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Eve Online Goonfleet February

steven on July 20th, 2007

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDr182CXeL0[/youtube]

FFXI Useful Tradeskill Tips

steven on July 20th, 2007

So you want to start the road of crafting and syntetisis….

I must warn you that is a LONG Road ahead, and if you don’t go on material hunt, long travels for the best price this is not for you, neither if you have heart problems or are pregnant, and you must be this tall >>
to enter…

First, you don’t want to get overwhelmed. Start off slow, pick one guild and stick with it for a while. At first crafting is an expensive practice, but think about all the Gil you will make when you become an expert. So don’t get discouraged!

Anyways, back to picking your guild. You can choose from Blacksmith, Goldsmith, Carpenter, Alchemist, BoneCraft, Leathersmith, Taylor, Cooking, or Fisherman. Many people say the fishermen’s guild is not good for anything but they do give discounts to members on all the supplies. All the guilds have members who are willing to help new recruits. Just talk to them, you would be amazed how much you will learn.

Now that you have chosen a profession, it is now time to learn some of the basics, for that you need to seek the Grand Master of the profession of your choice. Name in Parethesis is where the guild are located.

Alchemy (Bastok)

A guild which plays mainly with chemicals and potion types with odd ingredients. Main focus on guild is medicine and special potions, but it also makes special weapons.
Although compound skill is not really needed, woodwork, a black smith, and gold smith skill are a great plus for bows, arrows and bullet type synthesizing.

Black Smith (Bastok / 8-23hours, San D’oria, Mhaura / 8-23hours)

Main focus on ore, metal material, etc. Creates many types of weapons and armors for usage in battle field.
Woodwork, gold smith, and leather works compounding skills are great plus for this guild.

Bone Worker (Windurst - holiday on Wind)

Main focus will be weapons which are made of bone type of material.
Leather works coumpounding skills would be a great plus for this guild.

Carpenter (San D’oria)

Weapons made out of wood is the main focus of this guild. Most weapons created will be useful for many type of Mages.
Bone worker and black smith skills would be a great plus for this guild

Cooking (Windurst)

Main focus of this guild is making food to greatly improve the performances of many adventurers in battle fields, and also makes good baits for fishing.
Cooking skill by itself can work very well. No other skills are depended on when synthesizing food.

Gold Smith (Bastok/ 8-23hours, Mhaura / 8-23hours)

Ore and precious-metals material are mainly used. Main focus of this guild is making jewels, rings, necklace, and earrings which adds improved points to the owner.
Other skills won’t be needed much when synthesizing. Beware, this guild is known for one of high costing in synthesizing items.

Leather Smith (S. San D’Oria at the opposite side of the resident area)

Leather material is mainly used. Main focus is armors non-heavyduty job type.
Black smith, gold smith, and sewing skills are a great plus for this guild.

Sewing (Guild in Windurst, shop in Selbina)

Mainly focuses on making clothing for mage and monk type.
High level gold smith skill is highly recommended to be successful in Sewing guild.

Last but not least

Fishing (Guild in Windurst, shop in Selbina)

Basically all it will help greatly in improving your Fishing Skills. You may also buy fish and bait at low costs.

Tip: Every guild there is a “teacher” who can cast a temporary “boost” to help you success on synthesizing item. It is always best idea to synthesize with the same element crystal as the day’s element.

Our world is a world of magic, so don’t be looking for a hammer to learn your trade. We use crystals! You can obtain these and your materials by either buying them or hunting monsters that carry them. Once you have your materials use your synthesize list to decide what to make.

After you reach certain levels, you may decide to take a test that’ll put you 1 step higher in the skill title. The following table is the list of Titles along with Skill Level and Promotion Test Level:

Title             Skill Level    Promotion Test Level
------------------------------------------------------
Amateur              0-10        8
Intern               10-20       18
Apprentice           20-30       28
Junior craftsman     30-40       38
Named                40-50       48
Listed               50-60       58
Permited / Approved  60-70       68

How to Choosing Your Weapons in Lotro

steven on July 20th, 2007

One of the most confusing and oft-debated aspects of LOTRO game mechanics is the general question of whether faster or slower weapon setups are “better”. Specifically, this usually revolves around a debate about dual-wielded weapons versus 2H weapons, but can also apply to a debate about whether guardians are better-served by 1H + Shield setups versus 2H weapons. There are six main aspects to this debate:

• Which setup gives superior auto-attack damage during a short fight: fast or slow weapons? Which is the most important weapon statistic: Speed, DPS, Average Damage, or Max Damage? Which setup is more “power efficient”? In other words, which setup gives you the most damage per point of power expended? Which setup benefits all the “extra swings” and + damage bonus of your weapon-based? What exactly is the interplay between the auto-attack ticks and cool-down timers?
• Do special damage types trump all of the preceding factors?
  

Faster weapons are always superior auto-attack damage in a short fight

The fact that faster weapons always yield superior front-loaded auto-attack damage in short fights is counter-intuitive to most newcomers to the MMO genre, and is therefore contested quite often on discussion forums. Nevertheless, it is a true statement. The basic principle to grasp is simply that a “miss” with a slower but harder-hitting weapon hurts you far more than a miss with a faster but lighter-hitting weapon in a short fight where there is an effective “race” to do N points of damage first. For example, let’s use an extreme and artificial comparison of two players of equal level with weapons that are equal DPS. Player A has the fast weapon and it hits for 10 damage every second. Player B has the slow weapon and it hits for 30 damage every 3 seconds. Both players have 70 hit points.

• Player A needs to connect with 7 hits to kill player B. This could happen as quickly as 7 seconds with a 100% hit rate. Player B needs to connect with 3 hits to kill Player A. This could happen as quickly as 9 seconds with a 100% hit rate.
• If both players experience a 25% miss rate (75% hit rate) here’s how long it takes each player to kill the other.
  • Player A needs 10 attacks (2-3 will be misses); that’s 10 seconds.
  • Player B needs 4 attacks (1 will be a miss); that’s 12 seconds.

Can you see how in all cases, Player A has the statistical advantage? Statistically, Player A will more often win the “race” to do 70 points of damage first because their misses “hurt” a lot less. Missing one big attack puts you behind in the race. This has been proven time and again. And remember, this applies to *short* fights only–that’s where faster weapons always have the edge. Statistically, your odds to “win the race” are better with a faster weapon. This basic principle aside, there are still two unresolved points of contention in LOTRO that could modify this basic principle

• It is yet unproven whether or not your first “strike” of weapon damage occurs immediately upon commencing auto-attack, or must instead occurs after the first “swing delay” of the weapon. Regardless of the true answer to this question, all that gives the slower, harder-hitting weapon is a small “head start” on the “race” compared to the faster, lighter-hitting weapon. The basic principle described in this section still stands, and all this point of contention means for LOTRO, in particular, is that if you can kill something in only 1-3 “hits” then it’s possible that a slower, harder-hitting weapon would win this very extreme kind of “race”. Most fights that will actually yield experience, even fast ones, tend to take more than a few hits, so this point of contention is probably moot.
• It is yet unknown how armor mitigation works in LOTRO.
  • In some MMOs, armor mitigation works by reducing a flat percentage of each hit, so a harder-hiting weapon and a lighter-hitting weapon are equally penalized by the armor mitigation.
  • In other MMOs, however, armor mitigation works by “absorbing” damage off the top of a hit. In this case slower weapons are often better because every hit of a harder-hitting weapon gets more damage through the absorbtion. In these MMOs it was possible for a fast but light-hitting weapon to do practically no damage to a heavily armored foe. It’s worth noting that in previous Turbine games, specifically Asheron’s Call 2, armor mitigation usually worked on an absorption principle, so big-hitting single attacks were far more useful at the high levels than small-hitting “flurry” style attacks

The most important weapon statistic depends on your class and your most-used skills

In many other MMOs, a weapon’s listed DPS statistic was a good indication of overall performance and a good way to compare the relative value different weapons. Unfortunately, this is not the case in LOTRO. DPS is a statistic that is almost a red herring in this game. Instead, the stats that matter are Speed, the Average Damage of the listed damage range (which you must calculate for yourself), and both the Min and Max damage values of the listed damage range.

• Speed determines how often the ticks of your auto-attack cycle occur and how much delay occurs between queued active skills. Note that the effective Speed for dual-wielded weapons will be an average of both weapon’s listed Speeds. Average Damage is calculated by adding both numbers in the weapon’s listed damage range and dividing the result by 2. Average Damage is the most important factor in determining how much damage most of your weapon-based active skills will do. Any skill that uses the keywords “main-hand” or “off-hand” in the skill’s tooltip description is basing that damage component on the full listed damage range for the weapon in your main hand or off hand, and therefore the Average Damage of the weapon is the best indicator of how much damage will be done for each “swing” of main-hand or off-hand damage generated by that skill. The important point here is that a fast weapon will have a high DPS value but a very low Average Damage value, and therefore your weapon-based attack skills will not deliver nearly as much damage as a slow weapon with the same exact DPS (or even a lower DPS) but a much higher Average Damage value. Min damage is the lowest value in the weapon’s listed damage range. This value is important because it determines how much damage that weapon will do when it’s equipped in your off-hand slot.
• Max damage is the highest value in the weapon’s listed damage range. This value is the most important factor in determining how much damage some of the Burglar’s weapon-based active skills will do. Any skill that uses the keywords “max damage” for either the main-hand “swing” or the off-hand “swing” will use that max damage value every time the “swing” hits successfully. For these skills, a weapon with lower DPS but a higher Max value will generate more damage from such skills than a weapon with high DPS or high Avg Damage but a lower Max damage.

Dual-wielding is available to Champions at level 1, Burglars at level 10, and Hunters at level 20. Dual-wielding works much differently in LOTRO than it does in most other MMOs:

• Your effective Speed becomes the average of the Speed value of both your weapons (add both Speed values and then divide by 2). For example, if you have a 2.3 Speed weapon in your main hand and a 1.7 Speed weapon in your off-hand, your effective Speed is 2.0. It does not matter which weapon is in which slot; the effective Speed is the same with either possible combination. There are not separate auto-attack “ticks” for each weapon. Both weapons always attack on the same tick. Our two hypothetical weapons in the previous example would always attack together on a 2.0-second auto-attack tick rate. The weapon in your off-hand slot is capped to hit for the lowest value in the weapon’s listed damage range, plus or minus a small percentage (usually just a point or two on either side of the lowest listed value). This means you generally want to put the weapon with the highest Min damage in your off-hand slot, but this advice should be weighed against all the other considerations covered here. The offhand weapon can still crit at a normal rate (with no penalties for being in the off-hand), but it crits for roughly double the capped off-hand damage range. For example, a 9 - 13 weapon in your off-hand usually hits for 9 points (sometimes 8 or 10 points), and it crits for around 17 points, give or take a point. The off-hand damage reduction mechanics described above affect only your auto-attack damage. All of your weapon-based skills that mention bonus damage based on your “off-hand” weapon are not affected by this damage reduction. In other words, if you have a skill that uses the “max damage” of the off-hand, and your off-hand weapon’s listed Max Damage value is 10, then the bonus damage from that skill is based on a value of 10.
• For Champions only, the Fervour threshold of your various weapon-based active skills is lower (usually by one point) when you dual-wield than when you are wielding a single 1H weapon, a 1H + Shield, or a 2H weapon. When dual-wielding, the Fervour cost will be listed as a flat cost like “3 Fervour” in the skill’s tooltip description. When you are not dual-wielding, the Fervour cost will be listed as a cost like “Requires at least 4 Fervour, but Removes 3 from Fervour”, which means the skill still only costs you 3 Fervour, but you need to attain a threshold of 4 Fervour to queue the skill.

One of the most confusing and oft-debated aspects of LOTRO game mechanics is the general question of whether faster or slower weapon setups are “better”. Specifically, this usually revolves around a debate about dual-wielded weapons versus 2H weapons, but can also apply to a debate about whether guardians are better-served by 1H + Shield setups versus 2H weapons.

There are six main aspects to this debate:

• Which setup gives superior auto-attack damage during a short fight: fast or slow weapons?
• Which is the most important weapon statistic: Speed, DPS, Average Damage, or Max Damage?
• Which setup is more “power efficient”? In other words, which setup gives you the most damage per point of power expended?
• Which setup benefits all the “extra swings” and +damage bonus of your weapon-based?
• What exactly is the interplay between the auto-attack ticks and cool-down timers?
• Do special damage types trump all of the preceding factors?

Slower, harder-hitting weapons are far more power-efficient

The faster your effective Speed, the faster your auto-attack animations execute, so there is less delay between the activation of your queued active skills. Since all active skills cost the same amount of power regardless of your weapon Speed, this means you will burn power at a much faster rate when using fast 1H or dual-wield weapon setups.

In short fights against single, normal “white” foes or easier, power consumption isn’t much of an issue. In longer fights, however, against single “yellow” foes or harder, or against multiple foes, or against signature/elite foes, or in a location with fast respawns, you might be better served with a slow 2H weapon because your power will last longer.

The “extra swings” and +damage bonus of slower weapons are higher with slower weapons, but occur more rapidly with faster weapons

Depending on the weapon-based active skills that you tend to use most often, you might be able to generate more overall damage output by using a slower, harder-hitting weapon. In particular, this comparison applies to dual-wield setups versus 2H weapon setups:

• A dual-wield setup typically yields far more auto-attack DPS and shorter delays between the execution of your queued-up skills than comparable 2H weapons, so you have high auto-attack DPS and faster-occuring damage from your queued-up skills.
• Many weapon-based skills have a +damage bonus value that increases with slower weapons. For example skill X might do +17 damage when you are equipped with a 1H weapon of Speed 2.0 or a dual-wield setup that yields an effective Speed of 2.0, but that same skill X might do +30 damage when you are equipped with a 2H weapon of Speed 3.6.
• Many weapon-based skills effectively generate multiple “swings”. For example, skill Y might deliver 3 “main hand” swings of damage, each of which also has a +damage bonus as well. The total damage output of all these multiple “swings” can be much larger with a slow 2H weapon than with a fast 1H weapon. However, there are two addtional factors to consider:
  • Many of these same skills will add in one or more “off-hand” swings when you are dual-wielding, so the gap in damage might be less than if you examine the skill tooltip with only one 1H weapon equipped.
  • A faster weapon setup might actually let you front-load more of those “extra swings” in the same amount of time as a slower 2H weapon. For example, in a dual-wield setup you might be able to generate something like 6 “extra” swings in first 15 seconds of a fight, but a 2H weapon might generate perhaps only 3 “extra” swings in that same 15 seconds. So even though each 2H “swing” is more damaging than the same “swings” in a dual-wield setup, the total of the 3 slower “swings” might be less that the total of the 6 faster “swings”.

The interplay of these various factors is the main reason for stating that “you might be able to generate more overall damage output by using a slower, harder-hitting weapon”. There are no hard and fast-guidelines in this regard because so much depends on the particular weapon-based skills that you use most often. Your best bet is to equip your best dual-wield setup and look at the skill tooltips, then equip your best 2H weapon and look at the skill tooltips, then do some rough calculations and tests for yourself, remembering that you’ll be able to fire off your attack chains faster with the dual-wield setup.

The auto-attack tick cycle seems to be independent of, but overwritten by, skill execution

It can easily be observed that auto-attack “ticks” seem to occur in between some of your queued skill executions but not others. Also, it can be easily observed that more of these auto-attack ticks seem to occur in-between skill executions when you are using faster weapons. The pattern is difficult to discern through observation, but here is the best guess about how the interaction works, based on at least 30 minutes of testing on several classes while looking specifically for interaction patterns.

• The auto-attack cycle seems to be independent of the queued skill executions and the global cool-down timer. What appears to be happening is that the “ticks” of the auto-attack cycle are simply over-written by skill animations when they occur. If a gap between animations falls in the same spot as a “tick” of the auto-attack cycle, then the auto-attack happens.
  • It does not matter whether the gap between skill animations is due to the global cool-down or due to the next-queued skill still being in its recovery phase.
  • It does not matter whether the skills are weapon-based or not. (Many people mistakenly believe that weapon-based skills happen “on the next auto-attack tick” but non-weapon based skills are somehow independent of auto-attacks.) If you trigger a weapon-based skill in the right spot of the auto-attack cycle, you can easily see the weapon skill damage followed immediately by a tick of auto-attack damage, and the delay between the skill damage and the auto-attack damage can vary by quite a bit depending on when the attack-skill actually begins execution relative to the auto-attack cycle.
• Because the auto-attack ticks occur during opportune gaps in the queued skill chain, it stands to reason that faster weapons have more of a chance to “fit in the gaps” because each tick occurs more frequently. With slower weapons, therefore, you can more easily keep overwriting the auto-attack ticks, so fewer ticks of auto-attack damage are added to your overall damage output.

The bottom line with regard to weapon choice is that faster weapons will ultimately add more auto-attack damage to your total damage output.

Special damage types might trump all of the preceding factors

This section is here mostly as a placeholder for further testing and refinement of this article. It’s reported that weapons with special damage types such as “fire” or “light”, etc. are so effective (versus certain mobs that have low resistance to that damage type) that they trump most or all of the factors described so far.

Based on Turbine’s implementation of elemental damage types in previous games such as Asheron’s Call and Asheron’s Call 2, this could indeed be a very important consideration in weapon choice that could outweigh the preceding factors.

Some general rules of thumb for choosing a fast or slow weapon setup

The preceding sections explain why it can be sometimes complex to answer the question “which is better for me: 1H + Shield, 2H, or dual-wielding?” In general, however, there are some rules of thumb that are safe to apply to most situations. Be aware, though, that in edge cases there could be exceptions to these general guidelines:

• Guardians who are tanking for a group must rely on many active skills to generate as much threat as possible, particularly their shield-based skills. For this reason, a very fast 1H weapon + shield is often the preferred tanking setup not only for the shield mitigation (and the fact that you need a shield to use your shield-based attacks), but because the faster animation times of the 1H auto-attack ticks means less delay between your queued active skills. The faster you can fire off your active skills, the more front-loaded threat you can ultimately generate. Of course, the downside to this is that you’ll also burn power at a faster rate, so you might have to pace yourself or rely on Blue fellowship maneuvers or on a Lore-master or Champion to replenish your power
• If you are fighting easy single foes (”white” or easier) that are not close together, you might kill faster with a dual-wield setup (if you’re a class that can dual-wield), because you’ll sneak in more auto-attack damage and because you’ll be able to spam your skill executions faster. The main consideration here is whether you have time to regenerate your power fast enough between fights, because you’ll burn energy faster this way.
• If you are fighting multiple mobs in a fast-respawning area, or harder single foes (”yellow” or harder), or signatures/elites of any sort, you might be better-served by a slow 2H weapon even if you can dual-wield. This is primarily because your power will last much longer and you are getting more damage per point of power spent.
• Burglars will generally do best with a dual-wield setup that focuses on weapons with a high Max value in their main-hand slot and a high Min value in their off-hand slot.
• Champions and Hunters that are dual-wielding will generally do best with a setup that focuses on weapons with a high Average Damage value in their main-hand slot, with the off-hand slot weapon choice being made according to the following two factors:
  • For fights that you expect to be short, putting the fastest weapon possible in your off-hand slot will make your effective Speed as fast as possible.
  • For fights that you expect to be long, putting a slower weapon with a high Min damage value in your off-hand slot will decrease your power burn rate and yield slightly higher auto-attack damage and “off-hand” damage “swings” from some skills.

Final Fantasy XI Monk Guide

steven on July 20th, 2007

I. Welcome to Monk.

It is pretty much fact, that by most NA players Monk is one of the more overlooked jobs. It’s not “advanced”, we get no damn “circles” abilities or “killer” traits. We just do damage. It is a pretty simple class to play, however still possible to screw up. Wielding a set of knuckles, a monk attacks twice per round. These two attacks are actually considered as one by the game. Boosting before battle gets your first series of attacks a boost in damage. NOT just the first punch. (I’ve done extensive research on this.) Well, that said. Let’s see what this “simple” job has going for it.

====================================================================

II. This is version

.1 More revisions will be forthcoming as they are deamed necessary.
.2 Added a question and answer to the FAQ chapter.
.3 Fixed a spelling error, added the to be more updated, Equipment section.
.4 Added an AF How to guide, under Equipment.
.5 It seems I left out a whole damned section “Playing as a Monk” >.> That’s now corrected.
.6 Added a FAQ, Added Artifact II Armor Stats and Location

====================================================================

III. Job Abilities

Hundred Fists - Level 1 - 2:00:00 timer - 1:00 Duration

If you’ve seen this, you know the beauty of it. Hundred Fists is awesome, there’s no way around it. Assuming you can actually hit the target, it not being IT+++, this will take a significant chunk out of a target’s HP. However, it will draw hate onto you, so the healer had better be prepared to shell out some cures. Use this for a chain 5, or if your group maybe pulls a link into camp.

Boost - Level 5 - :15 timer - 3:00 Duration

Many monks don’t know if boost is worth it or not. Yes, it can seem repetitious to keep boosting while the puller is out getting a new mob. I can only tell you that it is indeed worth it. It is even more worth it when you get Chi Blast, which is highly effected my how many times you’ve boosted, and yet even more worth it when you get you AF gloves (Temple Gloves) which increase the power of boost yet further. Please boost before new fights, I would not recommend boosting during fights, as it slows do your attacks, unless you, for some reason are tanking. Boost draws small aggro, and a Monk tanking can use that to an advantage.

Dodge - Level 15 - 5:00 timer - 2:00 Duration

Dodge is what is says. Once every 5 minutes, for 2 minutes you get a slight evasion increase. The increase strenghtens with AF boots (Temple Gaiters), this is primarily a hate generating tool for when you’re tanking. There really is no reason to use it otherwise. The evasion bonus isn’t too noticeable, and especially not to IT monsters.

Focus - Level 25 - 5:00 timer - 2:00 Duration

Focus is a beautiful thing. It noticeably increases you accuracy for two minutes. Use this as soon as it’s up.

Chakra - Level 35 - 5:00 timer - Instant (on self)

Chakra is simply a healing ability. Your VIT multiplied by 2 (or 3 with AF body gear Temple Cyclas). Very good for farming, also very good when fighting mobs with nasty AOEs.

Chi Blast - Level 41 - 3:00 timer - Instant (to monster)

Chi Blast, early on, is simply a means for the Monk to tack on more damage as the mob is coming in to the camp. Chi Blast power is affected by how many times you’ve boosted in conjunction with your MND stat. Late game, for HNM fights Monks are called on to use Boost and Chi Blast (along with as much MND gear as they can get their hands on) to Chi Blast the HNM. Doing 700-1100 damage is NOT uncommon. Use this ability whenever it’s up, and properly boosted. It’s more damage done by you, the damage dealer.

Counterstance - Level 45 - 5:00 timer - 5:00 Duration

Counterstance drops you def down to 30-60, while greatly increasing your chance to counter. It’s typically not worth it to use Counterstance unless you have a large amount of +counter gear or the AF2 boots (Melee Gaiters) and even then. It’s still more of a personal preferance to use. You either like this ability, or you don’t. I don’t use it that much, maybe when farming if I can remember, but I’d rather not play around with Counterstancing on VT/ITs. That’s just me.

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IV. Job Traits

Martials Arts Level 1, 31, 46, 61, 75.
Unlike any other job save Ninja, Monk get their own built in Haste. Monk’s Hand to Hand fighting has a default delay of 480. The chart below shows how your base delay drops, as your levels rise.

HTH Delay = 480
HTH Delay with Martial Arts I [Monk Lv1] 400
HTH Delay with Martial Arts II [Monk Lv16] 380
HTH Delay with Martial Arts III [Monk Lv31] 360
HTH Delay with Martial Arts IV [Monk Lv46] 340
HTH Delay with Martial Arts V [Monk Lv61] 320
HTH Delay with Martial Arts VI [Monk Lv75] 300

As you can see, Monks get quite speedy come 61+ - 75. Tack on your weapon delay (usally +86, +96, +112) and you have a not so bad damage over time situation. ^_^

Counter - 10 - You will occasionally counter a mobs attack, directed at you. (Will never hear anyone complain about this)

Max HP Boost - 15, 35, 55, 70. Ahh, what monks are known for before the fights even begin. Is that an Elvaan WAR? No, it’s a Taru MNK. Monk get sick HP, which is very nice, considering we need an offset to our pretty damn low defense. You Galka monks better get used to being 150-400 HP above the next highest HP character in your party.

Kick Attacks - 51, 71.
Kicks are completely random, but do generate TP and are an extra attack in the Monk’s favor. They typically do roughly 1/2 of the damage of a punch. Fun to watch, more damage on the mob, who can complain?

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V. Equipment

Being a damager dealer, the main purpose of the job is to (of course) deal damage. However, Monk are the most straight-forward damage dealers in the game. No spells to debuff, no break WSs to use for the benefit of the party, no acid/sleep etc arrows/bolts. Just straight out damage. That being said, Monk is pretty easy to go shopping for. My list of importance for all Monks save Elvaan, and maybe Galka goes STR>ACC>ATK>DEX. Elvaan would be ACC>STR>ATK>DEX, due to their high STR. Build your gear accordingly. Haste items are more often than not, a luxury. If you can afford them, and can still hit hard and often with them, more power to you.

Add will add level to level equipment guide shortly.

======================================================================

VI. Job Combinations

First off, I’m just gonna list possible VIABLE combinations. Crap like MNK/DRG is RIGHT OUT. (Don’t give me that haste earring crap, it’s RIGHT OUT!)

MNK/WAR - This subjob leads the Monk in it’s highest dmg output w/o relying on skillchains. Double Attack, Berserk, Warcry, Atk Bonus, Defense Bonus. These things can not be disputed. However, there are situations when you’ll be forced to sub THF.

MNK/THF - Not worth it before 67. Gaining Steal, Gilfinder, and Sneak Attack. While discarding Double Attack, Berserk, Atk Bonus and Def Bonus is not a choice you should willingly want to make. However after 67 in bones parties if there isn’t a Dark Knight closing the Light skillchain. You WILL be asked to close it, and if you value your life and the sanity of your Paladin and White Mage, you WILL sub THF (with it being at least level 30, for Trick Attack) You don’t sub THF in a bones party, you die or AT LEAST have unnecessary cures burned on you while the Paladin tried frantically to get hate back, not to mention doing less damage because both hits of your Dragon Kick aren’t guarenteed to connect like with /THF. (Also use /THF for farming. Treasure Hunter at 15, and Flee (which is really fun) at 25. Why not just take the bugger to 30 for the Trick Attack? Right?)

MNK/SAM - I’m not a fan of it. Monks are already typically waiting for every other job besides RNG and SAM (maybe a non tanking WAR/NIN) to get TP. Thus being at being at 175TP (due to your Store TP traits) when the DRK, DRG, PLD and what have you get 100, isn’t worth it. That extra TP means just about bugger. Try it sometime. Do a 100TP Howling Fist. The a 175TP Howling Fist, the difference makes you wonder. …and Meditate then soloing your WS. >.> Why bother? Especially since this game is built on leveling off of things like crabs and beetles. As mentioned in the MNK/THF part. Come 67, if you’re in a bones party, that MNK/SAM just don’t play. Cuz now you’re hitting too damn HARD. Thus screwing up the hate system for the PLD, draining the healers MP, trying to heal our gross HP. Causing unnecessary agg on the WHM for having to spam Cure IVs. It just doesn’t fly…on bones MNK are Dragon Kick closers or using Raging Fists to make Fusion for the DRK/THF. And a DRK/THF no way, no how can keep up with a MNK/SAM in TP.

MNK/Mage - No. Only time a MNK/mage works is for HNM battles. The hard ones. And that’s MNK/WHM (MAYBE MNK/SMN) for the MND bonus. From, if you were paying attention, Chi Blast being directly related to MND (and Boost). MNK/WHM with +MND gear = SICK Chi Blast dmg. Especially if the MNK is Elvaan, and to a lesser degree Galka.

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VII. Playing as a Monk

Hit Control+A or type in /assist (name of tank here, minus parenthesis) Congrats. You can now play as a Monk!

Honestly folks, this is the easiest job in the game to play. There is no debuffing, tanking, jumping, repeated skillchaining, or anything else the melee do except damage. The reason why Monks are so great at damage is because that’s ALL they do. A good DRK will toss out some Absorb spells or Aspir on the inevitable crab you’re fighting. Dragoons, well they’re next simple, but they at least jump. We Berserk (if WAR sub) and Focus. Dodge is an utter waste, Chakra only when hit by AOE, Boost in battle is a no no unless you’re trying to hold hate, and Chi Blast is horrible unless Boosted up. That is the simplicity of the Monk. However, some thing that simple job = unfun or even “bad” job. Simply not the case. All through my levels I never got tired of Monk. Never “stopped for a break”, LOVED pounding the hell outta things, and did so in a sound, and better manner than many a Monk I’ve partied with. The extras definately help. Boost before every fight while the puller is out getting the mob. Once you get Chi Blast, boost then Chi Blast as the mob is coming in. However, please don’t boost too high (post 54) lest you screw up the PLD getting hate. It is possible to do 300-500 damage Chi Blast to the mob as it’s coming in. A Paladin provoking after that, means nothing. The Paladin would have to flash as well, as they should, and even then you’re on thin ice till full hate is established.

So, some extra steps to playing your job to it’s pinnacle.
-Boost before all fights, but NOT during them.
-Boost Chi Blast mob as incoming, though don’t get crazy.
-WAR subbers, if with a NIN tank and see NIN having trouble casting
Utsusemi, voke, take a few hits to let the NIN cast.
-If hit with a blind, or poison (paralysis after 58) attack/AOE try telling the WHM not to worry about you. You have Chakra to clear that out of your system. (Then use Chakra, thus saving them some MP)
-EAT YOUR MEATS, sadly I dont see this early on, Monk LIVE off STR. EAT THEM MEATS!
-Keep your gear UP TO DATE. Sadly, yes this means take time out to go and farm/fish/raise a craft. Please guys, just do it. You’re so much better of a Monk with better equips.

I’m sure I’ll think of some more. That’s it for now. Any suggestions? Holler at me.

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VIII. Equipment

This is the list such as it is. Will update from time to time with any new items that S-E adds. Also, please keep in mind, expensive things like Cross-counters, Scorpion Harness and Peacock Charm, aren’t expected. They’re just added into the list for completeness sake. This layout is very similar to Effen’s layout. (He has a FAQ on Allakazham, it’s similar because I agree on ALL of his choices. He seems very wise in the way of the Monk. ^_^;)

Hand To Hand:
Cesti(1), Ryl Ftm Cesti(10), Republic Knuckles (15), Impact Knuckles(32), Mythril Knuckles(38), Pata +1(48), Tactician Magician’s Hooks(50) Cross-Counters (50), Bone Pata+1(56), Spartan Cesti(58), Feral Fangs (66)

Notes: First off, your AF1. As SOON as Oggbi hands them to you, DROP THEM. They are complete crap, and you shouldn’t even entertain the notion of using them in an XP pt. (Yea you can still do AF quests if you don’t have your Beat Cesti) This is how I figure Monk knuckles. On the skill chain chart, 85% of the time, Monks are skillchain closers, typically closing Fusion. With high dmg knuckles you, of course, get higher damage closing Fusion. Which leads to higher damage Fusion, which leads to the mob dying faster, which leads to quicker XP. Monks attack fast enough that they don’t need a 0 delay weapon. Please purchase what’s on the list. I can assure you, it is what’s best for your Monk, and for your XP pt.

Head:
Bronze Cap(1), Hachimaki(8), Monk’s Headgear(11), Merc. Hachimaki(20), Emperor Haripin(24), Merc Cpt Headgear(30), AF(56), Tiger Mask(70), Panzer Mask(72)

Notes: Hairpin is nice, I don’t expect you to have it. But at that low of a level, DEX is your friend since ACC isn’t around yet. The rest of the gear, is pretty much +DEX till 56.

Body:
Bronze Harness(1), Kenpogi(8), Power Gi(13), Beetle Harness(21), Merc. Cpt. Doublet(30), Jujitsu Gi(40), Shinobi Gi(49), Master Gi(55), Scorpian Harness(57)[Hope ya got $$], AF(58)

Notes: Our AF body is beautiful, look forward to it. Before then get yourself a Jiujitsu Gi at 40~ish, and if ya got some extra bucks. A Masters at 55 for added D. No need for a Shinobi if you have Jujitsu, it’s just on the list for those Monks that don’t have Jujitsu.

Hands:
Battle Gloves(14), Fed. Tekko(25), Hume RSE [if you're Hume of course] (27), Ochiudo Kote(34), AF(54), Pallas’s Bracelets (60), Alkyoneus’s Bracelet(70)

Notes: Definate pick up them Battle Gloves. As far as Ochi’s Kote. There is so indistinguishable difference between Ochi’s and AF gloves that I just sold Ochi’s and used the 700k (at the time) and put it towards my Spectacles fund. Alky Bracelets at 70, are PLENTY rare, and plenty expensive. 1.5mil on Seraph, and I can’t ever seem to find Alky up. >.< So I use Pallas’s Bracelets in the mean time.

Legs:
Bronze Subligar(1), Sitabaki(8), Linen Slops(12), Beetle Subligar(21), Republic Subligar(25), Jujitsu Sitabaki(37), Shinobi Hakama(49), Master Sitabaki(53), AF(60), Rasetsu Hakama(72)

Notes: Straight forward. Make sure to pick up Republic Subligar. Has a decent +ATK. Wear that for as long as you like, and aren’t taking hits. Because the other Legs are pretty much just more D/for the looks.

Feet:
Bronze Leggings(1), Kyahan(8), Light Soleas(13), Beetle Leggings(21), Windurstian or Fed. Kyahan(25), Merc. Cpt. Gaiters(30), Fuma Kyahan(39), AF(52), Rasetsu Sune-Ate(72)

Notes: Pretty straight forward. I don’t have the “Kung-Fu Shoes” series in here. They have a hidden effect to increase kick damage, but are SO rarely on the AH that they aren’t even worth mentioning. If you get tired of Orange, at 72 you can buy the Rasetsu boots, some +ATK. Usually I just wear the whole Rasetsu set or the whole AF set. They look stupid mixed. (Also, I’m not a big fan of Fuma, give me AF boots)

Belt:
White Belt(1), Purple Belt(18), Brown Belt(40), Life Belt(48), Black Belt(70)

Notes: ACC > Haste. Those are my “words of wisdom”. Once you find that your attacks are being missed. Then try removing Life Belt for Brown. If you still hit well (or have 2 Sniper’s) then Brown Belt can stay on. About the Black Belt, oh man what a trip that thing is to get. You won’t get it at 70. 75 More likely, since you need to kill 3 HNM (King versions drop the items 100%) WELL worth it!

Earring:
Bone Earrings +1 (16), Beetle Earrings +1(21), Spike Earrings(55), Tortoise Earring+1 [if you can find them] (45)Coral Earrings(63)

Notes: Nothing hard here, +ATK earrings all the way.

Necklace:
Spike Necklace(21), Peacock Charm(33), Spectacles(59),

Notes: Spike Necklace is your friend. STR is more important that ATK. STR, not only is a calculation of ATK, it also *gasp* raises your STR. (ATK *gasp* doesn’t raise your STR) Specs are entirely up to you. The sure were nice to have for me, but if you feel you don’t need them, then give it a try w/o them.

Rings:
Courage Ring(14), Puissance Ring(36), Sniper’s Ring(40), Sun/Victory Ring(54), Ruby Ring (72)

Note: I have Sniper’s Rings in there. Because some Monks like to get their +acc out of the Rings slot, and use Brown Belt. Of course, this way is also more expensive, but viable. Either way you should have either 2 sniper’s or a Life Belt. You decide, how you want to play it.

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Vb. Artifact Armor

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AF Quest name: Wandering Ghost
Lvl req: 40
Talk to whom: Oggbi, Port Bastok/The Restaraunt
AF Name: Beat Cesti
AF Stats: Lv 42, Damage +4, Delay +48, DEX +2, VIT +2, Hit +3
How To: Bring the ‘Pendant of Pickaxe’ dropped by Wandering Ghost, which appears when A pickaxe is used to A small hole at the inner Gusgen Mines.
Tips: Trade a Pickaxe to the ??? At (I’ll add the

shortly) in Gusgen Mines. Go through 2 door,staying on the left hand side. Drop down a hole in the floor, and go to the ??? in the left corner there. You will see a ???. (If lost, maybe ask a miner there) Kill the Wandering Ghost and get the Pendant. And bring it to Oggbi.
PT Needed: 2 LV55 OR 6 members of LV45 at least. (Ghost type mob resist physical attacks)

AF2 Quest name: Re-encounter
Lvl req: Monk lvl 50 (having completed MNK AF1)
Talk to whom: Oggbi, Port Bastok/The Restaraunt
AF Name: Temple Gaiters (Feet)
AF Stats: Lv 52, Def 12, HP +12, DEX +3, Light Resist +10, Enhances ‘Dodge’ Effect
How To: Go to Fei’yin, get into the fighting arena and leave. (I’ll add the

when I can. Suffice to say you need sneak oils and it’s on the 2nd map Eastern side.) An event will take place. After that, investigate the tent at F-6,7 IN Davoi. The two NM Orcs appear. After killing them, investigate the tent again, the get a key item (You’ll have to run around to look for a new flap to lift up. The book will be under that) ‘The Book ON Martial Art of San d’Oria’. Take it to Oggbi.
PT Needed: 5 members of LV55 at least.

AF3 Quest name: Something To Protect
Lvl req: Monk lvl 50 (cleared ‘Re-encounter’)
Talk to whom: Ayame, Bastok Metalworks, Gun Powder Room, Left Side.
AF Name: Temple Hose (Legs)
AF Stats: Lv 60, Def 29, HP +18, Guard Skill +10, Counter +1
How to: Trade A Yaqgudo Drink to the ??? that is in front of the room with a brass door at the top of Castle Oztrjoa. (Just keep going up in Castle O. Top of the steps on a torch you’ll see the ???) An NM ‘Huu Xalmo the Savage’ appears. Kill it and get the ‘Xalmo Feather’. Trade it to Ayame, and the quest is completed.
PT Needed: 15 members of LV58 at least.
Note: This bird counters ALOT. Make sure the Monks are healed, since we attack twice a round it hurts ALOT to fight this thing. And the higher the level of the tank, the better. Tank should probably use Invincible during the Bird’s Hundred Fists.

AF Quest: Boghertz’s Gloves
LVl req: Monk lvl 50 (cleared ‘Re-encounter’)
Talk to whom: Guslam, Upper Jeuno, Armor Shop
AF Name: Temple Gloves (Hands)
AF Stats: Lv 54, Def 14, HP +14, STR +4, Dark Resist +10, Enhances ‘Boost’ effect (about doubles the power of it)
How to: Get a Crawlers’ Nest Coffer Key (dropped off of Helm Beetle, Crawler Hunter, Knight Crawler, Water Elemental and Wespe) Now search the area for a coffer. (I recommmend going to MysterTour and going to there Map1 section, then Crawlers’ Nest to look up the exact coffer spots) Now that you have the “old gauntlets” go talk to Guslam. Then go to Port Jeuno near the Auction House/Chocobo station. You’ll see a ???. Touch it to get a cutscene. Go Castle Zvahl Baileys talk a straight path (no lefts/rights off of the main hall. (Stay sneaked and invis, and in the MIDDLE of the path once you get to a 4-way intersection. Come to a gate with for torches. Touch a torch to spawn Dark Spark (bomb NM). Defeat him and touch the torch again to get your flame. Now go back to Port Jeuno and touch the ??? again. Grats, done.
PT Needed: Basically just an XP PT to do some Helm Beetles, but DS requires 6~ish ppl 55+. Of course, the higher the better.

AF Quest: Garlaige Citadel Coffer
Lvl req/conditions: Having completed Boghertz’s Gloves AF quest.
AF Name: Temple Crown (Head)
AF Stats: Lv56, Def 21, HP +16, MND +5, Enhances ‘Focus’ effect
How to: The Coffer Key drops off of Fallen Mages, Fallen Majors, Wraith Hellmine, Over Weapon, Vault Weapon, Magic Jug, and Tainted Flesh. I recommend sticking with the first two. The most abundant, and you hit hard on skeletons. Once you have the coffer key you need to go behind the 2nd/3rd Banishing Gates. The map is on http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/index.html under Map1 Garlaige Citadel. (better than trying to explain the spawns). You WILL need 4 people to get you behind the gates, and their are platforms you need to stand on.

AF Quest: Beadeaux Coffer
Lvl req/conditions: Having completed (or even started?) Boghertz’s Gloves AF quest.
AF Name: Temple Cyclas (Body)
AF Stats: Lv 58, Def 41, HP +20, VIT +3, Accuracy +5, Enhances ‘Chakra’ effect.
How to: The Coffer Key drops off of Darksteel Quadav, Sapphire Quadav, Ancient Quadav and Platinum Quadav. Once you get the key the coffer area is very close, and very easy (though you might have to eat a death) Once again, check MysteryTour for the map. (You have the Beadeaux map, right? If not, buy it in Bastok)

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Vc. Artifact II Armor

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Head: Melee Crown Lvl 75 Def 23
Effects: HP+5% STR+5 Enmity-3 “Subtle Blow” +6
Dropped where?: Hell. Er, Dynamis - Xarcabard.

Body: Melee Cyclas Lvl 74 Def 44
Effects: HP+5% VIT+5 HP Regen HealingHP +6
Dropped where?: Dynamis - Beaucedine

Hands: Melee Gloves Lvl 73 Def 15
Effects: HP+3% Attack+16 “Subtle Blow”+4 Enhances “Chakra” effect
Dropped where?: Dynamis - Jeuno

Legs: Melee Hose Lvl 72 Def 31
Effects: HP+6% AGI+4 “Kick Attacks”+5 “Subtle Blow”+5
Dropped where?: Dynamis - San d’Oria

Feet: Melee Gaiters Lvl 71 Def 15
Effects: HP+4% DEX+4 Guard skill+12 Enhances “Counterstance” effect
Dropped where?:Dynamis - Bastok

Weapon: Relic Knuckles
Dmg 1 Delay 999
Dynamis Dmg/Delay: Same
Dropped where?: Dynamis - Windurst

Upgrade 1 of Relic Knuckles - Militant Knuckles
Dmg 1 Delay 96
Dynamis Dmg/Delay: +16/96 (Water +7)

Upgrade 2 of Relic Knuckles - Dynamis Knuckles
Dmg 16 Delay 96
Dynamis Dmg/Delay: +18/96 (Water +9)

Upgrade 3 of Relic Knuckles - Caestus
Dmg 23 Delay 96
Dynamis Dmg/Delay: Same
Additional Effect: In Dynamis, may use “Final Heaven” Weaponskill

Final Upgrade Relic Knuckles - Spharai
Dmg 23 Delay 86
Dynamis Dmg/Delay: Same
Additional Effect: May use “Final Heaven” Weaponskill out of Dynamis.
Attack +20, Enhances “Counter” effect.

How to upgrade your knuckles:

Relic Knuckles + Koh-I-Noor, Griffon Leather, and Adaman Sheet
= Militant Knuckles

Militant Knuckles + ? = Dynamis Knuckles

Dynamis Knuckles + Attestion of Might = Caestus

Caestus + Mysitc Fragment = Sparhai.

To make Koh-I-Noor, a 10million gil item that is an HQ3 of the Sparkling Stone dropped in all Dynamis, you need XXXX amount of Byne Bills. I’m currently working on just how many Byne Bills, I do beleive it’s 300 or 400. Though, I could be very wrong. Also working on the forumula to make Militant Knuckles in Dynamis Knuckles.

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Vd. Dynamis Explanation:

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For those of you that don’t know what Dynamis is, you need an alliance of AT LEAST 30 people if you hope to clear an area. There are 6 areas.

Dynamis - Bastok (Takes place in the Bastok Mines)
Dynamis - San D’Oria (Takes place in Southern San D’Oria)
Dynamis - Windurst (Takes place in Windurst Walls)
Dynamis - Jeuno (Takes place in Ru’Lude Gardens)
Dynamis - Beaucedine Glacier
Dynamis - Xarcabard

Upon leveling to level 65, if you visit Xarcabard you will be treated to a cutscene with Raogrimm. (Assuming you’ve defeated the Shadow Lord) You may now enter Dynamis from the Trail Markings spots in the area above that I’ve mentioned. You trade a perpetual hourglass, which is purchased for 1,000,000 gil from the Goblin in Castle. Oztroja, trade this hourglass to the trail markings. If it’s your first time to that Dynamis you will get a cutscene. Congrats, you’re now in the chaos that is Dynamis.

I can only recommend, as a Monk, going there at 70+. And to be honest, most Dynamis Linkshells require you to be 70+. Honestly, 65-69 you can’t hit a damn thing. 70 you start to do well, at 75 you’re on easy street. In Dynamis every mob you fight has a job, and uses two hour when at a certain amount of health. There are even jobs that you’ve never seen before Orc Ninja and such.

I won’t go into further detail, because this isn’t a Dynamis FAQ. It’s a Monk FAQ. I will impart some advice to the Dynamis bound Monks. Sub Ninja. These Dynamis area are FULL of vicious AOEs (from statues, and the []Mega Boss[]) subbing Ninja will make your party WHM very happy, also your party PLD. The WHM needs to worry about curing the PLD, not your ass. Subbing NIN helps this as much as it can be helping. Utsusemi:Ni come 74 is preferrable, but honestly even Ichi is fine. Another tidbit, for Ninja and Thief mobs don’t bother using Raging/Asuran Fists unless you’re a Focussed 74-75. Stick with Dragon Kick or Howling Fist. Keep an eye out for the PLD and THF two hour. You, of course, can not hurt them unless you’re a mage at this time. When you defeat the []Mega Boss[] where the boss was defeated a ??? will appear. You must click this if you haven’t cleared the area already. This will give you a key item and change your title to Dynamis Interloper. You must defeat Dynamis Bastok, San D’Oria, Windurst, and Jeuno to gain access to Dynamis Beaucedine. Pretty sure you must beat Beaucedine to get to Xarcabard.

For further Dynamis information please visit my Dynamis Linkshell webpage @ http://relicwarriors.envy.nu/dynamis.htm

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IX. Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to send me your questions. There are some FAQs on other forums. If you need my opinion on what to do I’d be happy to add it into the FAQ. Typical questions are:

“What’s the best race for Monk?”
Answer: Elvaan > Galka > Mithra = Hume > Taru.
Explanation: Elvaan have the highest STR, and the highest MND. The difference between an Elvaan Monk and a Mithra, Hume, Taru Monk of the same level with the same gear (like that ever happens) is pretty noticeable. Difference between Elvaan and Galka, in both categorys isn’t that noticeable. Keeping in mind there is nothing wrong with being any kind of Monk so long as you respect yourself enough to always have the best equipment you can get, w/o going crazy (Peacock Charms, Scorp Harnesses and what have you). Also, please keep in mind, I’m a Mithra. ^_^; not biased to the Elvaan at all. Just stating what I see to be fact.

“Why do I get picked last for parties?”
Answer: Because pre-60 in the cookie cutter leveling places that many people have set in their minds. Distortion is THE skillchain. Monks can NOT makes Distortion before 60. Explanation: Get used to making your own parties, and doing second hand skillchains till 60. (Cept on beetles, they’re weak to Fusion.) People love to level on the crabs. They think there’s “no other place to level” Which is bull, they just don’t wanna deviate from the proven semi-effective norm. You get picked last for parties also, because many many players like to see what I call “big stupid numbers” they’d rather see another job hit for 76 a swing, then a Monk hit for 40 each punch. This view changes VERY MUCH come “late game” when everyone is begging you to party on the fastest XP in the game with them. (Bones with Light skillchain) In the mean time, you’re gonna have to suffer through it. Make your own parties, and try and keep your chin up.

Fox The Sly asks “I have a question though. Besides Meat Mithkabobs, what other foods benefit Monks? At the Monk board on ffxionline, Red Limit mentioned a certain food with a French sounding name (I forgot, sorry). Do you know what I’m talking about? What benefits does that give?”

My reply: Yup, I do post on Ffxionline.com. Love there forums. As far as alternative food, asides from Meats and Chiefs being the best (chiefs for later lvls when you’re pretty sure you aren’t gonna die. >.> Don’t ever pop a chief in the dunes/qufim/jungle/garlaige.) The only real alternatives are as follows

Red Curry (I’ll be damned if you EVER see these sell) +7 STR +2 AGI -1 INT +24%ATK lasts 1hr 30min.

Dragon Steak (also never seen sold) +7STR -3INT +15%ATK lasts 1hour

and

Dragon Soup (seen a few sell, but if I remember correctly like the others above, they don’t stack) +6STR +2AGI +2VIT -1INT +11%ATK last 1 hour.

So, as you can see, the Miths/Chief pretty much crush the competition, in price and availability.

The “french sounding name” I’ll bet is an ‘au lait’ product. There are many, they range in price from 200gil to 2.4-2.5k they are as follows. (please note they’re under []Drinks[] and can be drank whilst you have food on.

Orange au Lait HP+1/3sec 100 5minutes

Apple au Lait HP+2/3sec 120 3minutes

Pear au Lait HP+3/3sec 300 5minutes

Pamama au Lait HP+2/3sec 400 10minutes

Persikos au lait HP+4/3sec 800 10minutes

A little secret, if you are soloing early on. I’d say lvl 7-15, these are beautiful to have. Virtually ZERO down time, with Pamama and Persikos I dare say you can even make your own exp chains. These are also particularly usefull for genkai 5. The Maat fight, which I will be adding to this FAQ shortly. Keep the questions coming. ^_^

(from a recent post on the GameFAQs forums) “Which are better Ochiudo’s Kote or Temple Gloves?” (My reply in the post) First off, been there done that with the “Boost with AF gloves, fight with Kote” crap. Just not worth your character blinking every damn fight so you can get a good strong Chi Blast off, and fight with Kote on.

Second, it is my beleif that Temple Gloves > Kote 54+. Especially come 65+ you have TOO much damn atk (especially if subbing WAR and having Berserk, eating meat miths) for 20attack to mean a damned thing. ATK caps, STR doesn’t. ATK is a function of STR!

I’ve also parsed this damage on various mobs. Bones, crabs, crawlers. The damage from Kote seems to help WS damage bottom come up a bit, but straight punching it’s all Temple Gloves. (Though my Mithra ass uses Pallas’s Bracellets, Alkyoneus is a stingy mother or I’d have his). +STR > +ATK for a Monk.

It’s just that at 34 when the Kotes become available the amount of ATK they add outshines the STR you can get at that level, but rest assured as levels rise, the returns diminish. If you’re doing more damage with Kote then with Temple Gloves on you still need to sell them Kote get your $$ and buy some more +STR gear. A whole damn lot of it you could get with the price of them Kote. (650+K)

Besides even if you are a +ATK freak Melee Gloves (AFII) > O. Kote. Though I’d use those just to stack the “Enhance Chakra” on with Temple Cyclas.

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X. Credits

Thanks to the Gamefaqs.com board trolls for having me fall asleep laughing every night. Keep up the funny XXX vs YYY threads! Thanks to the people in game that helped me get my Monk to were it is. …and that’s about it. Take care. See you again!

Copyright Akumu X 2004

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XI. Summary

Monk is straight damage that can’t make distortion till 60, and doesn’t hit particularly hard on beetles, and is pretty much double wammied on crabs. However, these set-backs make end game all the more bitter sweet. Come 67, the XP just don’t stop. You may not get too many JP invites, but once you take some NA down into Gustav Tunnel and you’re chain 4ing your first time there, everyone will decide that’s where they want to level. I’ve been invited solely because people wanted to lvl there. I being the only NA Monk 67-74 at the time, there was little option. It was if Kirei’s on, get her. (Though I’m a guy, people call me “her” because I am a Mithra) This is what you have to look forward to. Struggle on to acheive it, because I guarentee, you won’t be disappointed. On a final note, as much as I’d like to help people out, please don’t ask me to help with your Genkai and AF quests. Rather, you can ask, but don’t be dissapointed if I can’t come. Strangely enough, I’m usually pretty damn busy in game. Leveling Ranger (next job), HNMs, Missions, helping LS members, I’ll try and help my fellow Monks, but I can’t make you any promises. ^_^; That said, enjoy the job. Eat your meats. Get the best gear you can afford, while understanding that your gear, is your damage. Lastly, no matter the sub job you choose…KEEP IT AT 1/2 of YOUR MAIN! ^_^;