Talk:String Theory

From FFXI Wiki

Note: Please sign after your posts, either via the pencil icon or by typing ~~~~

Comments? Suggestions? Requests?

Post it here! Fabiano (talk) 11:28, 11 April 2018 (EDT)

Guide Discussion

Love your guide, Fabi. --Spicyryan (talk) 21:07, 11 October 2018 (EDT)

Additional Information

Excellent and thorough guide as far as I can see. Although I don't fully agree with many of the attachment setups, as they are unnecessarily defensive or subpar choices for DPS, I'll have to address that at a later point.

In any case, if you equip both Damage Gauges on the Soulsoother Automaton and run double Light Maneuvers (and Dark for MP), the maton is capable of curebombing someone as its Cure recast is significantly lowered. It will cast Cure V and Cure VI roughly every 2-4 seconds. This constant curing can be enough to keep even a midsized party alive in more dire circumstances, but it's important to avoid damage on the Puppetmaster or the maton will obviously ignore even half-dead people.


Aside from that, gearing your automaton for PDT/MDB/Enmity as well as Haste/Double Attack/Accuracy + Speedloader (don't use Inhibitor), it serves as an excellent companion to a SCH. Most of the time SCHs will hate automatons for interrupting skillchains, but with some communication and coordination, the automaton can reliably (barring Amnesia/Stun/Terror/Acc issues) close Skillchains for the SCH and BLMs, resulting in an essentially infinite supply of stratagems as the SCH will no longer have to spend 2 strats for every skillchain. So for Head/Frame setups, I would suggest adding the Valoredge Head/Harlequin Frame combination and perhaps a footnote for the other tank setups. Harlequin frame has sufficient HP to survive harder stuff (compared to SW and SS), it's not difficult to cap PDT with gear/attachments, it covers different SC properties and the Valoredge head prevents it from delaying Weapon Skills because it will only ever Cure IV itself when it drops to low HP.

Valoredge Frame reliably closes:

Fire > String Shredder = Scission

Blizzard > Cannibal Blade = Compression

Aero > Cannibal Blade = Gravitation (going off memory here, I rarely use this combo, but Speedloader should prioritize a Lv.2 SC over making Scission with String Shredder)

Stone > Cannibal Blade = Reverberation

Thunder > Chimera Ripper = Detonation

Water > Chimera Ripper = Induration

Luminohelix > String Shredder = Distortion

Noctohelix > Chimera Ripper = Detonation

Fire > Thunder = Fusion > Bone Crusher = Light (may fail occasionally with the Automaton closing Fire > String Shredder into Scission if the SCH takes too long to close the skillchain)

Aero > Noctohelix = Gravitation > String Shredder = Darkness (same as above)


Harlequin Frame:

Fire > Slapstick = Fusion

Blizzard > Slapstick = Fragmentation

Aero > Knockout = Scission

Stone > Knockout = Detonation (not 100% sure, but should prioritize over Slapstick for Reverberation)

Thunder > Knockout = Detonation

Water > Slapstick = Impaction

Luminohelix > Knockout = Distortion

Noctohelix > Knockout = Detonation

Blizzard > Water = Fragmentation > Magic Mortar = Light

Luminohelix > Stone = Distortion > Magic Mortar = Fusion

Sharpshot Frame is not ideal as it's squishier and Ranged Attacks can delay WS use. -- User:Rhayve, April 13th 2018

  • This is totally awesome information User:Rhayve! I never really got to experience playing my PUP alongside a SCH for an extended period of time, so it didn't really dawn on me that you could combine automaton WS with Immanence and save on stratagems. I'm going to create a table/chart with your suggested skillchains to go alongside a SCH, since that is some pretty interesting stuff. I know I've seen PUP+SCH used by other groups, so it's surely useful information.
  • I'll also plug in the information about Damage Gauge spell timers on Cures somewhere in the guide. Though even with a 2-4 second spell timer I find is still limited for healing wide AoE damage (ex: you couldn't get a soulsoother automaton keeping a group alive in something like dynamis[D] mid-boss who is using seismostomp frequently, but could keep them alive the rest of the run).
  • Other than that, I would absolutely like to hear your opinions on my Attachment sets. Please do share that with me when you can, I'd love to discuss it, and update my sets accordingly. Always more to learn after all!

Fabiano (talk) 15:11, 16 April 2018 (EDT)

Glad to hear you find the info useful! I agree that a single Soulsoother won't be able to solo cure a full party with several melees in a place like Dynamis, but it can usually keep 2-3 people alive in Omen (depending on how much the Master gets hit). Although in a situation like you described, e.g. midboss in Dynamis, I'd honestly just let the maton tank and close Skillchains on the statue for SCHs so they can nuke along with any GEO/BLMs. Goes down pretty quick even when lowmanning and with zero risk.

I'd like to add some personal opinions on gear at some point too, but for now I'd like to make a suggestion regarding the Hybrid TP set. I know that in pretty much all discussions in PUP forums people usually refer to Master+Automaton sets as Hybrid TP. But typically, when all other jobs discuss Hybrid TP sets, they are talking about Damage Taken-% combined with high Acc and multihit. Seeing as this non-apparent difference might confuse newer players who read your guide, I would suggest using different terminology for the PUP sets. I was thinking something like Mixed TP, Combined TP or Dual TP could be decent alternatives.

As for the attachment sets, I'll go through some of the 1200 JP versions to offer some suggestions.


Bruiser Tank

With decent pet DT gear, the Automaton is already extremely sturdy and can survive pretty much anything in the game where you'd use a PUP tank, with few exceptions. With that in mind, I find it's usually better to focus more on offensive capabilities to maintain hate better when Provoke/Flashbulb are down and to deal more damage for faster kills. That said, I find VE/VE to be a setup with fairly limited use - it's often much more useful as full DD when fighting alongside your Automaton against stuff like Belphegor. The SS/VE setup can equip Armor Plate IV, Barrier Module II and Barrier Module I as well, plus it has notably higher Regen from the Auto-Repair Kit IV, making it essentially sturdier as well. Though in most cases I wouldn't bother with the Barrier Modules and instead replace them with Turbo Chargers for faster TP and better decent maintenance using Light/Fire/Wind. I'd replace the Tension Spring IV either with Mana Jammer III (if needed) or Coiler II. Personally, I use the SS/VE Bruiser Tank for 95% of all the content I do (particularly Omen), because the standard tank setup is far too much defensive overkill. My suggestion would be to add this as an alternate Bruiser Tank setup.


Standard DD + Overdrive (+ Sharpshot Tank)

Generally, unless you absolutely need Ranged Attacks for flying stuff like Ouryu, I would recommend dropping Repeater and Drum Magazine for Turbo Chargers, as Ranged Attacks are subpar TP gain and even massively slow down overall TP gain/WS frequency due to the horridly slow animation. In my opinion, Ranged Attacks are just terrible overall nowadays, especially compared to the colibri meripos of the past.

For Standard DD, I use this setup which has proven extremely powerful for me. I used the below to solo UNM135 Sovereign Behemoth as PUP/COR. With some MDB swaps I also used it to duo UNM135 Sarama with an ungeared COR main (who only buffed/used Wild Card).

  • Valoredge Head
  • Sharpshot Frame
  • Turbo Charger
  • Turbo Charger II
  • Speedloader
  • Coiler (Target Marker on high Evasion NMs)
  • Inhibitor II
  • Inhibitor
  • Attuner
  • Speedloader II
  • Coiler II
  • Optic Fiber II
  • Optic Fiber
  • Auto-Rep. Kit IV

Differences in bold compared to your guide. Using Overdrive (Light/Fire/Thunder) with this setup, it will absolutely wreck anything it can solo skillchain on. 100% Double Attack, 2 hit for 1k TP, and constant Daze > Arcuballista = Liquefaction > Armor Shatter = Fusion > Armor Piercer = Gravitation spam obliterates stuff like nothing else as you know, which is why the second Speedloader is important for the Skillchain damage. The second Inhibitor allows your Automaton to wear mostly Rao+1/Taeon for DT without messing up its x-hit build. Of course, it's still highly capable without Overdrive (Light/Fire/Wind), especially when you fight alongside your Automaton, which is why I recommend keeping the Turbo Chargers on. Switching out your Automaton setup just for Overdrive is not always ideal. So unless you really need that Armor Plate IV (ARKIV is plenty for most mobs), I'd use the above setup for both Standard DD and Overdrive builds in most cases. But obviously, if there's other people spamming WSs, then the whole Speedloader/Inhibitor thing falls apart, anyway.

Of course, the same setup also works for VE/VE, although Thunder maneuvers in OD is probably not a great idea when it's solo DDing - though the damage is kinda disappointing compared to Sharpshot no matter what you do.


White Mage

  • Soulsoother Head
  • Stormwaker Frame
  • Mana Booster
  • Tact. Processor
  • Resister
  • Mana Tank IV
  • Damage Gauge
  • Vivi-valve II
  • Damage Gauge II
  • Optic Fiber
  • Optic Fiber II
  • Resister II
  • Scanner
  • Mana Tank II

From my experience, stacking both Damage Gauges is important as I mentioned before, as they cumulatively reduce the Cure recast timer for each active Light Maneuver (3x Light means a non-stop cure spam, but MP will be gone in a minute). Mana Tank II+Mana Tank IV with a Dark Maneuver will usually keep the Automaton's MP high even with double Light, making DAD unnecessary. Scanner keeps the maton from using any Enfeebling Magic, which is very important when healing as the delay in casting Cures can get people killed. Resister is probably self-explanatory.

Light/Water/Dark for typical fights to coax -na spells on party members from the Automaton. Light/Light/Dark if you need intense healing. Light/Ice/Dark if there are few-to-no status effects, especially if you want to get out some quick Protectra/Shellra on the party at the start.


Black Mage

As tempting as the Mana Channelers seem, I've only had awful experiences with them when I used my BLM Automaton for MBing. They seem to screw with the AI considerably, making it ignore SC/MB windows in favor of casting some unrelated element (e.g. Aero V on Distortion) - presumably because the Recast penalty not only applies to the global cooldown, but also to individual spells. They usually won't even MB a lower tier spell. Instead, I'd recommend using attachments such as Heatsink and Condenser to deal with Overload (not always useful with KKK, but there aren't many alternatives). Also Mana Tank 1 for max MP instead of Mana Conserver so the Automaton doesn't start casting Aspir after every nuke post-DAD.

There are some other Attachment setups I'd adjust based on personal preference, but I don't think it would suit this guide. --Rhayve (talk) 08:23, 17 April 2018 (EDT)

A few questions about White Mage automatons (new PUP here). First, is this a viable setup? It's is based on Rhayve's White Mage setup but scaled down for fresh 99 (Or even below) PUPs: 0 JP White Mage

  • Soulsoother Head
  • Stormwaker Frame
  • Mana Booster
  • Tact. Processor
  • Resister
  • Resister II
  • Mana Tank
  • Damage Gauge II
  • Damage Gauge
  • Vivi-valve
  • Optic Fiber
  • Scanner
  • Economizer
  • Mana Conserver

With the relic pants you'd be 0.5% below the 50% cure potency cap with the 2 light maneuvers up.

Second, does the 50% cap apply to the Cure Potency granted by Vivi-valves + gear? It's not mentioned anywhere in this guide, but it would be useful information since the Naga set is a lot less useful for healing (basically fast cast only) if we're capped at 50% total. If the Vivi-valve potency is somehow treated as Cure Potency II then that's a completely different story and we should be able to see some really large healing numbers.

Assuming we are capped at 50% cure potency, are there attachment adjustments we can make to account for cure potency on gear that would improve survivability or sustainability? If I'm adding everything correctly we can get 32% cure potency and 17% fast cast from gear. Aramiltaru (talk) 17:58, 24 April 2018 (EDT)

Hey, that's a really good question! I went out right away to test numbers in Reisenjima by making a mob smack a Trust tank repeatedly and having the Automaton toss a Cure VI to heal. All tests were performed during Firesday and always with both Optic Fibers equipped.

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + Light Maneuver + no Vivi-Valves:

  • 968

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 1x Light + Vivi-Valve:

  • 1180

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 2x Light + Vivi-Valve:

  • 1432

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 1x Light + Vivi-Valve II:

  • 1258

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 2x Light + Vivi-Valve II:

  • 1452

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 1x Light + Vivi-Valve I + Vivi-Valve II:

  • 1452

No Cure Potency gear (+0%) + 2x Light + Vivi-Valve I + Vivi-Valve II:

  • 1452


Full Cure Potency gear (+32%) + Light Maneuver + no Vivi-Valves:

  • 1285

Full Cure Potency gear (+32%) + 1x Light + Vivi-Valve:

  • 1461

Full Cure Potency gear (+32%) + 2x Light + Vivi-Valve:

  • 1461

Full Cure Potency gear (+32%) + 1x Light + Vivi-Valve II:

  • 1461

Didn't bother testing further with double Light or double Vivi-Valve when using Cure potency gear. As the numbers show, stacking Cure Potency gear and Vivi-Valves does little-to-nothing, adding only +9 HP healed for some reason unknown to me (Maton's Attributes never changed in both setups). So ideally, you'd be using some Cure Potency gear paired with Vivi-Valve 1 so your heals are always capped whether you use one or two Light Maneuvers. In which case you'll have 2 Light capacity left over, which would allow you to equip Eraser instead of Resister 1. This could be situationally useful if you are unable to Repair/Maintenance, but losing all your Maneuvers can be risky. Alternatively, you could simply stick to Vivi-Valve II and skip on Cure Potency gear to save inventory space, if you don't care about Automaton Fast Cast+% (arguably limited usefulness because Gearswap can't equip it for precast). Personally, I'll stick with Vivi-Valve II and Cure Potency gear because Gearswap won't always swap you for the cures if you're in the middle of performing some other action. That way it'll guarantee powerful cures in any situation.

About your first question: your attachment setup looks fine, but personally I'm a big fan of Mana Tank III and IV, simply because the Refresh you gain from them is pretty substantial and great for sustain. Economizer is a decent Attachment, but it requires prep and the JA animation essentially stuns the Automaton for 2~ seconds, which can mean life-or-death when you really need a heal. If you replace Mana Tank 1 + Economizer + Mana Conserver with Mana Tank III, you'll have two free spots to add in Power Cooler and Heatsink for better MP and Overload management. --Rhayve (talk) 21:18, 24 April 2018 (EDT)

Thank you so much for testing that! So it's clear we are capped at 50% cure potency (no surprise). I think that extra 9 hp is coming from the 10 skill on the naga feet. In that case you could also see a few more points by using the empyrean pants over the relic as long as potency is still capped. Sad we can't wear both!

I'll take your advice on the mp management attachments; it makes sense to use 1 slot for what I'm trying to do with 3. Aramiltaru (talk) 00:35, 25 April 2018 (EDT)

Hahaha, I totally forgot to check for skill. I'm still in the old 75 cap mindset where skill didn't affect cure values beyond the normal cap. Thanks for pointing that out! In that case stacking +Skill certainly needs to be taken into consideration if you're really looking to optimize. Once AF3+3 releases the pants could be quite a decent boost after capping on Cure Potency. --Rhayve (talk) 00:58, 25 April 2018 (EDT)

I got a chance to experiment last night as an MBer in a CP party and I think the BLM attachment section could use an update with the recent Ice Maker changes. With moderate gear and 3 ice maneuvers I was able to hit 40k bursts without a GEO and 50-60k with malaise up. I don't have the Udug Jacket, either earring, Tali'ah Ring, Puppetmaster's Collar (used Adad), a magic oriented cape, or either Pitre piece at +3 (used Tali'ah +2 pants, Pitre +1 feet). With the full gearset I imagine you could get close to the damage cap.

At the 100JP tier, I used the power cooler instead of the loudspeaker II and didn't have to DAD at all by idling in the relic hat +1 and denouements. Obviously the loudspeaker would have better damage, but DAD resetting maneuver duration and risking overload doesn't seem like a better option, and fighting mobs that don't have MP removes aspir issue altogether. I also used tactical processor instead of Arcanoclutch, but I realize the processor doesn't help much if at all and would switch that next time. I didn't use the Arcanic Cell II either since I don't think a stray Magic Mortar is really doing anything except potentially messing up a skillchain. I can't remember what I used instead; possibly Turbo Charger II in the hopes that the haste helps with the spell recast (does it?)

I'd still argue for the power cooler at 1200 with arcanoclutch II and loudspeaker to max out ice capacity, leaving out the turbo charger. Again I'd skip the Arcanic Cells if you're just focused on MBing, and put the heatsink back in to help get you started when maneuver duration is low.

Attachment nitpicking aside, I think it's important to talk about the timing of Deploy when trying to get your automaton to actually perform the magic burst. Thankfully my party was very patient with me while I played around last night trying to figure it out. If I used Deploy too early I'd get Thunder V on darkness - the spell landed within the window, but obviously it's not the right element. I had to wait until the majority of the way through the animation of the closing weaponskill in order to get the right element nuke. If you wait too long you will get a lower tier nuke so that the cast will still finish inside the MB window, but obviously this isn't ideal as it cuts your damage.

EDIT: Sorry, one more thing with this. Adding a gear set under the Utility sets section that is a refresh/pet refresh idle set would be useful for when using the white mage and black mage automatons. (Denouements, Pitre Taj +1/2/3, and Contriver's Cape along with pet max MP gear)

Aramiltaru (talk) 14:58, 15 August 2019 (EDT)

Skill Ups

Skill-up section could be expanded a bit. I used this method to cap my Automaton's skills.

Needed Trusts:

  • Kupipi

Needed Master Equipment:

  • Sparks gear, including sparks animator
  • Low damage staff (I used Ram Staff)

Needed Automaton Equipment:

Needed Software: Windower

  1. Create a folder called pup in Windower/addons folder.
  2. Create a new text document in the pup folder, call it pup.lua
  3. Copy and paste the following into pup.lua
function auto()
    windower.chat.input("/ja \"Light Maneuver\" <me>")
    coroutine.schedule(auto, 60)
end
 
auto()


  1. Go to Yahse or Ceizak
  2. Call your automaton and prime its Maneuver and cooldown time by deploying it against some mobs.
  3. Find a Bight Uragnite
  4. Engage the mob and Deploy your automaton.
  5. Type //lua load pup and press Enter (//lua unload pup to stop)
  6. You will now perform a Light Maneuver once every 60 seconds. Go afk once you verify your auto isn't overloading and all looks well.

How this works:

  • From my experience the automaton's WSes are what outdamages the urganite's Regen. Inhibitor stops the automaton from WSing once you hit 1000 TP, and since you're using a weapon with no native skill you will never outdamage the regen either.
  • Three light maneuvers will overcome the poison damage on the auto with the auto-repair kit, so no need for Repair.
  • Kupipi will keep herself topped up with MP and will remove Poisona and cure as usual.

I've used this method to cap auto melee and ranged after six hours. I haven't tried it with magic yet but I imagine the function could be expanded by just copying and pasting a dark maneuver in the pup lua to get refresh. Hope this is helpful. Mifaco (talk) 23:18, 8 February 2021 (EST)

Retrieved from "https://www.bg-wiki.com/index.php?title=Talk:String_Theory&oldid=623009"