Can't decide....

[Yunna]

Could someone explain to me what significant advantage two hand staffs have over single handed wands?

Right now I'm deciding on which to take... it's driving me nuts.. just want to hear some opinions.

I'm a hume/F Blm24/whm11 and as you know unlike Tarus I have more HP then MP... so MP gaining items are always eye catching to me.

I love Cure2, and I love Thunder.

But here's the two weapons that I need to choose from..
Yew Wand +1 = +4 INT +4MND Delay210 Attack 8
Elm Staff = +6HP +6MP Delay 366 Attack 15


I love the addition +6MP gain and the +6HP gain can surely allow me to take a hit or two when escaping.. plus I can actually hit something when I'm doing melee during quests..

I tried out the Yew Wand on some bats...
I casted Thunder on bats and it delt 90dmg.
I repeated and got the same result.

So then I thought I'd try out the Elm Staff and...
I did the same on the bats again and it delt 85dmg
I repeated again and got the same result.

Here I'm thinking, +4 INT only adds 5 damage from 85 > 90 ?? Hm.... that's not alot at all... or maybe I should do more experimenting? Oh I'm so confused right now. lol

Thanks for your time on reading my boring little situation. ^_^

[Tsama]

Well Carry both. I and alot of my blm,whm,rdm, and Bard friends carry several Weapons.

Main reason being sometimes you have to stop doing the normal and maybe physically attack.


Now as far as the Elm staff the 6mp isn't much it will be used up in not even one spell. IMHO you would be better off with the Wand because it boosts your Int which you need IMO more then MP.

Now if you are trying to get a little more MP try looking for Armor that adds it. I know there are a couple pieces out there that add MP. If you are really worried about mp. You could always use your 2hr hehe.

If you feel bad about low Mp look at a Galka Blm.

hahahahahhahaha

[Calianeri]

FFXI is conservative in terms of boosts and bonuses. It's also got some complex "formulas" and caps for damage, and there are lots of variables. So while it can be hard to tell the exact effect different pieces of equipment have, even small bonuses do help over time.

Anyway, my two cents: I'd go with the wand for use in parties. You'll want the increased average magic damage over time that the +INT will give. As a mage, you shouldn't be taking hits, so the +6 HP of the Elm Staff isn't important. And you're a hume anyway. The +MP would be really nice for you, but I'd suggest you look for other items to boost your MP (hairpins, rings, earrings, armor, etc). There are also some nice pieces of armor around your level that increase both MP and INT, perfect for BLMs.

On the other hand, I'd suggest you use the staff whenever you are soloing, where you won't be fighting tough stuff (making INT less important) and you'll be meleeing, so damage will actually matter.

As for why the damage wasn't very different on your casts, your elemental magic skill level, INT, and passive + Magic Attack is determining your magic damage vs the resistance (or lack thereof) of the bats to Thunder. Trying the test on other mobs should show that the +INT is helping over time. That's been my experience in leveling BLM to the 30s, anyway.

[Taga]

You want as much INT as you can get... I'd even take that yew wand + 1 over our AF wand...

[Yunna]

I guess the Wand is what I should be using. You guys are right, both weapons are worth keeping. I'll just keep both while using Yew want as my Party weapon and Elm staff as my soloing weapon.

I felt a bit ripped off because...

Yew wand = 3 INT / 3 MND / 7 DMG / 219Delay @ 900Gil

Yew wand +1 = 4 INT / 4 MND / 8 DMG / 201 Delay @ 4900Gil


Yeah... I got the +1... I noticed alot of mages settled with the regular Yew wand...


Anyhow, thanks for the lovely inputs everyone. ^_^

[Tsama]

yeah that happens alot with equipment if it is +1 it goes for alot more.

^^^^ Also a good way to make gil. Make +1 equipment.

You want to see something look up the Eremite ring, then look up how much the +1 costs.

I think the regular is like 500 and the later is like 30k.