Should You Pull (Sept 15, 2017)

Original Post / Discussion: [https://www.reddit.com/r/FFBraveExvius/comments/701wtv/defianthermits_should_you_pull_final_fantasy_xi/ DefiantHermit's Should You Pull? Final Fantasy XI Raid Banner - Sep 15]

Hello everyone, /u/DefiantHermit here once again, on time this week for the FFXI's raid banner!

Nothing to add here this time around, I'm just glad to have a new source of Gil income for the next few weeks. God damn enhancements are taxing >_>

So without further ado, here's my analysis for the FFXI Banner!

Prishe
Prishe is our first monk and after the Yda disappointment, let's see how this one fares: base 148 ATK (+30 with pots) is excellent, with a solid +60% ATK from passives to back it up, for a great total of 284 ATK.

Her equipment selection is a bit of a hit-or-miss: she's able to wield Daggers, Rods, Staves, Maces and Knuckles and wear Robes, Clothes, Light Armour, Hats and Small Shields. Due to her Flawless (+30% ATK/SPR when equipped with Knuckle) passive, you'll definitely be wearing knuckles (which is specially great with Aigaion Arm and Martial Arts Mastery), but the second weapon slot is a bit off. The current options you have are: Bowie Knife for the DW and free materia slot but no elemental chaining (you'll need to rely on sparks), Zwill Crossblade (the FF12 one >_>) for Dodge+Wind element, Thorned Mace for Man-Eater or just stick with double Knuckles and use her exclusive Knuckles or Kaiser Knuckles for elemental chaining.

Her supporting skillset consists of Abominable Child (+20% HP & Cast ST ~1800 HP Heal w/ 1x Mod per Turn), offering a sweet free self Curaga+ per turn and Chakra (Self Recover 30% HP/MP & Self Cure Poison, Blind) if you ever need some MP sustain

There's the expected Auto-Refresh (Recover 5% MP per Turn), some neat, albeit restricted, ailment immunities through Intelligence (+100% Blind/Paralyze Resist) and a good ol' innate dodge through Agile (20% Chance Dodge Physical Attack).

As a monk, it's to be expected that she has access to combo trees. Unlike Yda, though, her almost entire combo tree is available to use on-demand, but each ability get added benefits if used in the combo order. There are 3 available combo trees and all of them start with Raging Fists (350% ST 8 Hit Physical Attack), which has pretty good modifiers and very consistent frame data (2-5-5-5-5-5-5-5). Unfortunately, the hit count is rather unique, so she can only perfectly chain with a copy.

If you don't mind Lunera missing a few hits, she can also chain with Prishe to form a 34-hit chain, provided you get your timing right. This allows you to get some straight-forward, on-demand, consistent, elemental (and even sparked, if macroing) chains. You still need an outside source of Imperil, though.

Debuff Combo

After Raging Fist, you can follow up with Crushing Fist (If Raging Fist Was Used Last Turn, Use AoE 3 Turn -45% ATK/DEF Debuff, Else ST 3 Turn -45% ATK/DEF Debuff), offering Warrior of Light-level physical breaks, but no damage.

It then unlocks Asuran Fists (If Crushing Fist Was Used Last Turn, Use 250% AoE 7 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF, Else 250% AoE 7 Hit Physical Attack - normalized to 500%), which has an excellent modifier for a chainer and the same frame data as Raging Fist (2-5-5-5-5-5-5), with one hit less. Once again, this means she can only perfectly chain with a copy.

Damage Combo

After Raging Fist, you can follow up with Berserk Attack (If Raging Fist Was Used Last Turn, Use 180% ST 3 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 25% DEF & Self 3 Turn +100% ATK, Else 180% ST 3 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 25% DEF - normalized to 240%), which has a crappy modifier, but a significant self ATK buff. The frame data here is (2-10-10), so you're really just gonna chain with a copy.

The next step of this combo is Tornado Kick (If Berserk Attack Was Used Last Turn, Use 250% AoE 3 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 25% DEF & Grant Prishe Special [24 MP] For 1 Use, Else 250% AoE 3 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 25% DEF - normalized to 333%). The combo doesn't really change anything with Tornado Kick and it has a wonky frame data (0-30-30), but it unlocks a pretty amusing skill.

Prishe Special (500% ST 15 Hit Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF & Self 2 Turn 50% Damage Reduction - normalized to 1000%) has a stupidly high modifier, massive amount of hits, and a free 2 Turn Swipe Down. Frame data is, once again, consistent, with 4 frames between hits, allowing for a great continuous massive chain. The huge amount of hits means the final chain modifier sits at a fantastic x3.72 on standard elemental chains.

Support Combo

After following the last combo up to Berserk Attack (so Raging Fists -> Berserk Attack) you can also use Will to Live (If Berserk Attack Was Used Last Turn, Use AoE 3 Turn Auto-Revive with 80% HP, Else Self 3 Turn Auto-Revive with 80% HP), which is a fantastic AoE Auto-Revive. Even though it takes 2 turns to set up, this is a pretty solid standalone skill, granting Prishe an invaluable on-demand Auto-Revive.

The last step of this combo is Swelling Vitality (If Will to Live Was Used Last Turn, Use AoE 130 MP Recovery, Else AoE ~10 MP Heal w/ 0.3x Mod split over 3 Turns), which is a fantastic AoE Mana Battery if charged and a usable one otherwise (~20 MP per turn at 300 SPR).

Combo Notes

Even though it might not be clear enough from the skill descriptions, each “upgraded” version of a skill will only trigger if the upgraded version of the previous skill is used. This means that even though a skill like Will to Live says if “Berserk Attack” was used last turn, what it really means is if Berserk Attack + was used last turn. The important (and unfortunate) thing to take from this is that you can't bypass the combo order to reach specific skills, so Will To Live's AoE Auto-Revive can only go off after 2 Turns, Prishe Special is only unlocked after 3 Turns and so on and so forth.

A special note about Prishe special (thanks to /u/Rozaliin !) is that it unlocks 2 uses of it if you're dual wielding, so you can either stack those unlocks (just keep cycling Raging Fist -> Berserk Attack -> Tornado Kick) until you're satisfied or until Prishe dies, or you can just follow the combo with another cast of Prishe Special, ramping her overall per turn modifiers!

Then, as a damage dealer, the question really becomes: how much is Prishe's damage potential masked by bad combo parts? So here's some quick math on her Offensive Combo:

Raging Fist (350% * 2 * x3.48 = 2440%) -> Berserk Attack (240% * 2 * x2.62 = 1260%) -> Tornado Kick (333% * 2 * x2.62 = 1750%) -> Prishe Special (1000% * 2 * x3.72 = 7450%) -> Prishe Special (1000% * 2 * x3.72 = 7450%). This leads to a per turn modifier of 4070% without taking any Imperils into account. To put this into perspective, Orlandeau & Co modifiers before Imperils are of ~2750%, meaning that, on raw modifiers alone, Prishe has a +48% edge over “standard” chainers.

This means that, without taking any Imperil into account, Prishe already matches the damage of rainbow chainers. When you take an Imperil into account, that damage will ramp up considerably and far outdamage everyone else. That said, Imperil options are limited, as Prishe's current elemental options are also limited. The most prominent element she can take without sacrificing much ATK is Wind, which leaves Tim, 9S and Veritas of the Flame as possible Imperil appliers. You can of course try and use another element if your friend Prishe can match you, as she has access to elemental Rods, which opens up a lot of other Imperil appliers.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - +45 ATK, +10% HP/MP - Hat - S Rank

Strongest offensive hat in the game by a long margin, this provides not only a huge ATK boost, but a very welcomed HP and MP boost as well. This has very strong synergies with DH and TDH, as it can easily become a +180 ATK Hat with the proper support.

Why would you want Prishe?: I know her analysis is really long and I apologize for it, but her skillset and combo trees are lengthy, but interesting, and allow her to perform quite a few roles.

Prishe is quite bulky and has great ATK stat, but lacks a solid equipment lineup. She's a proficient chainer, on level with most chainers, provided you can bring an outside source of Imperil and a Copy. She's a great Auto-Revive applier, provided you don't need it on-demand or just need her to have the Auto-Revive (like versus Aigaion). Finally, she's a good Mana Battery, with the option of recovering just a bit of MP per turn on-demand or quite a bit more if you're willing to set it up.

In sum, she's a pretty good unit and well deserved of the rainbow rarity, but don't expect her to be breaking any new frontiers, specially if you're already set on chainers.

What about the future? Prishe's enhancements have rolled out in JPN and they're pretty fine. Will to Live's Auto-Revive duration can be extended to 6 or 9 turns, Prishe Special's enhancement touches one of her main issues as it gets a -30% All Element Imperil and, most importantly, becomes unlocked indefinitely after the first combo, absurdly ramping her damage potential. Oh, and she gets +50% ATK/SPR to become even stronger and bulkier!

Werei
Werei is a big fluffy.. Doublehand unit? Welp, guess we already know how that'll go: base 143 ATK (+34 with pots) is great and there's some solid +50% ATK due to his Fencing Master (+100% Blind Resist & +20% ATK when equipped with Greatsword) passive for a decentish total of 265 ATK.

Equipment selection is excellent, being able to wield Daggers, Swords, Greatswords, Katanas, Axes and Knuckles and wear All types of armour except Robes. He can wield pretty much all current major weapon types, with the exception of spears, and all the supporting armour you'd want for a physical damage dealer.

Skillset is where he starts failing us. His notable supporting skills include Focus (AoE 3 Turn +40% MAG/SPR) as a party buffer and Sturdy Earth Wall (AoE 3 Turn +50% Earth Resist & AoE ~400 HP Heal w/ 3x Mod) as a decent Earth resistance buffer with an okay built-in heal (~900 HP at 300 SPR).

His offensive skillset is built around Doublehand (Equip ATK Bonus +50% when only using one hand), which is an unfortunate skill on global because the materia doesn't stack and TDH support is better used elsewhere. His most relevant attack is Stone Fall (270% AoE 1 Hit Earth Physical Attack & AoE 3 Turn -50% Earth Resist), providing a very underwhelming modifier alongside a great Earth Imperil.

For some reason, Werei has some LB support in the form of High Tide (LB Fill Rate +100%), but his LB, Ground Strike (270% -> 390% AoE 1 Hit Earth Physical Attack + Ignore 50% DEF & 50% -> 74% Confuse - normalized to 540% -> 780%) is nothing too spectacular. Due to its relatively low cost (16 crystals), it might be a viable way of building him, focusing on DH, LB ramping and spamming his LB as a finisher on Aileen's chains (or after he applies his own Imperil).

Global Trust Mastery Rating: Proud Fencer - +20% HP, +40% ATK when equipped with Greatsword - Materia - S Rank

Excellent materia for physical damage dealers, providing a non-limited version of the Trial GS mastery, trading 10% ATK for a muuuch needed +20% HP.

Do note that the materia itself is not stackable, so only one of these per unit. It stacks just fine with the standard GS Mastery, though.

Why would you want Werei?: Honestly, because of his TMR. He's not a bad unit per se and you can very likely use him to deal respectable damage with Aigaion Arm on a DH, LB spamming build, but there's not much noteworthy about him compared to the various finishers currently available.

What about the future? Werei has been enhanced in JPN and it wasn't that bad. His Doublehand was ramped to 100% ATK, he gets +50% ATK when equipped with an Axe and +30% ATK with a Greatsword (on top of his previous +20%) and Stone Fall is ramped to 360% modifiers, which is decent.

Kupipi
Kupipi is the unfortunate new max this banner, and she's built as a healer. Base 104 SPR (+24 with pots) is okay, and there's a +20% SPR passive backing it up, for a total of 153 SPR.

Equipment selection is barebones for a healer, being able to wield Rods, Staves and Maces and wear Robes, Clothes and Hats. Good enough, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Her skillset is comprised of Curaga (AoE ~1000 HP Heal w/ 3.4x Mod) as her main healing spell, Esuna (ST Cure Poison, Blind, Sleep, Silence, Paralyze, Confuse) for status cleansing and Dispel (ST Stat Buff Removal) for buff and debuff removal.

Kupipi has access to Protectga (AoE 3 Turn +40% DEF) as her only status buffer and a surprisingly decent I Will Protect You! (AoE 3 Turn 20% Damage Reduction) offering on-demand damage mitigation.

Global Trust Mastery Rating: - +3 DEF, +30% Fire/Light/Dark Resist, +15% MAG - Accessory - B Rank

Very niche, but pretty good defensive accessory, providing solid elemental resist numbers for 3 very common elements. The +15% MAG is decent, but nothing out of the ordinary, so this should be viewed as a resistance accessory.

Why would you want Kupipi?: You don't. Locked at without any exceptional skills at this point in the game is just not good and her TMR isn't that stellar to warrant a spot on most TMR teams, unfortunately.

What about the future? Nothing new on the horizon for Kupipi.

Shantotto
Aah, our little girl that could is finally getting her much deserved and desired awakening! She comes with a great base 120 MAG (+30 with pots), but sadly no stat passives at all.

Equipment selection is mage's standard: Rods, Staves and Maces for weapons and Robes, Clothes and Hats for armour. Nothing new, nothing standing out.

Her skillset that we've always known is comprised of the currently outdated -agas, Thundaga, Waterga, Aeroga, Firaga, Blizzaga and Stonga (180% AoE 1 Hit Lightning/Water/Wind/Fire/Ice/Earth Magic Attack, respectively), which just don't cut it anymore.

Her skillset added some very nice new toys: Dual Black Magic (Use Two Black Magic) is fantastic to have innately and allows for her to act as both a chainer and a finisher without much equipment support.

Her finishing options are the relatively new -ajas: Thundaja, Firaja, Blizzaja, Waterja, Aeroja and Stonja (200% AoE 1 Hit Lightning/Fire/Ice/Water/Wind/Earth Magic Attack + 100% Each Use (Max: 5), respectively). They can reach excellent 700%, dual castable modifiers after just 3 turns and Shantotto has access to -ajas of all primal elements, granting her a fantastic elemental coverage.

More importantly, her chaining option comes with the release of a new tier of black magic: Tornado (250% AoE 12 Hit Wind Magic Attack & AoE 3 Turn -50% Wind Resist). Even though the modifier is not great, it comes with an innate Imperil, it's imbued with the Imperiled element for easy chaining and damage boost and can perfectly chain with another Shantotto for a whopping 47-hit chain (frame data is consistent, at 12-frames between hits, but no other chaining partners) with final chain modifier of x3.65. This means a chaining Shantotto will have a final modifier of 2737%, which is about the same as most chainers without their Imperils

Global Trust Mastery Rating: MAG +30% - … +30% MAG? - Materia - B

Previously BiS for magic users in the distant past, this has been phased out due to more pressing survivability concerns. It's no good if your mage can reach 900+ MAG if he's only able to land one hit before dying every single turn, unless you're going for an OTK or easier content.

Why would you want Shantotto?: Because her magic chaining and damage potential is simply nuts for a max. Very hard hitting, long elemental chain with an innate Imperil puts a lot of other units to the ground in terms of damage output.

Her downsides is the complete lack of stat passives (somewhat mitigated by her great exclusive raid equipment) and veeeery squishy body. Regardless, she allows for so many people to have a cheap, strong magic chainer for future content that she definitely deserves a space in our hearts

What about the future? Goomi, Shantotto when?

Should You Pull?
There are no moogles on the raid this time around, so you're only pulling here if you want to TMR farm Werei for your Greatsword users.

The s are a mixed bag, with Kupipi being a rather useless pull, both as a unit and as a TMR fodder and Shantornado being awesome. Odds are, you already have multiple copies of Shantotto from off-pulls and I wouldn't recommend pulling for her directly anyways.

The is an okay unit, but way more desired due to his mastery for people with relevant Greatsword units. The 20% HP and 10% ATK upgrade over standard 30% materias is really strong and definitely worth considering a few pulls.

For whales, the unit is very solid all around, deals a crap ton of damage without Imperils (matching the other  chainers) and far surpassing their damages with an Imperil in place. She also comes with the BiS Hat that will stay BiS for a looooooooooooong time, though, so you might not want to miss that out. If you're not a whale and pulled Prishe, yaaaay!