I've been doing a lot of research online from both past threads on here and other sites like BGwiki and some threads on the official SE XI forums about the usefulness of Lionheart for RUN in 2025. I know in the past it was considered a pretty bonkers DD weapon for the job if buffed properly for Resolution spam. However most of the info I found for it was from between 2016 to 2019 and not a whole lot recently on it.
There's 3 main factors I was taking into consideration for whether or not it would be worth getting the Lionheart at this point for my RUN. First is I already have Epeolatry at the afterglow (III) version but without any Oboro augments yet. I noticed Epeo gets a much bigger DPS boost with R15 augments than Lionheart does. With Epeo going from around 37.4 to 42.2 DPS, where as Lionheart only goes from 42 to 44 DPS at R15.
Second is the amount of gear creep we have seen since the 2016 to 2019 era, since Odyssey and Sortie have really made a big difference with gear choices since then. Especially in the case of WSD on Nyame, which seems to favor Dimidation a lot more than it would Resolution.
Third is with or without having party support buffs and which WS would be better to use overall in an non-buffed/not attack capped scenario. If I wanted to do some solo content on RUN with trusts like Easy or Normal Ambuscade or some HTMB where I'm not buffed aside from trusts support buffs, would having the Lionheart make Resolution more powerful than Dimidation with Epeo in uncapped attack/non-buffed situations if you also factor in the Nyame and other modern era gear creep as well? Likewise in modern day full party support/buff situations, does Epeo Dim seem to do better now than Lionheart Reso or vice versa?
Back in the day it sounded like Reso was much better than Dim from what I had read in older posts. But I would assume that might have changed since then, plus I saw that Reso has that attack penalty and Dim can also make self light SC more efficiently with Epeo aftermath. Not to mention Epeo is obviously superior taking weapon, however I would like to try and experiment with some older 119 era content with my RUN solo outside of when I'm main tanking in a full party.
So my main TLDR questions are:
1) is Lionheart still worth obtaining in 2025 with the new gear creep and if someone already has Epeolatry upgraded to either afterglow or R15? I would assume without Epeo then Lionheart would still be worth it compared to non REMA options. At least for DD/lower end content potential and not so much in higher end more difficult NM tanking scenarios. I would probably use Aettir for high end tanking if I didn't have Epeo.
2) Is Dim or Reso the more powerful WS option in under buffed/not attack capped situations and same question for fully buffed situations as well?
3) Will Reso with Lionheart out perform Dim with Epeo in modern day with the new gear creep or vice versa?
I'm mainly trying to figure out if it's still worth it for me or any RUN in general to get the Lionheart in modern era FFXI or just stick with Epeo full time. Thanks for taking the time to read this for those who do, I appreciate any advice and insight on this topic.
