Studying The Blade Intensifies - Sell Me On SAM?

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Studying the blade intensifies - Sell me on SAM?
 Bahamut.Ouiae
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By Bahamut.Ouiae 2018-09-29 18:09:22
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I know this board is, uhh ... low-activity, to say the least. And that probably says something all by itself. But Samurai was my first 99 when I started casually playing the game about a year and a half ago, and there's a lot in it that appeals to me, even if I've been focusing on other jobs since then. I want to like the job. I mean, I do like the job. But I want the job to like me, too. And I want to feel good and capable with it.

So, basically, I'm wondering ... what's good about Samurai? Those who love it and main it and do well with it, if you're out there ... why do you play Samurai, what does it bring to the table, what makes it unique and desirable? I want to list the concerns I feel and the concerns I've heard, and I was hoping folks more knowledgeable might be able to address them.

-Skillchaining, and self-skillchaining in particular, were always supposed to be Samurai's specialty, but nowadays it seems like everybody can do that with a little attention and a little gear. But it does seem like Samurai still has an edge, they can do it sooner and more easily and I'm not sure if anyone else can reliably push 3, or even 4+ step skillchains. And I'm not talking about Meikyo Shisui or Sekkanoki tricks, I'm talking about just straight up weaponskill dumping, using only the good high-end moves.
-But is that valuable? It seems like it's taking up a lot of weaponskill real estate that could be used for other people to contribute to skillchains too, and of course Inundation ... exists? Don't know if that means it's USED, but it certainly exists.

-Samurai has some huge attack bonuses on a lot of its high-end weaponskills. Especially against enemies with a lot of Defense, this is real nice! Means you don't need to stack a ton of Attack gear, you can afford to skimp on that stat and still hit your cap when weaponskilling.
-Of course, the cap isn't that big. And who knows what kind of Defense a lot of high-end targets in this game have? I mean, I definitely don't. But I do know that an Idris Geomancer who decides to run Fury/Frailty will take a 1.0 pDIF to 2.778 right off the bat, and now Kasha and Gekko are way, way past the cap. So that attack bonus doesn't seem all that valuable in a buff-heavy environment, which is what this game's meta seems to be about. You can Fudo, sure, but the fTP just doesn't scale like a Leaden or Last Stand or Resolution, or crit like a CDC or Drakesbane or Ukko's Fury.

-From what I understand, given my limited history in the game - I played casually Jan-Jun 2017 and picked it back up this August - melee DD was just entirely verboten in the overall meta for like two or three years, until some mechanical changes and accuracy nerfs to NMs made it a lot more viable. So melee works a lot better now?
-But that doesn't mean that the strats that exist weren't all written during a time where the idea of meleeburn would get you laughed off a server, and once a concept settles into a community consensus it's impossible to shake. Nobody shouts for a Samurai. I can't figure out if {Front line job} in a CP group means melee dps or specifically a tank, but usually it comes with "PLD/RUN" attached, so.

-I mean, I've seen the video of the Trove kill, where a Samurai DDs down a Mimic. That was pretty fancy. They were buffed to hell, sure, it was a team designed to kill a Mimic, but there's probably a reason they picked a Samurai, right?
-I don't know what it was though.

-Gearing is confusing, but then, when isn't it? TP sets, WS sets, I still can't make any sense of Gearswap but that's a personal issue. The bg-wiki guide offers a lot of "Here's a finished set" but not a lot of "And here's a reasonable way to progress towards getting it!". I'm in a mix of NQ and +1 Ambuscade with a Norifusa +1, I have no idea if that's even a good sword or if I should switch back to my Nenekirimaru.
-How do?

So yeah. Alleviate my worries. Convince me Samurai's worth sticking with? I'm having a lot of fun on Blue Mage, which hahaha that's not exactly going to be MORE welcome in the meta, and Rune Fencer is neat albeit disgustingly gear-dependent to tank anything without dying, but Samurai was where I started. A sword girl always remembers her first sword. Can ... can I sword? How do I sword? Tell me how to love the sword again.
 Asura.Smoky
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By Asura.Smoky 2018-09-29 20:49:43
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SAM is gud.
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 Cerberus.Senkyuutai
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By Cerberus.Senkyuutai 2018-09-29 20:54:31
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Do you need a reason to play a job outside of "I like it, that's all"?
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 Quetzalcoatl.Senaki
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By Quetzalcoatl.Senaki 2018-09-29 21:55:04
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1. Love your profile pic.
2. TL;DR
3. I don't use gearswap, just in game macros. Sam is amazing at content whereas you need power SCs for either MB or just the sake of it. Ex) Apex - Sam excels.
I use a WS Dmg + TP set and that's it (I'm a lazy Sam lol)
 Asura.Syto
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By Asura.Syto 2018-09-30 01:01:46
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SAM is always in a great position amongst the top 5 heavy DPS.. It's with Japan's sacred honor to maintain this.. Sorry MNK.. You are Chinese.. Japan can't give you the love you deserve.. But I still have respect for China and the MNKs....

MNK is also top 10..but I don't think top 5..Japan has to keep it this way..
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By Foxfire 2018-09-30 01:32:19
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Because it's fun.

Also, the guide is somewhat progress-minded, what exactly are you having troubles with?
I thought I spread it out well enough.
By volkom 2018-09-30 02:20:11
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this will be you eventually if you stick with it

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 Bahamut.Ouiae
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By Bahamut.Ouiae 2018-09-30 04:27:54
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Foxfire said: »
Because it's fun.

Also, the guide is somewhat progress-minded, what exactly are you having troubles with?
I thought I spread it out well enough.

Honestly? The Starter set has a 2 million gil neckpiece, a 1 million gil belt, a 350k grip, a ring off a 119 Caturae NM from Ru'Aun, a sword off a 125 T2 Ru'Aun NM that needs pop items from a 128 Unity NM, a (skippable?) bow off of the T4 Kamihr Delve boss, four +1 Ambuscade pieces, and a cape that takes 22,000 Hallmarks to assemble. I wouldn't call that a Starter set. Starter to me is something I can start putting together when I get to 99, with bayld gear and trusts. That's a "has a group to clear content with/for me, or a previously geared job to earn things for Samurai on" set.

A lot of job guides start from Eminent and work their way up. This starts from REMA and works its way down, stopping at Escha T2s. I mean ... in the weapon section, you describe a drop from a T2 Zi'Tah boss as "A good starter GK for those entering into Escha for the first time." What?

Also, this is hardly unique to Samurai, but there's also kind of a general dearth of information on like ... stats, stat priorities, accessible information for a relatively new player on how to approach gearing and building themselves. Like, for damage you want Strength and you want Dex, okay. In what kind of proportion? What slots should you prioritize to upgrade first? Is 2% Triple Attack better, worse, or the same than 3% Double Attack, and how's that compare to Store TP? Norifusa lets me skillchain faster and easier, why is that situational, why is that not the goal? /WAR has Berserk and Warcry and the Double Attack Trait, but /DRK has Souleater and Last Resort and 15% Job Haste from Desperate Blows, why is one better than the other? Wouldn't putting one merit in Blade Bash to have a stun on-hand be worth giving up 2% damage when you happen to be at the target's front from the fifth point in Overwhelm, more so than pre-sTP TP off of what are supposed to be very frequent Zanshin procs? These sorts of things.
 
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 Lakshmi.Buukki
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By Lakshmi.Buukki 2018-09-30 06:16:51
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Quote:
I want to like the job. I mean, I do like the job. But I want the job to like me, too.

Dude, what? Man if you don't get your fan boy *** outta here with this and just go fudo some apex bats. You thinking way too much
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By Foxfire 2018-09-30 06:25:37
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Bahamut.Ouiae said: »
Foxfire said: »
Because it's fun.

Also, the guide is somewhat progress-minded, what exactly are you having troubles with?
I thought I spread it out well enough.

Honestly? The Starter set has a 2 million gil neckpiece, a 1 million gil belt, a 350k grip, a ring off a 119 Caturae NM from Ru'Aun, a sword off a 125 T2 Ru'Aun NM that needs pop items from a 128 Unity NM, a (skippable?) bow off of the T4 Kamihr Delve boss, four +1 Ambuscade pieces, and a cape that takes 22,000 Hallmarks to assemble. I wouldn't call that a Starter set. Starter to me is something I can start putting together when I get to 99, with bayld gear and trusts. That's a "has a group to clear content with/for me, or a previously geared job to earn things for Samurai on" set.

A lot of job guides start from Eminent and work their way up. This starts from REMA and works its way down, stopping at Escha T2s. I mean ... in the weapon section, you describe a drop from a T2 Zi'Tah boss as "A good starter GK for those entering into Escha for the first time." What?

Also, this is hardly unique to Samurai, but there's also kind of a general dearth of information on like ... stats, stat priorities, accessible information for a relatively new player on how to approach gearing and building themselves. Like, for damage you want Strength and you want Dex, okay. In what kind of proportion? What slots should you prioritize to upgrade first? Is 2% Triple Attack better, worse, or the same than 3% Double Attack, and how's that compare to Store TP? Norifusa lets me skillchain faster and easier, why is that situational, why is that not the goal? /WAR has Berserk and Warcry and the Double Attack Trait, but /DRK has Souleater and Last Resort and 15% Job Haste from Desperate Blows, why is one better than the other? Wouldn't putting one merit in Blade Bash to have a stun on-hand be worth giving up 2% damage when you happen to be at the target's front from the fifth point in Overwhelm, more so than pre-sTP TP off of what are supposed to be very frequent Zanshin procs? These sorts of things.
you're nit-picking the definition of "starter" - if you want a fresh 99 with absolutely no other means, you should be looking at the 1~119 guide.

as far as costs, 3.35m wouldn't take you very long to make - you can convert sparks to gil at about 1M:99k gil:sparks ratio (approximately, the actual shield cost is like 3.5k or something i don't remember), and you make sparks rather quickly doing just about anything -- especially during Gain EXP hours.

the T1/T2 NMs in ru'aun are incredibly simple fights and just about anyone would join a shout group if you tried. not to mention vedrfolnir's a pushover (and, should you not be able to kill it with your BLU, pops are typically cheap as well). With the inclusion of REM stones, you have even more incentive to fight unity NMs, since they're constantly moving items with a relatively decent income source.

Delve fights are mostly trivial in present-day thanks to the myriad gear and (again) you can just shout for people to run it. people want plasm.

Ambuscade isn't exactly difficult unless you're aiming for V1N+ and most pick-up groups would be able to run the content with relative ease. Not to mention, ambuscade is meant to be group content, so obviously it's expected you're gearing with some level of assistance.

Yeah, Sensui's comment is meant as "if you're starting out escha and working from zi'tah, this is a good option". I understand what you're trying to say here, but I don't think anyone should have to tell you that eminent is everyone's first gear. Again, this is something you can refer to the 1~119 thread that spicy made. Everything beyond that? Job guide.



these are incredibly particular questions and you honestly can't expect me to answer all of these things on a general guide, but let's go over some of them, uh

- STR v. DEX: i don't know why you're trying to create some form of proportion on one v. the other - none of your weaponskills derive any benefit from DEX until you get Utu Grip, so your only focus should be STR-minded pieces to begin with - DEX would be a bonus. For everything else, you should be focusing your DEX/acc on being enough to satisfy the requirements set by the type of content you're doing.

- slot priority: honestly i don't want to tell anyone to focus on any priority, because of two reasons:
a) i don't know the sort of content that comes easier/more difficult to an individual, and
b) you should have the capacity to see the gear in the list and decide for yourself if you believe that's something worth going for first.

the only exceptions i make in terms of choosing priorities are the AF/Relic+3 pieces, because those require a lot of time and resources that do see benefit from proper planning.

- TA/DA/sTP: honestly, it depends on your overall gear. the goal is to meet a certain amount of TP/swing and TP/ws in such a way that you can reliably weaponskill with less swings. so, you can decide that for yourself.

- Norifusa vs. others: norifusa's a good weapon, but it lacks damage. your weaponskill output can only go so quickly, and the point where you're sufficiently geared for endgame content, the other recommended weapons will do more damage and WS almost as frequently thanks to all the gear and buffs the current meta permits. As far as skillchaining, you're not always at a position where you can skillchain and have to default to 1 WS (fudo). This is similar to argumenting soboro vs. hagun from the old days. Hagun was the default, soboro was situational.

- WAR vs. DRK: honestly this is a toss. Souleater's good but the HP gimmick is more of a burden than a blessing IMO. I believe WAR is more useful in more varied situations. That said, you're free to use it if you want dude. oh right, as i mentioned previously, current end-game content allows buffing to a point where the desperate blows trait won't really create a meaningful gap over WAR so there's that

- Merit distro: like i said in my note, you're free to put 1 point in blade bash or shikikoyo if you'd like that, but a samurai's goal is maximizing damage, so I suggest 5/5 overwhelm as a prio and that's just my (and a lot of people's) recommendation. One occasional stun won't make or break you. as for ikishoten, zanshin rate isn't incredibly high, and if you're not in a zerg (i.e. the zanhasso minded) set, you're better off with 5/5 overwhelm vs. 5/5 ikishoten.

my comments are super erratic, i haven't slept and i'm about to board a plane lul

feel free to hit me up if anything.
 Asura.Aerox
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By Asura.Aerox 2018-09-30 06:39:57
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I think your first step as a new 99 Sam is buy eminent then spam ambu vol 1 VE or vol 2 D to get flamma+1 and the ring. Pretty much what i did when i came back after 4 yr break, although i did have delve gear. Still do shouts for ambu; a tank and healer and a few extra dd you should be ok. It's a grind but with flamma+1 makes things easier.
 
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 Leviathan.Kingkitt
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By Leviathan.Kingkitt 2018-09-30 11:56:03
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Take your time, build a Masa and do other stuff to work on your gear. Masa is free until 90! Enjoy the game!
 Leviathan.Andret
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By Leviathan.Andret 2018-09-30 13:17:51
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It's obvious! Be a Samurai and eat rice balls! Fabulous rice balls! Nothing can be better than rice balls! Only Samurai can eat proper rice balls!!!
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 Asura.Smoky
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By Asura.Smoky 2018-09-30 13:36:44
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Instead of typing/reading wall o texts... Go gear SAM and have fun. Nerds!
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 Cerberus.Senkyuutai
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By Cerberus.Senkyuutai 2018-09-30 14:18:21
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The thing that made me want to play SAM is the noise when you hit something with a GK. I remember running through West Ronfaure as a new player in 2004 and hearing this noise, I asked around what job had this weird noise because I didn't actually see the guy and some SAM in my LS came to hit stuff. My first reaction was "***, it sounds like Haohmaru in CVS2, this is so cool, I want to play this".

Then I found the job really cool looking and stuck with it. Hachiman Domaru was actually beautiful to look at back then, the bandwagon didn't exist yet, Hagun was 150k.

SAM was pretty much unwanted in many places for many reasons. I managed to do all sea content as SAM through various efforts, Hasso and Seigan didn't exist yet. It wasn't perfect or even practical at times, but back then we made it work.

I may be old fashioned or something similar but to me this is what FFXI is about. You find something you enjoy for whatever reason and you make it work through various efforts.
Sure, SAM got buffs that made it skyrocket to ungodly levels at various points of the game's life which brought a lot of people to the job. At times, it made it very difficult to be recognized as a "not a bandwagon SAM" (Abyssea is probably the worst part in the history of this game when it comes to playing SAM) but good things come to those who put efforts and are patient.

SAM is like any job in this game, it is only what you make of it. If you like it, if you put efforts, especially nowadays where everything is viable, there is no reason for the job not to be enjoyable unless you down right do not like it or prefer another, simply.



Your numbers, your pDIF stuff, *** that. Worry about that when you get to the point where you want to perfect something you enjoy, it shouldn't be the reason to play it, not on FFXI.
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 Shiva.Pukkaup
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By Shiva.Pukkaup 2018-10-17 09:34:48
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does anybody use sam in dyna D if so whats the best gear set for it dps wise?
 Asura.Sirtaint
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By Asura.Sirtaint 2018-10-17 10:01:07
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Depends on the mob, but here are my lua sets:
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By robertlee 2018-11-11 10:13:02
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thats sweet thank you, these are what im workin with atm:


sets.engaged = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Kasuga Domaru +1",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs={ name="Ryuo Hakama", augments={'Accuracy+20','"Store TP"+4','Phys. dmg. taken -3',}},
feet={ name="Ryuo Sune-Ate", augments={'HP+50','"Store TP"+4','"Subtle Blow"+7',}},
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Ioskeha Belt +1",
left_ear="Telos Earring",
right_ear="Dedition Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}


sets.engaged.Masatp1204 = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Ken. Samue",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet={ name="Ryuo Sune-Ate", augments={'HP+50','"Store TP"+4','"Subtle Blow"+7',}},
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Windbuffet Belt +1",
left_ear="Brutal Earring",
right_ear="Dedition Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.MasatpMid1225 = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Ken. Samue",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet={ name="Ryuo Sune-Ate", augments={'HP+50','"Store TP"+4','"Subtle Blow"+7',}},
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Windbuffet Belt +1",
left_ear="Brutal Earring",
right_ear="Cessance Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.MasaTPMod1269 = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Ken. Samue",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet="Flam. Gambieras +2",
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Windbuffet Belt +1",
left_ear="Brutal Earring",
right_ear="Dedition Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.MasaTPHigh1299 = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Ken. Samue",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet="Flam. Gambieras +2",
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Ioskeha Belt +1",
left_ear="Telos Earring",
right_ear="Digni. Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.MasaTPHigh1322 = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Flam. Zucchetto +2",
body="Wakido Domaru +2",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Wakido Haidate +3",
feet="Flam. Gambieras +2",
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Ioskeha Belt +1",
left_ear="Telos Earring",
right_ear="Digni. Earring",
left_ring="Regal Ring",
right_ring="Flamma Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.Hybrid = {
ammo="Staunch Tathlum",
head="Ken. Jinpachi",
body="Wakido Domaru +2",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet="Ken. Sune-Ate",
neck="Loricate Torque",
waist="Flume Belt +1",
left_ear="Genmei Earring",
right_ear="Odnowa Earring",
left_ring="Defending Ring",
right_ring="Gelatinous Ring +1",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}

sets.engaged.Meva = {
ammo="Ginsen",
head="Ken. Jinpachi",
body="Ken. Samue",
hands="Wakido Kote +3",
legs="Ken. Hakama",
feet="Ken. Sune-Ate",
neck="Moonbeam Nodowa",
waist="Windbuffet Belt +1",
left_ear="Telos Earring",
right_ear="Dedition Earring",
left_ring="Niqmaddu Ring",
right_ring="Ilabrat Ring",
back={ name="Smertrios's Mantle", augments={'DEX+16','Accuracy+20 Attack+20','Accuracy+6','"Store TP"+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}},}
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By Boshi 2018-11-11 13:47:02
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I didn’t read this at all but this thread title makes me hate you.
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 Phoenix.Hova
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By Phoenix.Hova 2018-11-11 15:14:56
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If you need people to convince you to play sam you shouldn't play sam, go play smn
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