 110+ INT this will make up for the lost accuracy as well as offer some damage.

Personally given SCH's sub 300 skill level but able to reach an A i would look at getting INT to 110+ followed by skill gear. Once you have reached the 110/300 level work in MAB. MAB only adds to the damage you will do to mobs after INT is calculated so it is best to make sure your INT is going to beat a Mob's handidly before using MAB.

(This is how i look at enfeebling skill on rdm breaking the 110/300 barrier allows me to stick enfeebs sans staff. so this should make your nukes resistance levels drop. It should also work if you do it with enfeebling as well.)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Just out of curiosity, what's the concensus on the new Cobra Unit Mage gear? I'm still a ways off from even getting Yigit Feet since I juggle two characters in both Assault and Campaign, so I just kinda hop on what Assaults I see for now to spam for points.

The feet look really good with +22 HP/MP and +3% MAB, but the legs also look good, but I'm unsure if the MAB on those is enough to outweigh what Errant or Jet Seraweels would offer.

There was a lot of other nice stuff put in the update, particularly the staves, sheild and mace that caught my interest. Well and Ixion's Cape and Clock, along with the MAB Cape and Numerist Pump from ZNMs. Kinda pissed SCH got shafted on the Oracle set, though. OH, but lolBRD gets it >.>;

[Mog]

I'd rather take the +2 MaB, +3 int from the yigit crackows than the +3 MaB from the cobra feet.

Same deal with the legs... 8 intelligence from mahatma slops far far far outweighs +2 MaB that the Cobra Unit Trews offer.

Don't even get me started on the cobra hat and hands. > .>

Just stick with what you've got. lol

[WishMaster3K]

BBQ, just check out Kaeko's posts, lol..

I'm not a BLM nor SCH, but I can say that with the Elemental Torque, HQ Staff and capped Elemental, I consistently pull off 600ish Blizzard IIIs. Then again, I capped Ice Potency, so I might be biased.

For exp, your skill should be fine, and you should stack MAB, since, unless I'm mistaken, it's a multiplying factor.

For HNMs, Kaeko recommended getting above 320 skill, then going for MAB. The thing is, last time he posted that, it was nigh impossible for SCH to get over 320.

[Mog]

I'm not a BLM nor SCH, but I can say that with the Enfeebling Torque, HQ Staff and capped Elemental, I consistently pull off 600ish Blizzard IIIs. Then again, I capped Ice Potency, so I might be biased.

Elemental torque you mean?

[Callisto]

Or Spider! j/k j/k!

Anyways to BBQ, also keep in mind that SCH has a relatively small MAB boost of +20 with /RDM, and none native, important because the MAB you can add in will have a more noticeable effect that it would to a BLM. However for high-end mobs you have both a lot of skill and alot of INT to make up. I would personally take Yigit hands for manaburn merit-type situations. You won't see a noticeable damage difference between them and Vicious Mufflers, and 5 INT is a huge chunk for the hands. For higher things I'd toss it up between those and Genie Gages, if you don't want to pay for them and have a few friends willing to help they're pretty easy to get.

Nothing out there really compares to Yigit feet for nuking, they're worth it, I'm dying myself not having them and being stuck in Nyzul at the moment.

For legs, really every bit counts and Mahatma Slops are relatively cheap, not much more than Jet Seraweels last I checked. If you're going to spend money on the Jets just save a bit more for Mahatmas.

And yeah, Cobra gear is decent for 68-72ish, but nowhere near optimal in any slot past that.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

If we're talking nuking here, MAB will always trump INT, and +skill is really for resist rates (ignore my job levels please -.- I actually have played BLM to 60 on my taru and have been hovering various BLM forums for years; I do know what I'm talking about)

It's an oversimplification to say that MAB will always trump INT. The break even point is around 2 INT in exchange for MAB +1, though it also depends on which nuke in particular and how much MAB you already have. Tier IVs and Tier III -gas favor even 2 INT over MAB +1, and the more MAB you already have, the less each additional point will increase your overall damage relatively speaking.

Just out of curiosity, what's the concensus on the new Cobra Unit Mage gear? I'm still a ways off from even getting Yigit Feet since I juggle two characters in both Assault and Campaign, so I just kinda hop on what Assaults I see for now to spam for points.

The +3 INT you get from Yigit Crackows will outperform the +1 MAB you would get switching to Cobra Crackows. But it's a small improvement (approximately +1 INT beyond the point where the two yield similar results). I'm in the same boat as you, where I'm not sure when I'd be able to accumulate the assault points for Yigit feet, whereas I had more than enough AN and high enough rank to get Cobra feet. If I already had Yigit feet, I would have stuck with them. And if I ever build up a decent amount of Lebros Cavern points, I'll probably switch to Yigit feet. But for now, I'm quite content with Cobra feet.

The feet look really good with +22 HP/MP and +3% MAB, but the legs also look good, but I'm unsure if the MAB on those is enough to outweigh what Errant or Jet Seraweels would offer.

As Mog mentioned, Cobra Trews are underwhelming. At only MAB +2, you're looking at a ration of 3.5 INT : 1 MAB (or 4:1 with HQ Slops).

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Just kinda sucks all this endgame gear comes into the update and its seems little to none of it aside from some staves, a club, a shield, a cloak and two capes were made for SCH. Meanwhile they gave BRD MAB gear for no goddamn reason.

/pout.

I'm honestly taking a bit more time with Foobar's progress anyway, since Kitten presently has the gear update and merit focus. I've put a couple merits into enfeebling and elementals so far. I still have to catch RDM up to 75 anyway >.>

[Callisto]

I don't think that SCH really missed out on much, some of the gear is extremely up in the air in terms of usefulness, and SCH already has very powerful nuking options available to it from pre-existing gear. New shinies are already nice, but really none of the new stuff really stands out in terms of nuking. Really the only thing that is 'holy crap' to me out of the new stuff for mages is Ixion Cape. Otherwise you're already better off with the options currently available.

[Malacite]

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