You'll Shoot Your Eye Out! - New FFXI RNG Guide

The whole "you need to spend a billion" advice is absurd, completely false and demoralizes inspiring newer players. In the past there were a handful of idiot summoners who said the same bs (when in fact it was proven smn was one of the cheapest jobs to max), scaring away potential new summoners with the lofty false/pretentious goal.

Idk how it's leeched if your LS asked me to come "carry" because you guys couldn't clear with what you had. Whats funny is you weren't even there. And the irony of this whole story is that now that me and my buddy left, your LS is stuck RP grinding w1/2 and hardstuck clears because we left lol. Don't get me wrong, i wont give credits where it's due, a couple decent players. But due to your dead-weight along with a few others, its just not possible.

I usually stay in my lane, but i corrected your false information, and you got all booty hurt about it, truth hurts. But then again stay giving "pro-tips" once again. Fake elitist at their best!

I'll let this get back on track now. Kudos.
Was just my two-cent

Lets keep any personal drama out of a job guide sticky. These threads exist for people who are just starting up the job and are looking for a quick "one-stop-shop" for how-to's and suggestions, not personal vendettas.

As for "personal experience" with Last Stand vs. Trueflight, are you watching what's going on around you? Buff setup? Bubbles? Target mob? Weather/Storms? Or are you just watching what you're doing? Great example is Kei. Trueflight might be capable of capped damage/capped light skillchain result, but without what I often call "the princess treatment", its gonna do less than a tenth of that. We Rangers are highly dependent, on both sides of the physical/magical debate, on what our party/alliance members do to help us. Any discussion of DPS results without delving into the full dynamics is just silly.

Rixit is out over his skis on this topic and shouldn't be saying these things with as much confidence as he has been saying them. However, this statement is factually incorrect. That LS had no problem clearing w3 before you joined, and had no problem clearing w3 after you left.

You guys are both trash -

stop clogging the forums with your lameness and send it to pms -

Well this escalated quickly

Yep. Was in the outside party on Ou last night no buffs doing 8k last stand (Forma) when frailty was down and like 15k trueflight at 3k tp (Gastra). (By no means are my ws sets the best possible)

Whereas last time on Kei closing fusion with aurastorm, idris malaise, wizards and etudes was hitting 58k trueflight (gastra) at 1k tp, 78k on 2k tp and 99k at 3k tp.

Buffs make a huge difference.

Hello fellow beret enthusiasts!

I have updated the node FAQ section to reflect some of the finer points that were elaborated on in this lively back and forth.

Good additions. As our arsenal has grown, we are forced to be one of two types of Rangers: either one who seeks to make a functional Ranger who can handle various needs simply, or one who seeks to BiS any situation with various weaponry and gear.

Not everyone has the bankroll,time, or inventory to dedicate to a perfect RNG. That doesn't mean you can't be insanely effective if you make proper choices, in particular when it comes to weaponry. I would prefer to see a forum where we welcome discussions that help both types of Rangers, not just those who are wielding 4+ RMEAs and all HQ gear. So thanks for the updates to the sticky top post that reflect that!

One small edit I thought of as I was reading through again. May want to add the caveat to Decoy Shot that it doesn't work on Weaponskills, Barrage, and Eagle Eye Shot.

Can't count how many times I've seen a RNG pull hate with Last stand thinking they can just go as hard as they want because they had Decoy Shot up.

edit: Also Fail-not is a toy to play around with Flaming Arrow, it's the only bow with Magic Damage on it, and the TP bonus benefits the weaponskill greatly. I've hit a few 104k's when its setup properly.

So I did a thing, its only Rank 9, path B.

Gear locked, no double shot up, this weapon for sure really is a permanant 50% double shot. From my short testing I believe its not effected by gear, because Arcadian Jerkin +3 never proc'd a triple. However I put my Jerkin away, and put up Double shot, and still saw (3) shots so I'm fairly certain that the JA for Double shot procs first, then the weapon will do a Double Shot check than the followup shot.

Proof of triple shot without Jerkin:

I get a (3) on the additional effect, meaning all 3 projectiles were sent at the same time.

More to come.

Curious as to why in the top tier midshot set the Orion Jerkin +3 is used instead of the Oshosi Vest +1? Im assuming to offset the racc loss on the adhemar feet, but Id think Oshosi Vest +1 paired with Volte Spats would be better?
rough math accounting for agi differences shows
af+3 + adhemar feet +1 = 75racc 15stp vs
oshosi +1 + volte spats = 90~racc 16stp

Not a ranger myself, but at least for COR i believe oshosi vest +1 is above Nisroch and Mummu Jacket +2 (except for Arma AM3), because of the higher racc and stp. I'm curious why the COR guide suggests otherwise. When i have time i may post a few midshot sets on the cor thread to see what people think.

At a guess, Ranged attack. Of which oshosi and spat’s have 0

using the comparative numbers that Chaostaru posted-

RNG is in a much better racc position than COR...by a LOT. B- vs. A+ in Marksmanship plus accuracy bonus VI trait(+73) and another +70 physical accuracy from gifts. This completely blows out of the water the need for Oshosi+1's great racc vs other TP options. The STP difference between the two is 1. Yeah, 1. If that makes or breaks your build, by all means, use the Oshosi+1.

For me, I often find myself in an off party where I'm not at attack cap and extra +ratk from gear is beneficial. I TP in Nisroch Jerkin, loving the powerful +crit rate and a more than sufficient +STP to keep my build at the same xShot as using Oshosi+1. Plus, we're only talking +2 racc over the Su3 body.

The only argument I can see that be made is the benefit of TP overflow for our two best weaponskills, Last Stand and Trueflight. I won't argue that point. I just don't find a marginal bit of overflow that doesn't reduce the number of shots needed to reach 1000TP+ outweighs the balanced stats of Nisroch.

If you're currently TPing in Orion+3, you're getting ranged attack, as well as a much healthier +12 racc more than Oshosi+1 at the cost of 2 STP, and gain -7 Enmity. This frees up other slots for straight power- crit rate, ranged attack, STP, the like.

Lastly, the pairing of Oshosi Vest+1 and Volte Spats vs Orion Jerkin+3 and Adhemar Gamashes+1...the first is much more expensive (Oshosi Vest+1 averaging around 35mil cross servers) and exceedingly rare (volte drops are next to impossible to "plan" for), while the second can be acquired for around 15mil for the feet (averaging cross server prices) along with around 7-8 mil in materials for an Orion+3 body, plus cards/scale.

It comes down to near identical STP, acceptable ranged accuracy considering our job traits/gifts, and one set having +74 ranged attack, crit rate+ 4% and -7 enmity, and the other having zero of all the following stats.

We must of been testing at the same time, just judging by the timestamp lol

I just built a fail not for fun and it's not terrible.
Apex arrow is a consistent bugger, I cant get it to sway much.
Apex crab <1500tp is consistent 13k dmg 18k with berserk
Jishnus bah I just love the Zues bolts... its average around 16k, 26k with berserk. (Only trusts no geo)

I have Fomal and Gastra and well they perform better at their proper uses for now.... I want to see bow come back... give us a mythic bow geez or add new weaponskills through some quests..maybe Magian

I suppose im scrambling to try and get the most stp + racc because im so use to my Cor's xhit build. and most of the time Im left in the 3rd party with no buffs. the white damage buffs on af3 never really crossed my mind till now.

Added this stuff in. Thanks for your contributions.

Hey, thanks for keeping this updated. The node looks great, and it's very informative. Regarding the new FAQ additions.

specifically -

Just wondering if this is what you guys are experiencing?

I personally find that anytime I'm in a RNG/COR setup, magical buffs are employed foremost. i.e. We Coronach spam Teles, and otherwise go physical on some wave 2 bosses, and a few Omen bosses. Otherwise, everything else is TF + Leaden spam, or we simply don't use ranged setup. Maybe I'm the exception though.

I tend to find my LS rarely sets up around my rng because we have so many people playing drk sam or war so outside of Kei or dyna D i'll get more out of phys weaponskill because frailty will be on the mob. Maybe different for other LS's who are more COR heavy perhaps.

I found that most of the groups I was in set up around melee + frailty, with the exception being wave 3 which was full on ranger/corsair "princess treatment" as they say.

Sometimes you have to show you can carry your weight in a melee burn before you'll be allowed to RNG on it, but once you do, you not only have to show you can carry your own, but do so without pulling the target mob out of bubbles and to the vulnerable backline. This is in particular difficult to do in successful shells because "hey its worked our way for so long, why mess with what works?"

And there's plenty of truth to that statement. At the end of the day, the goal for everyone in your group is to get clears, drops, etc...not for one person to play their favorite job and everyone else to work around it. All I can say is take advantage of the times when you can RNG! Someone in your shell needs a Herculean Vest? Offer to Last Stand blast Neak into oblivion in a small man setup. Doing Fu for your Omen cycle? Whip out the Annihilator and show how you can be completely outside of that 20' danger zone but not pull hate.

We all know how to Trueflight Kei, or build an ally for wave3 Dyna-D around magical weaponskills for RNGs and CORs. Show them we can do a lot more, and have fun doing it!

Used the Sharanga in Dyna last night, but a few errors on my end pritty much messed up all my data.

I haven't fully proven this, need to do more testing, but I have a feeling the extra shot cannot be Recycled, and the ammo will be consumed.
I got my low ammo warning by the end of the Wave2 boss and scavanged back a full stack of bolts.

I tend to use RNG almost only in situations where either:

1) It's a fairly small group with all or nearly all DDs on RNG or COR (and sometimes SMNs) due to the need to stay away from AoE, and buffs totally tailored toward whatever the RNG COR request. Some 6~10 man Omen boss runs, an Ambuscade that needs damage from a distance, a HTBF (would like to do Odin RNG style, though I've done most of mine so far on PUP), etc.

2) The whole reason I brought RNG was because I know I'd have adequate magical buffs for TF/WF to shine. Divergence being the key example, and also nice that you can go physical-leaning where that matters (i.e., wave 2 boss).

3) Low impact stuff where people don't care at all what job you're bringing, in which case I'll just go with the flow and use whatever buffs I get.

---
#1 is the only situation where I'd ever feel "forced" by circumstance to Last Stand as my main damage source. And that's the minority of those #1 situations, where I'd usually default to magical WS if at all viable, and there's really no good reason not to just tell the buffers to give the RNG COR buffs to allow magical WS to shine. I'd go physical-leaning only if the mob had some big time magical resistance, like the occasional Ambuscade.

I also feel that the Fomal/LS approach leads to a lot of non-RNG thinking RNG is just going to pull hate and screw up the fight. Because that's kinda what Fomalhaut tends to do! Much rather bring people using Gastra, Arma, or Fomal/Trueflight as opposed to the brute force physical approach of Fomal/LS. Most of the time, I feel like Anni/Coronach is the safer choice if physical WS is really the only viable way.

definitely an undermentioned point- how good Annihilator has gotten with the RP system buffing it up. Pair an Annihilator with some RP ranks and Chrono Bullets and all of a sudden you have a completely safe way of dealing damage (out of enemy AoE and almost negligible hate) that has become on par with Fomalhaut.

1. Chrono bullets really are a must- 300 base dmg vs 289 helps the math a good deal.

2. a good start on RP ranks are what makes this work- gaining Store TP on the Annihilator helps close the gap between Fomalhaut. You'll never reach the +10 STP on Foma, and in your standard TP sets you probably won't feel its need nearly as much, but swap into Double Shot set and if you're anything like me you lose a LOT of STP in gear, and that's where you'll feel it.

3. Coronach. At RP 15, Annihilator sports a hefty +60% Coronach Damage between the weapon's standard effect and the results of the RP rank-up. This puts it on par with Fomalhaut's Last Stand...easily within 5% @1000TP, which, for Coronach, is all that matters. Its one of the few Ranger Weaponskills that doesn't scale with TP, meaning full damage just at 1k TP. This means TP overflow isn't worth a damn, and can gear your white damage set for crit rate- which is actually worth something due to the Aftermath.

4. Coronach aftermath. a whopping -25 enmity, half the cap for gear -enmity, and triple damage on 13% of your shots, including the chance to proc on all the shots during Double Shot and Barrage(hence the mention of gearing for crit hits in your Aftermath TP set mentioned above). Oh, and +10% ranged attack, again a stat that can matter for us if we're not getting ideal buffs, and maybe if we are due to the PDL increase through gifts and neckpiece.

5. Ability to produce self-Light and self-Darkness. Coronach>Coronach produces Darkness, and Coronach>Last Stand (and vice versa) to produce Light. This is the only weapon we have capable of doing so in a simple 2 step with physical damage. Something that can matter a great deal in low-man setups where you'll be able to chain/burst.

By the way, since the -enmity is an aftermath, not just something for the weaponskill itself, it means that followup Last Stand is a helluva lot safer.

It took some convincing for me to start throwing Swart Crystals at my Annihilator, but since I have (mine's Rank 12 at the moment) its become my favorite weapon. And probably my linkshell's favorite for me to use as well ;)

I've R15'd my Anni. Best decision ever.

I dont ever touch last stand now. I have no idea what fomal is like at R15. I'm sure it's amazing. But I rather have the slightly less dps and not pull hate and still do absolute crazy damage. <3 80k barrages.

This post convinced me to spruce up the Annihilator section of the node. Cheers.

Does barrage go past damage cap?