Gandiva Afterglow

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Gandiva afterglow
 Odin.Drakenv
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By Odin.Drakenv 2018-04-03 13:56:40
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Asura.Zeroburning said: »
Might as well make them all! :D pew pew all the things!
Facts
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 Phoenix.Capuchin
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By Phoenix.Capuchin 2018-04-03 14:08:02
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Gandiva is a monster for physical damage. Arguably the #1 RNG weapon when all you care to do is pump out as much physical damage as possible. Use a good crit set when AM3 is up.

However, Gandiva does have its downsides:

1) No flexibility, it's JR or bust. The marksmanship options of Fomalhaut, Armageddon, and Gastraphetes still have GOOD physical damage and Last Stand (and AM3 for Arma), as well as strong magical WS with TF/WF giving a wide array of SC options. And hey, while we're on flexibility... Fomalhaut and Armageddon are nice options for two jobs, which may count for something for RNG COR players (it mattered to me when choosing Armageddon as my empy).

2) Spamming JR can be a bit of an enmity nightmare, which is somewhat mitigated by the marksmanship weapons with lower enmity magical WS options (and if hate is THE concern, there's always Annihilator). That being said, you can address this concern with good use of Decoy Shot (which is even more effective for Empys with those powerful AM3 normal shots). If you aren't doing that, get ready to be a RNG tank.
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 Leviathan.Celebrindal
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By Leviathan.Celebrindal 2018-04-03 16:41:02
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yes make them all! Because even if you are rocking an AG Gandiva, just like the Armageddon they start to really shine when you can use Chrono Arrows/Bullets on the empyrean weapons.

That comment of mine that was quoted earlier. That was made before I had all the RMEAs myself, and didn't fully appreciate the power of Arma and Gandiva. They are harder to use effectively than a Fomalhaut, but often can be your best option. Times when they're not that I've noticed:

1. When magical damage is best. Like being the statue killer in dynamis-D, or of course Kei runs that you choose to do RNG strat. Nothing is gonna beat a Gastraphetes pumping out Trueflight, with a close 2nd to Fomalhaut doing the same.

2. When skillchain damage is paramount. Often situations where you have a capable Fomalhaut COR, you using a Fomalhaut as well is by far your best choice. Yes, JR chains with Last Stand just fine, but having both of you on the same weapon both sporting aftermath means more Radiances or constant Lights depending on AM level.

3. When hate is an issue. The more you use it, the more you'll love an Annihilator. Allows complete ignorance to emnity concerns and you can blast away to your heart's content. A Gandiva is an amazing weapon, but it's a hate machine as has been mentioned.

Just some food for thought.
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By Afania 2018-04-03 17:44:13
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Leviathan.Celebrindal said: »


2. When skillchain damage is paramount. Often situations where you have a capable Fomalhaut COR, you using a Fomalhaut as well is by far your best choice. Yes, JR chains with Last Stand just fine, but having both of you on the same weapon both sporting aftermath means more Radiances or constant Lights depending on AM level.

One thing to consider when it comes to SC: Since JR is bow and Fomalhaut is gun, it's possible to take advantage of inundation with RDM main healer in RNG setup. Something gun+gun combo can't do.
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 Phoenix.Capuchin
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By Phoenix.Capuchin 2018-04-03 19:01:40
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Afania said: »
One thing to consider when it comes to SC: Since JR is bow and Fomalhaut is gun, it's possible to take advantage of inundation with RDM main healer in RNG setup. Something gun+gun combo can't do.

That's a really insightful point that I rarely see - great comment. Particularly since RDM is pretty useful with ranged strats in general (yay Flurry II + debuffs), you might have one... and having a mix of weapon types opens up inundation. It's sometimes useful in real situations that I find myself in often; I have one Gandiva friend along with several RNG COR gun users in our group.
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By fonewear 2018-04-03 19:03:35
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The only reason to afterglow Gandiva is so you can be red. And others will envy you.
 Leviathan.Celebrindal
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By Leviathan.Celebrindal 2018-04-03 19:23:55
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nah just glow a farsha and /lockstyle that baby over your Perun. Glowy problem solved! ;)
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 Phoenix.Capuchin
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By Phoenix.Capuchin 2018-04-03 19:26:54
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Leviathan.Celebrindal said: »
yes make them all!.

Hehe, yeah RNG is probably the job with the greatest number of truly viable RMEA choices (i.e., different situational BiS options). If you're hardcore RNG-4-ever? Go for Gandiva, go for em all! When you get a chance to go all out physical damage, Gandiva will be a freaking beast. I'd prob recommend having other RMEA options too though, for when JR spam isn't the ideal approach.

Personally, while I really like RNG, I struggle to commit to multiple RMEA for one job when I could make more RMEA for a wider variety of non-ranged jobs. I'd love to have the full array of ranged RMEAs, just don't have enough of a laser focus on RNG to pull the trigger (pun sort of intended) on options that all have their situational uses. For anyone in a similar situation, I think Fomalhaut and Armageddon are both pretty appealing since they do a little bit of everything at a pretty high level, marksmanship has lots of SC flexibility, and they work for two jobs. YMMV on whether Aeonic or Empy is easier for you to get a hold of, but either is a fine choice.

Assuming you want to really dive into RNG though...

Fomalhaut: best Last Stand (and gets Light/Radiance), great all around option
(downside: Last Stand spam generates a lot of hate)

Armageddon: best white damage with Empy AM3/crit set, AGI+50 adds a lot of racc/crit rate and is WS mod for all Marksmanship WS, great all around option, decent hate control (distant 2nd to Anni)
(downside: not the best at any of the key WS except Wildfire, which is really only useful over TF if needed due to SC properties or mob that resists light)

Gastraphetes: best DPS when Trueflight is viable, pretty good all around choice
(downside: ideally used with magic buffs/debuffs, which doesn't do much for TP phase and may not be ideal for other non-Gastra ranged users in your group)

Annihilator: best enmity control
(downside: that enmity mitigation comes at the cost of lower dps than the other RMEA options)

Gandiva: for max physical damage via JR and Empy AM3
(downside: zero flexibility, can be rough on enmity unless managing decoy shot well)

Fail-Not: for some SC situations, and for the ammo if you have a Gandiva!
(downside: outside of specific archery SC situations, will prob lose to other options)

Yoichi: um... prob the last RMEA you'd actually need these days, but it does have a niche for mega accuracy
(downside: DPS falls off if acc isn't a big concern)

EDIT: looking back at this, I kinda dig how the first SIX options are each the best choice for a completely different WS that each have viable uses.

Leviathan.Celebrindal said: »
nah just glow a farsha and /lockstyle that baby over your Perun. Glowy problem solved! ;)

Damn, you're right... 7 ranged RMEA arent enough. But... but... what about when using daggers? Gonna have to account for that too.
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 Leviathan.Celebrindal
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By Leviathan.Celebrindal 2018-04-03 20:34:59
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got the aeneas for dagger lockstyle....but a vajra would be purdy^^
 Valefor.Susake
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By Valefor.Susake 2018-04-03 22:37:34
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Leviathan.Celebrindal said: »
nah just glow a farsha and /lockstyle that baby over your Perun. Glowy problem solved! ;)
If by Farsha you mean Guttler, then I’m 100% on board.
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By Yzzerdd 2018-04-04 02:29:55
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To OP:

Gandiva is a great weapon, and I main it when I can't Trueflight/gastra.
Considering you having Armageddon AG, it might be wise to spend gils on a Gastraphetes instead of a Gandiva.
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