Nuevo Coselete

Copied from my Post (#78) over at Dreams in Vana'Diel on the new PLD Armor coming in the April 8th update.
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I'm leaning towards definitely going with Enmity, since neither Valor, Gallant or Koenig offers +5. 

Base state difference between the popular/common PLD TANKING Body Pieces:

Gallant

DEF 47 HP +20 / VIT +4 / Divine +5 / Enmity +2 - - - Gallant
DEF 55 HP +20 / VIT +6 / Divine +8 / Enmity +2 - - - Gallant +1
DEF 52 MP +08 / VIT +4 / MND +4 / Enmity +3 - - - Adaman
DEF 53 MP +10 / VIT +5 / MND +5 / Enmity +4 - - - Gem
DEF 55 HP +23 / DEX +3 / Enmity +4 - - - Valor
DEF 56 HP +30 / DEX +3 / Enmity +5 - - - Valor +1

DEF 49 HP +20 / VIT +5 / STR +5 / DEX +5 - - - Nuevo

With +5 Enmity, it's already better than our AF, hands down. 
It's also only 3 DEF less than Adaman, warranting a 100% replacement.
And it's only 6 DEF less than base Valor, in addition to 1 Enmity higher and 3 HP less.

What I need to see if how this gear is obtained. I'm going to go on a limb and assume it'll be easier than Relic Body and/or HQ AF, pieces that I won't see for at least 3 months of hardcore playing.

Even so, no body piece in the game gives +5 Enmity aside from Valor +1 (lol). Of course, there is the Hydra Haubert, but yeah, moving on... >_>

It also has more DEF and more AGI than Haubergeon, and doesn't worry about negative evasion. Hell, the +5 AGI will even negligibly help Shield Blocking.

I was thinking of adding Fast Cast, but that only comes into play with Flash and Utsusemi. With the current state of PLD/NIN being de facto standard in end-game tanking (allegedly), Fast Cast (+5%)+ Enmity on a body piece, would be unequaled.

In that case, with +10 ACC, I need to compare it to other pieces. It's comparable to the Homam, and there aren't too many other PLD pieces that give Acc; mainly just attack. Amir, Askar, etc..

But I'm a long way away from tanking as PLD/NIN end-game, and SE said you can discard and redo. So I'll cross that Fast Cast bridge when I get to it.

Acc +10 puts it at the same DEF of Homam, 5 ACC less, and 8 HP/MP less. No Triple Attack is a bit disconcerting, even though on the Homam it's 1%, 1% is better than none.

Also, keep in mind that gear like Askar, I'd mostly only use for WS, not TP (and I'm a loooong way from Askar). Avalon Breastplate isn't even on my list of "things I need to get in this lifetime". Oh and next to the Avalon is the Hydra Hauberk (lolol). -20 HP is a price I'd pay exp, though, for +9 Enmity, but in the situations where +9 enmity is useful (end-game), -20 HP might not be a good idea.. And I switch body pieces a lot, so I'd rarely use the added effect from Hydra.

Enmity and Accuracy. I'll sell Adaman and Macro in AF for Flash. Or something.

My rationale is that, end game, I'm not going to be meleeing with the intent to cause damage on a significant scale anyway, and I'm sure that I'll build up TP for Chivalry and/or Spirits Within just well and fine.

But until I'm at End-game, when the armor with Fast Cast + Enmity is an AWESOME option(no other body piece for PLD offers that, so paired with the Homam hands, legs, Dusk Feet and Turban, I think that's realistically the fastest we can cast without gear..), Enmity + Accuracy will suit me just fine. I get Def from food, so I don't mind that it's lower than pretty much all the heavy PLD tanking pieces. Hell, even the Valor doesn't have VIT on it...

Job Adjustments and Additions Part II

[Note: I'm skipping over SMN announcement since it has no standing on my character]

In this second half of the announcement on job adjustments and additions planned for the April version update, we present to you a delectable array of changes that are bound to change the way you buff and summon!

Red Mage
The new job ability "Composure" and a new line of En- type magic spells will be added.
- Composure (Lv.50 Ability Delay: 5 min. Duration: 5 min.) Increases accuracy and lengthens recast time. Enhancement effects gained through white and black magic you cast on yourself last longer. - Notes Activating Composure will impose a recast time penalty upon all magic, songs, and ninjutsu.


- En- Type Spells Enfire II (Lv.58) / Enblizzard II (Lv.56) / Enaero II (Lv.54) / Enstone II (Lv.52) / Enthunder II (Lv.50) / Enwater II (Lv.60)

Adds elemental damage to your initial attacks (subsequent blows by characters for whom multiple attacks are possible do not receive this effect). Each successive activation increases elemental damage strength up to a predetermined limit. Reduces the target's resistance against the associated element.

Example) Enfire II: Adds fire damage to your initial attacks and reduces the target's resistance against water.
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FINAL FANTASY XI Official Web Site
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I have a few thoughts on the matter which are outlined HERE on the Dreams in Vana'Diel Forum.

Essentially, I don't think this is a wasted update. I definitely came back at a good time so I can mess around with it. Essentially, it makes it so that when we melee, we do something other than stroke our Epeens. This looks like it goes PERFECT with the Murgleis and Death Blossom, however. It looks like ee pretty much activate the Job Ability, get a penalty to recasts, but it appears our buffs last longer and we get an Acc bonus. Here's my personal take on it, step by step.

Increases Accuracy

That's always welcome. Based on the nature of the Enspells being cumulative, I believe it's imperative for RDMs to quickly reach that damage cap for peak effectiveness. This makes RDM melee pretty good. Hopefully we get something on par with Aggressor, which doesn't seem like it'll be too wild. A JA that gives 10-15 accuracy would be pretty good. And if this applies ALSO to Magic, oh man, that'd be awesome!

Lengthens Recast Time

They Hasso'd us, but I suppose that's the penalty. What this means to ME is that we better be doing a damn good job of enfeebling, because we won't get that well needed "second chance" to spam enfeebles like we normally can. In situations where we're refreshing/hasting players other than ourselves and/or dispelling a lot, this JA is no good to have around. Also, this is NOT the JA to activate as /NIN. I suppose this is better for /WAR or /PLD or even /DRK due to use using those JAs to have out fulltime. Also, when taken into account the increased accuracy, it's probably Definitely not good for Flash or Stun though.

Self Buffs (White Magic and Black Magic only) last longer

 I don't really care too much for RDM melee in EXP because I know how long my buff cycle is, and I waste a LOT of time buffing and reapplying buffs, in addition to wasting a lot of MP. So If this job ability affects the duration of our buffs even a little bit, that means that we end up saving MP in the same amount of time. That's a huge bonus to me. Even if the added bonus is 25% or 33%, that's 1/4 or 1/3 more time we AREN'T casting buffs on ourself. A 50% penalty would be icing on the cake, lol. Double length Refresh, Haste and Phalanx would make me a happy Taru. Hell, I might NOT sell my RDM Melee gear now..

This is viable in solo, except for the fact that our spells are on a longer recast, so it pretty much cuts out the effectiveness of RDM/NIN. But with increased accuracy, longer buffs and such, we can bring back the good ol days of RDM/WAR. This update looks like it's pretty good for anyone who loves RDM/DRK...

New Enspells

Elemental wheel going from stronger element to weaker: Fire > Ice > Wind > Earth > Thunder > Water. Apparently, we go BACKWARDS on the wheel when thinking of what Tier II Enspells do to enemies. They give us the example that Enfire II makes the enemy more susceptible to water, so it appears that when we do a Tier II enspell, we are adding that element to the enemy (something like that) setting them up to be weak to it.

So Enwater II would be the spell of choice to make sure that Thunder lands for higher damage, while Enthunder II would be used to make sure that Slow sticks, and the same is true for Enaero in regards to Bind and Paralyze. Although, not sure why someone would want to use Bind and Enspells in the same fight... anyway..

Predetermined Damage Limit

So this is pretty much telling us to know when to melee and when to stand the fuck back. Once we hit the limit, I suppose it's the ripe time to hit them with the spell. Kind of like the whole concept of fencing, hitting vital points to weaken until it's time to strike for big blows.

"If you break the foundation, the building crumbles more easy."

That said, Murgleis and Death Blossom are HIGH on my list. They'd be so awesome to have.

Well, so would Nashira gear also, so let me not even put them on my list (well I'll keep them there, it'll give me something to try to grasp at so I don't lose focus).

Back to FFXI

Going back to FFXI, and just in time for the April Update.

Looks like I missed out on some gameplay tweaks, Field of Valor and some other nice toys, but I'm just in time for the April Update.

Appears there was a ton of lulz to be had on Odin with some drama involving item duping. Oh well, not my concerned. Upset to see Kaeko bannernated, but he seems to understand his plight quite well.

SO!

I have a list of gear I need would like in FFXI.

Let's start small:

Iron Ram Hose

Pahluwan Seraweels

Resentment Cape

Pahluwan Khazagand

Swift Belt

As for accomplishments...

Evisceration
Death Blossom
DRK37

DRG75
(0/5) Sentinel Recast
(0/5) Guardian
(1/5) Chivalry

(0/4) Shield

(1/8) Sword

(1/4) Enmity

(0/4) Enemy Critical Hit Rate

(4/8) Enfeebling


More to come later...