5 is good to be sure, but I can't pass up trying to pull on 4 and seeing if I can get the SSB for Aerith. I really need a medica on her and an aoe Reraise+raise is too good to pass up, that could be a serious game changer on fights and would rocket her up my healing tier list since she already has planet protector.
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IlpalaJust this guy, y'knowTexasRegistered Userregular
Sitting at 208 mythril as of this morning with all content currently cleared. Dunno what I'll do if we get lucky draws but as is, the weakest part of my trinity is medicas. I could also just really use some decent SSB's (only one is Tyro's piddly one)
FF XIV - Qih'to Furishu (on Siren), Battle.Net - Ilpala#1975
Switch - SW-7373-3669-3011
Fuck Joe Manchin
Keep in mind that Aerith's SSB Medica + Reraise (not Raise), like all other SSB Medica + Reraise, is only h50 strength. Also that a Reraise'd party member comes back at 40% HP without any buffs or debuffs, and that you'll still fail to complete any "Defeat X Without Being KO'd" bonus medal conditions.
If that medal condition isn't present, it's better, but you still need to rebuff and heal them or else they'll just die again.
Keep in mind that Aerith's SSB Medica + Reraise (not Raise), like all other SSB Medica + Reraise, is only h50 strength. Also that a Reraise'd party member comes back at 40% HP without any buffs or debuffs, and that you'll still fail to complete any "Defeat X Without Being KO'd" bonus medal conditions.
If that medal condition isn't present, it's better, but you still need to rebuff and heal them or else they'll just die again.
The point of Reraise though is that you apply it before they die. So in reality what you are looking at is a Medica, which then makes it so if they die later int he fight, they are automatically raised right then and there. This means you can typically get them a heal or buff or what have you AND they can fight in the meantime (since they likely just died right after a bosses attack, they'll have time to act and you'll have time to heal them)
The alternative being they die, and are now dead and can't do anything.
It's insurance basically. The most important thing is the Medica on Aeirth personally, but the reraise has the potential to bring out a win when you would have otherwise lost (such as the boss hitting one last time and killing 4 party members on an Ultimate fight before you kill it, etc)
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I'm gonna pull on the 4th banner because I want Aerith's Re-Raise SSB. Plus Locke's weapon is there too, and I hear Locke is about to get super cool.
@Rius I was planning on spending all of my naturally accumulated stamina on the Orb Fest. And I know I need Hones of 4* abilities. Most of my 4* abilities are at R2 or R3, and I need to get them to R4 or R5. But man. It's just so hard to spend mithril right now when all these great banners are literally 1-3 weeks away.
I'm gonna pull on the 4th banner because I want Aerith's Re-Raise SSB. Plus Locke's weapon is there too, and I hear Locke is about to get super cool.
@Rius I was planning on spending all of my naturally accumulated stamina on the Orb Fest. And I know I need Hones of 4* abilities. Most of my 4* abilities are at R2 or R3, and I need to get them to R4 or R5. But man. It's just so hard to spend mithril right now when all these great banners are literally 1-3 weeks away.
Locke is pretty great, but with Thief's Raid he's good without his SSB. His SSB and TR are kind of at odds, as the first does more damage when you're hurt and the second heals. That said, I'd rather have the relic just to save Major Wind and Lightning orbs at this point.
seems like there are some mistakes on those banners. Yuffie's headband has a "Soul Strike" rather than a Soul Break. The group shot shows Lenna having a sword, but then in the individual banners it looks like that sword is for Steiner. Someone on kbp commented that P Cecil's SSB should give more than +10 HP, because lol
I'm excited about Phase 4 of orbfest, because right now Full Break is gated by Ice for me, but Power and Black are obviously great too.
I'll be doing stamina refills like crazy to stock up for the future 5* skills. I'd like to pull for Aerith's SSB, but that 50 mithril can net me a lot of Orbs.
It's still a gross oversight that they left out Y'shtola's Thyrus from any of the banners. The opportunity for either Wall relic would be far better than to have only one chance, for a character that is really divided in terms of popularity. Tyro would basically be poop from a butt if he didn't have Wall, and would only be a character you bring to like, 2-3 fights for very specific setups. His stats are awful otherwise and ignoring his utility, some people just plain don't like him.
I've never blown mythril on stamina refreshes during orb fests, but I would recommend players who joined recently or are coming back from some kind of hiatus should. There is no need for high hones, but R4 in many skills makes winning some fights much less of a headache.
My personal suggestions for abilities to hone as a goal:
Black:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water/Bio - R4
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water - R4
Stop - R4 (there are a few bosses you can abuse with chain stopping and an auto-Haste RM, very situational)
Ruinga - R3
Meteor - R2
White:
Protega/Shellga - R2
Slowga - R1 (should be enough, situational for boss conditions if you can't fit/don't like the % on Tempo Flurry)
Diaga - R4
Curaja - R4
Renewing Cure - R4
Memento Prayer - R2
Summon:
Ifrit/Shiva/Ramuh - R4
Carbuncle - R2
Maduin or Valefor - R4
Fat Chocobo - R2 (if you have no other earth elemental damage)
Odin or Bahamut - the consensus on this is Odin is great, but Bahamut will deal more than 9999 after the buff. There's no other need for MSOs, but MNEOs and MLOs are precious, and both require Major Dark, which see more use in newer future abilities such as Thief's Raid and Break Fever. The call is yours on whether you like Summon magic enough or not.
Combat:
Double Cut - R4, make a couple of copies if you use retaliate builds a lot
Power/Magic/Armor Break - R3
Pound - R3 (solid 2.25x mod. damage, never misses even if afflicted with Blind status)
Lifesiphon - R3, if you have more than 1 SSB/BSB across characters, you will want a few copies of this
Support:
Silence Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Venom Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Power/Magic/Armor Breakdown - R3
Full Break - R2
Celerity:
Tempo Flurry - R4 (more than 1 copy usually isn't needed, and it doubles as your Slow status applicator for boss conditions)
Dismissal - R3
Spellblade:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Drain/Water/Aero/Bio Strike - R3
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder Strike - R3
(Main reason for fewer hones on Spellblades is you're usually accompanying them with Black Mages, who will almost exclusively be casting spells to trigger vulnerabilities. Spellblades usually have an additional skill set that you may need to slot in another ability to maximize their potential)
All other skill sets:
This becomes your own personal playground, and what you feel comfortable with determines where you'll hone skills. I like the Knight ability set, and therefore have Banishing Strike up to R4 and Draw Fire/Magic Lure up to R3. When Saint's Cross comes with FFT, I'll probably hone that up to R3 as soon as I can. Armor Strike also looks good, but since Saint's Cross is now about 2 weeks away, I'm just waiting.
Most Dragoon skills mimic some Spellblade skills, so the hone suggestions would be identical. Monk's have a fantastic ability set now, and Kick should be a must-have at R3, minimum. Punishing Palm or Piercing Strike are both good skills to consider. Thief skills mimic a lot of Support skills, with the benefit of buffing the Thief. Power Steal is probably the best of these skills and should be R3 minimum. When Thief's Raid becomes available, hone that to R3 when possible.
Samurai got some good skills in the last few events. Fire Blossom is great Fire AoE, R3 should be considered, if for nothing more than trash clearing on dailies. Mirror of Equity pairs nicely with anything a 4* Samurai can do, and should be R3 as well. Yukikaze and Darkmoon are situational, but you can consider bringing them up to R2. Ninjas have interesting abilities, but I would actually argue that any character with a Ninja skillset, is almost never bringing a Ninja ability to the fight. They're almost entirely situational. Black Mages cast spells better, and a Ninja does a better job with a Steal Power from Thief. Shadowsteel has only been required for one boss fight, and is handy for other bosses provided they're not immune. Phantasm is a good AoE sleep, but situational again.
Bard gets great AoE party buffs, hone Rallying Etude and Mana's Paean to R2. Spellbend and Enveloping are good if you don't have room on your White Mage for Protega/Shellga. Dancer abilities are all enemy group debuffs, but there's still a few on the way as they don't all have "breakdown" versions yet. R3 would be advised for any skills you make. If you really like Dancers, Break Fever is a must create and hone when it becomes available. Machinist skill sets are too new yet, but their skills are very good if you can exploit a status on a boss. I would hone to R3 if you plan on using them.
Man. Banner 5 looks fantastic, but I'm not terribly tempted on anything else except maybe 4. I think I still want to hold some mythril back for something with more armor on it... FFT, for example.
Keep in mind that by the time the actual banners start, we should have all the accumulated rewards from things like the trivia and fortune egg thing, not to mention the mythril from the FF2 event that you're better off ignoring pulling for relics on. That's roughly 35 mythril right there, excluding the extra mythril from logging in, Yuna's event, and all the mythril from each Orbfest phase. It's a guaranteed 11-pull, and even I'm tempted to spend a little on the lucky banners, and banner 4 and 5.
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
Are we getting machinist replacements for all the busters?
Keep in mind that by the time the actual banners start, we should have all the accumulated rewards from things like the trivia and fortune egg thing, not to mention the mythril from the FF2 event that you're better off ignoring pulling for relics on. That's roughly 35 mythril right there, excluding the extra mythril from logging in, Yuna's event, and all the mythril from each Orbfest phase. It's a guaranteed 11-pull, and even I'm tempted to spend a little on the lucky banners, and banner 4 and 5.
Oh, if there are lucky banners, you can bet your ass I'm pulling on them. My RS gaps are everywhere but like, generic swords/knives for 6 and 7. Banner 5 is just the only one I already have most of the characters for it already leveled, and eggs are still at a relative premium for me.
So it came as a real surprise to me when the combat became fairly tactical and strategic in this game, and building teams for hard content became a thoughtful process.
A year ago when I started playing, I was literally just pokemoning some FF dudes. I do the story because of pokemon. I need all the characters. Got to catch 'em all. I just got Gau, who was the last named character I needed. And the guy with the wolf hat at the end of DU19 is the last generic I need. So I'm literally 1 character away from full pokemon status.
I have been focusing on them pretty heavily in lieu of daily farming. I wanted a huge Stamina pool for refreshes in case we got a full Orbfest (huzzah), and also needed to build up some Mythril to spend since I kept zeroing myself out. Tradeoff is by the time FFT is done I'll have no more Mythril income from story realms, but I think it'll be worth it. I really want to go nuts with 5* abilities.
Man, fucking Cardinal on banner 5. Of course the one SSB I managed to get in the last fest is on the only banner with wall because thyrus is gone because reasons. Oh well, Banner 5 is still the best one for me since Wutai Headband and Wall are really good, and all the SSBs are pretty good though I can already feel the 3 cardinal draw salt coming. Gilgamesh's would be nice as I don't have any way of getting high regen on. Wish the physical SSBs weren't all AoE as well.
Well, going to have 600 something mithril, so might throw 50 at banner 1 for a chance at bartz' SSB, and I could use an FF8/9 melee weapon or a real gun. Probably 300+ on 5 chasing that SG and then the leftovers for lucky draws and tactics.
I have been focusing on them pretty heavily in lieu of daily farming. I wanted a huge Stamina pool for refreshes in case we got a full Orbfest (huzzah), and also needed to build up some Mythril to spend since I kept zeroing myself out. Tradeoff is by the time FFT is done I'll have no more Mythril income from story realms, but I think it'll be worth it. I really want to go nuts with 5* abilities.
I want to craft and hone..almost every 5* ability. It's bad.
It's still a gross oversight that they left out Y'shtola's Thyrus from any of the banners. The opportunity for either Wall relic would be far better than to have only one chance, for a character that is really divided in terms of popularity. Tyro would basically be poop from a butt if he didn't have Wall, and would only be a character you bring to like, 2-3 fights for very specific setups. His stats are awful otherwise and ignoring his utility, some people just plain don't like him.
I've never blown mythril on stamina refreshes during orb fests, but I would recommend players who joined recently or are coming back from some kind of hiatus should. There is no need for high hones, but R4 in many skills makes winning some fights much less of a headache.
My personal suggestions for abilities to hone as a goal:
Black:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water/Bio - R4
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water - R4
Stop - R4 (there are a few bosses you can abuse with chain stopping and an auto-Haste RM, very situational)
Ruinga - R3
Meteor - R2
White:
Protega/Shellga - R2
Slowga - R1 (should be enough, situational for boss conditions if you can't fit/don't like the % on Tempo Flurry)
Diaga - R4
Curaja - R4
Renewing Cure - R4
Memento Prayer - R2
Summon:
Ifrit/Shiva/Ramuh - R4
Carbuncle - R2
Maduin or Valefor - R4
Fat Chocobo - R2 (if you have no other earth elemental damage)
Odin or Bahamut - the consensus on this is Odin is great, but Bahamut will deal more than 9999 after the buff. There's no other need for MSOs, but MNEOs and MLOs are precious, and both require Major Dark, which see more use in newer future abilities such as Thief's Raid and Break Fever. The call is yours on whether you like Summon magic enough or not.
Combat:
Double Cut - R4, make a couple of copies if you use retaliate builds a lot
Power/Magic/Armor Break - R3
Pound - R3 (solid 2.25x mod. damage, never misses even if afflicted with Blind status)
Lifesiphon - R3, if you have more than 1 SSB/BSB across characters, you will want a few copies of this
Support:
Silence Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Venom Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Power/Magic/Armor Breakdown - R3
Full Break - R2
Celerity:
Tempo Flurry - R4 (more than 1 copy usually isn't needed, and it doubles as your Slow status applicator for boss conditions)
Dismissal - R3
Spellblade:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Drain/Water/Aero/Bio Strike - R3
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder Strike - R3
(Main reason for fewer hones on Spellblades is you're usually accompanying them with Black Mages, who will almost exclusively be casting spells to trigger vulnerabilities. Spellblades usually have an additional skill set that you may need to slot in another ability to maximize their potential)
All other skill sets:
This becomes your own personal playground, and what you feel comfortable with determines where you'll hone skills. I like the Knight ability set, and therefore have Banishing Strike up to R4 and Draw Fire/Magic Lure up to R3. When Saint's Cross comes with FFT, I'll probably hone that up to R3 as soon as I can. Armor Strike also looks good, but since Saint's Cross is now about 2 weeks away, I'm just waiting.
Most Dragoon skills mimic some Spellblade skills, so the hone suggestions would be identical. Monk's have a fantastic ability set now, and Kick should be a must-have at R3, minimum. Punishing Palm or Piercing Strike are both good skills to consider. Thief skills mimic a lot of Support skills, with the benefit of buffing the Thief. Power Steal is probably the best of these skills and should be R3 minimum. When Thief's Raid becomes available, hone that to R3 when possible.
Samurai got some good skills in the last few events. Fire Blossom is great Fire AoE, R3 should be considered, if for nothing more than trash clearing on dailies. Mirror of Equity pairs nicely with anything a 4* Samurai can do, and should be R3 as well. Yukikaze and Darkmoon are situational, but you can consider bringing them up to R2. Ninjas have interesting abilities, but I would actually argue that any character with a Ninja skillset, is almost never bringing a Ninja ability to the fight. They're almost entirely situational. Black Mages cast spells better, and a Ninja does a better job with a Steal Power from Thief. Shadowsteel has only been required for one boss fight, and is handy for other bosses provided they're not immune. Phantasm is a good AoE sleep, but situational again.
Bard gets great AoE party buffs, hone Rallying Etude and Mana's Paean to R2. Spellbend and Enveloping are good if you don't have room on your White Mage for Protega/Shellga. Dancer abilities are all enemy group debuffs, but there's still a few on the way as they don't all have "breakdown" versions yet. R3 would be advised for any skills you make. If you really like Dancers, Break Fever is a must create and hone when it becomes available. Machinist skill sets are too new yet, but their skills are very good if you can exploit a status on a boss. I would hone to R3 if you plan on using them.
This is a REALLY good list and should be in the OP.
The only part I would slightly disagree with is R3 on the Breakdowns. In my experience R2 has always been more than enough and I think the orbs could be better spent elsewhere. That being said, R3 isn't BAD by any means as the breakdown skills hit pretty hard and being able to be super liberal with them is also good.
Again just a very minor point of differing opinion but otherwise that is a splendid list and write up!
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silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
But, but, what happened to the weekend Orbfests?!
No Thyrus is rude.
SG on last banner is a cold money grab.
Now I'm not sure what I've been saving Mythril for.
I think that list is ok with a few exceptions (4* Spellblades? 20 more GSOs for R2 Carbuncle? Pound?), but it doesn't do much for new players, which is who I'd like the OP to contain info for.
I might take that list as a starting point and whip up a thing that says "Here's what to use your Power orbs on, your Black orbs on, your Summon orbs on, etc."
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
Also, just noticed, they took Princess's favor and Hymn of the Fayth off the banners, which were the two best items besides the walls, and incidentally, the only items I was going to pull for.
I think that list is ok with a few exceptions (4* Spellblades? 20 more GSOs for R2 Carbuncle? Pound?), but it doesn't do much for new players, which is who I'd like the OP to contain info for.
I might take that list as a starting point and whip up a thing that says "Here's what to use your Power orbs on, your Black orbs on, your Summon orbs on, etc."
You could always reorder the list to prioritize, but Pound and 4* Spellblades are both very solid, albeit maybe not for a new player.
The OP should contain easily accessible information for all players, not just new players IMO. Questions that are asked frequently in thread should be listed there as well as links to common resources.
Often good information is brought up in thread but missed because it moves pretty quickly. Stuff like "What abilities should I focus on getting" is extremely useful information for all players, especially given just how many abilities there are in game.
Again, just my opinion of course
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Also, just noticed, they took Princess's favor and Hymn of the Fayth off the banners, which were the two best items besides the walls, and incidentally, the only items I was going to pull for.
The salt is real here.
Watch, you'll do a lucky banner pull, and get them anyway. I mean, trying to be optimistic.
Yeah, feel free to take my list and re-arrange. I agree that some skills like Pound and 4* spellblades are maybe excessive, particularly since I outlined why you wouldn't need spellblade abilities as badly. If anything, the main one to hone would be Aerora Strike since it's the best source of Wind damage on a common skill set that BLMs don't have any access to. The rest are icing.
I have found R2 Carbuncle to be very worth the investment though. Fights can often stretch the duration of the first one and a second application may be required. The first fight where it was really required was Seymour and his Guado Guardians. Lately, however, Carbuncle has fallen into that "situational" category, but then, I find pretty much all Summon magic is that way. Great for AoE/trash clearing, but R3 Ruinga does just as good if not better than any R5 Summon, save for Odin.
335 mithril and while I have wall, I have very little else when it comes to any unique sb relics. Iam tempted to pull once or twice on the ssb banners, but I am also hoping for a relic for both ramza and agrias.
Reddit thinks we may be getting 80 some mithril by banner 5. For lucky banners, we might not get 25 mithril x 3, it might only be 25 and 3 lucky banners.
Saw a link on reddit to a translated lucky banner, looks like we might be getting one lucky banner for each phase of the celebration, which would be kinda nuts.
BTW, want to thank whoever mentioned the main battle theme for FFMQ during that discussion a couple pages back. I could remember the overworld theme and the boss theme, but not the main battle theme, so I looked it up last night. Now I've been enjoying it in my head all day today (not sarcastic).
I think that list is ok with a few exceptions (4* Spellblades? 20 more GSOs for R2 Carbuncle? Pound?), but it doesn't do much for new players, which is who I'd like the OP to contain info for.
I might take that list as a starting point and whip up a thing that says "Here's what to use your Power orbs on, your Black orbs on, your Summon orbs on, etc."
Needs more ZZZ. Sleep, Lullaby and phantasm are all great skills in the same vein of Stop. When they work it's a game changer.
Not sure about -ara level spells either, can't recall the last time that I brought them to a fight, even with Mage Meta. Good stepping stones to -aja though.
Bluecyan on
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
Good lord Lake Dohr Elite!
Auron was hitting for a good 2.6k with boost. Took FOREVER to knock him all down.
Man, fucking Cardinal on banner 5. Of course the one SSB I managed to get in the last fest is on the only banner with wall because thyrus is gone because reasons. Oh well, Banner 5 is still the best one for me since Wutai Headband and Wall are really good, and all the SSBs are pretty good though I can already feel the 3 cardinal draw salt coming. Gilgamesh's would be nice as I don't have any way of getting high regen on. Wish the physical SSBs weren't all AoE as well.
Well, going to have 600 something mithril, so might throw 50 at banner 1 for a chance at bartz' SSB, and I could use an FF8/9 melee weapon or a real gun. Probably 300+ on 5 chasing that SG and then the leftovers for lucky draws and tactics.
We are in the same boat with Cardinal. Only consolation is that since SG isn't a SSB I think we have an easier time drawing it?
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
I have to wonder if anyone has ever saved 500 or so Mythril for a banner, get what they want early on, and then go "Now what do I do with the rest of this Mythril? "
Typical banner logic: 2% for each featured SBs, 1% for each featured SSB/BSSB and then about 1% for non featured stuff. So good news for those looking for SG, bad news for those looking for SSBs.
Trying to decide if I should level up everyone to 65 or focus on those who are level broken or just try and get one super team to 80 for the upcoming orbfests.
I have to wonder if anyone has ever saved 500 or so Mythril for a banner, get what they want early on, and then go "Now what do I do with the rest of this Mythril? "
Said no one ever.
Actually happened to me during the first SSB banner. Was going to chase Lulu's hairpin, got that and Terra's bustier on the first pull, then promptly pocketed 150 mythril which is the only reason I have nearly 600 now.
As someone who's fairly low-powered, I find it hard to get that excited about the orbfests and improving hones. Obviously, I know they'll be a huge help eventually, but right now, I lack a lot of the equipment and RMs needed to even get far enough into those big battles before having higher hones starts to make a difference. I'm certainly going to refresh on some because I need stuff like Full Break and/or basically ALL summons/magic AoE pretty badly, but orbs are also about to get a bit easier to farm too with the added daily, so my goal probably won't be much more than getting the 5* basics in place, and using the rest to try to fill in my numerous equipment decifiencies.
Subject to change if I actually get lucky on the lucky draws or whatever.
The XP is ridiculous inside Orb Fest dungeons also. Run the hell out of those dungeons, level your dudes, and consider the orbs a bonus. You certainly will appreciate them now. But the XP inside there makes it worth it on it's own. Imagine the Sundaily for 2 full weeks straight. Sometimes better if you get lucky and spawn a bunch of MiniTuars.
Posts
Best mage right now (Terra, Strago and a few other mages are getting summon access in time for the summon Abyss)
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Fuck Joe Manchin
If that medal condition isn't present, it's better, but you still need to rebuff and heal them or else they'll just die again.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
38thDoE on steam
For reals? Well, that's awesome. Still need to rebuff, but I wouldn't hate to pull one now.
Edit: Also OP/2OP updated
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
The point of Reraise though is that you apply it before they die. So in reality what you are looking at is a Medica, which then makes it so if they die later int he fight, they are automatically raised right then and there. This means you can typically get them a heal or buff or what have you AND they can fight in the meantime (since they likely just died right after a bosses attack, they'll have time to act and you'll have time to heal them)
The alternative being they die, and are now dead and can't do anything.
It's insurance basically. The most important thing is the Medica on Aeirth personally, but the reraise has the potential to bring out a win when you would have otherwise lost (such as the boss hitting one last time and killing 4 party members on an Ultimate fight before you kill it, etc)
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@Rius I was planning on spending all of my naturally accumulated stamina on the Orb Fest. And I know I need Hones of 4* abilities. Most of my 4* abilities are at R2 or R3, and I need to get them to R4 or R5. But man. It's just so hard to spend mithril right now when all these great banners are literally 1-3 weeks away.
Locke is pretty great, but with Thief's Raid he's good without his SSB. His SSB and TR are kind of at odds, as the first does more damage when you're hurt and the second heals. That said, I'd rather have the relic just to save Major Wind and Lightning orbs at this point.
I'm excited about Phase 4 of orbfest, because right now Full Break is gated by Ice for me, but Power and Black are obviously great too.
I've never blown mythril on stamina refreshes during orb fests, but I would recommend players who joined recently or are coming back from some kind of hiatus should. There is no need for high hones, but R4 in many skills makes winning some fights much less of a headache.
My personal suggestions for abilities to hone as a goal:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water/Bio - R4
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Water - R4
Stop - R4 (there are a few bosses you can abuse with chain stopping and an auto-Haste RM, very situational)
Ruinga - R3
Meteor - R2
White:
Protega/Shellga - R2
Slowga - R1 (should be enough, situational for boss conditions if you can't fit/don't like the % on Tempo Flurry)
Diaga - R4
Curaja - R4
Renewing Cure - R4
Memento Prayer - R2
Summon:
Ifrit/Shiva/Ramuh - R4
Carbuncle - R2
Maduin or Valefor - R4
Fat Chocobo - R2 (if you have no other earth elemental damage)
Odin or Bahamut - the consensus on this is Odin is great, but Bahamut will deal more than 9999 after the buff. There's no other need for MSOs, but MNEOs and MLOs are precious, and both require Major Dark, which see more use in newer future abilities such as Thief's Raid and Break Fever. The call is yours on whether you like Summon magic enough or not.
Combat:
Double Cut - R4, make a couple of copies if you use retaliate builds a lot
Power/Magic/Armor Break - R3
Pound - R3 (solid 2.25x mod. damage, never misses even if afflicted with Blind status)
Lifesiphon - R3, if you have more than 1 SSB/BSB across characters, you will want a few copies of this
Support:
Silence Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Venom Buster - R3 (situational for boss conditions)
Power/Magic/Armor Breakdown - R3
Full Break - R2
Celerity:
Tempo Flurry - R4 (more than 1 copy usually isn't needed, and it doubles as your Slow status applicator for boss conditions)
Dismissal - R3
Spellblade:
3* Fire/Ice/Thunder/Drain/Water/Aero/Bio Strike - R3
4* Fire/Ice/Thunder Strike - R3
(Main reason for fewer hones on Spellblades is you're usually accompanying them with Black Mages, who will almost exclusively be casting spells to trigger vulnerabilities. Spellblades usually have an additional skill set that you may need to slot in another ability to maximize their potential)
All other skill sets:
This becomes your own personal playground, and what you feel comfortable with determines where you'll hone skills. I like the Knight ability set, and therefore have Banishing Strike up to R4 and Draw Fire/Magic Lure up to R3. When Saint's Cross comes with FFT, I'll probably hone that up to R3 as soon as I can. Armor Strike also looks good, but since Saint's Cross is now about 2 weeks away, I'm just waiting.
Most Dragoon skills mimic some Spellblade skills, so the hone suggestions would be identical. Monk's have a fantastic ability set now, and Kick should be a must-have at R3, minimum. Punishing Palm or Piercing Strike are both good skills to consider. Thief skills mimic a lot of Support skills, with the benefit of buffing the Thief. Power Steal is probably the best of these skills and should be R3 minimum. When Thief's Raid becomes available, hone that to R3 when possible.
Samurai got some good skills in the last few events. Fire Blossom is great Fire AoE, R3 should be considered, if for nothing more than trash clearing on dailies. Mirror of Equity pairs nicely with anything a 4* Samurai can do, and should be R3 as well. Yukikaze and Darkmoon are situational, but you can consider bringing them up to R2. Ninjas have interesting abilities, but I would actually argue that any character with a Ninja skillset, is almost never bringing a Ninja ability to the fight. They're almost entirely situational. Black Mages cast spells better, and a Ninja does a better job with a Steal Power from Thief. Shadowsteel has only been required for one boss fight, and is handy for other bosses provided they're not immune. Phantasm is a good AoE sleep, but situational again.
Bard gets great AoE party buffs, hone Rallying Etude and Mana's Paean to R2. Spellbend and Enveloping are good if you don't have room on your White Mage for Protega/Shellga. Dancer abilities are all enemy group debuffs, but there's still a few on the way as they don't all have "breakdown" versions yet. R3 would be advised for any skills you make. If you really like Dancers, Break Fever is a must create and hone when it becomes available. Machinist skill sets are too new yet, but their skills are very good if you can exploit a status on a boss. I would hone to R3 if you plan on using them.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Steam: TheArcadeBear
38thDoE on steam
We have Blind and Silence Shot. We get Poison and Confuse down the road.
The 5* Machinist ability is an AoE Bio.
Oh, if there are lucky banners, you can bet your ass I'm pulling on them. My RS gaps are everywhere but like, generic swords/knives for 6 and 7. Banner 5 is just the only one I already have most of the characters for it already leveled, and eggs are still at a relative premium for me.
Still have a lot of Elites to go. I'm at 136 stamina.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
A year ago when I started playing, I was literally just pokemoning some FF dudes. I do the story because of pokemon. I need all the characters. Got to catch 'em all. I just got Gau, who was the last named character I needed. And the guy with the wolf hat at the end of DU19 is the last generic I need. So I'm literally 1 character away from full pokemon status.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Well, going to have 600 something mithril, so might throw 50 at banner 1 for a chance at bartz' SSB, and I could use an FF8/9 melee weapon or a real gun. Probably 300+ on 5 chasing that SG and then the leftovers for lucky draws and tactics.
I want to craft and hone..almost every 5* ability. It's bad.
This is a REALLY good list and should be in the OP.
The only part I would slightly disagree with is R3 on the Breakdowns. In my experience R2 has always been more than enough and I think the orbs could be better spent elsewhere. That being said, R3 isn't BAD by any means as the breakdown skills hit pretty hard and being able to be super liberal with them is also good.
Again just a very minor point of differing opinion but otherwise that is a splendid list and write up!
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
No Thyrus is rude.
SG on last banner is a cold money grab.
Now I'm not sure what I've been saving Mythril for.
I might take that list as a starting point and whip up a thing that says "Here's what to use your Power orbs on, your Black orbs on, your Summon orbs on, etc."
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
The salt is real here.
You could always reorder the list to prioritize, but Pound and 4* Spellblades are both very solid, albeit maybe not for a new player.
The OP should contain easily accessible information for all players, not just new players IMO. Questions that are asked frequently in thread should be listed there as well as links to common resources.
Often good information is brought up in thread but missed because it moves pretty quickly. Stuff like "What abilities should I focus on getting" is extremely useful information for all players, especially given just how many abilities there are in game.
Again, just my opinion of course
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
Watch, you'll do a lucky banner pull, and get them anyway. I mean, trying to be optimistic.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
I have found R2 Carbuncle to be very worth the investment though. Fights can often stretch the duration of the first one and a second application may be required. The first fight where it was really required was Seymour and his Guado Guardians. Lately, however, Carbuncle has fallen into that "situational" category, but then, I find pretty much all Summon magic is that way. Great for AoE/trash clearing, but R3 Ruinga does just as good if not better than any R5 Summon, save for Odin.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Reddit thinks we may be getting 80 some mithril by banner 5. For lucky banners, we might not get 25 mithril x 3, it might only be 25 and 3 lucky banners.
BTW, want to thank whoever mentioned the main battle theme for FFMQ during that discussion a couple pages back. I could remember the overworld theme and the boss theme, but not the main battle theme, so I looked it up last night. Now I've been enjoying it in my head all day today (not sarcastic).
Needs more ZZZ. Sleep, Lullaby and phantasm are all great skills in the same vein of Stop. When they work it's a game changer.
Not sure about -ara level spells either, can't recall the last time that I brought them to a fight, even with Mage Meta. Good stepping stones to -aja though.
Auron was hitting for a good 2.6k with boost. Took FOREVER to knock him all down.
We are in the same boat with Cardinal. Only consolation is that since SG isn't a SSB I think we have an easier time drawing it?
38thDoE on steam
Trying to decide if I should level up everyone to 65 or focus on those who are level broken or just try and get one super team to 80 for the upcoming orbfests.
Edit:
Actually happened to me during the first SSB banner. Was going to chase Lulu's hairpin, got that and Terra's bustier on the first pull, then promptly pocketed 150 mythril which is the only reason I have nearly 600 now.
Subject to change if I actually get lucky on the lucky draws or whatever.
The XP is ridiculous inside Orb Fest dungeons also. Run the hell out of those dungeons, level your dudes, and consider the orbs a bonus. You certainly will appreciate them now. But the XP inside there makes it worth it on it's own. Imagine the Sundaily for 2 full weeks straight. Sometimes better if you get lucky and spawn a bunch of MiniTuars.