[Jeryhn]

Right now I'm level 10 on my Monk, and I'm thinking I should give the job a shot because I need/want a melee job, I could use another job that's awesome in Salvage and I already have the mats for a Black Belt.
I'm also looking to do this rather cheaply gil-wise, but I'm not like poor or anything so big-ticket items are a-ok as long as I get some bang for the buck.

Gear for leveling up is mostly straightforward, but here's what I'm looking for as a basic setup for 75:

TP Gear
Destroyers
Astrolabe
Walahra Turban
Shura Togi
Melee Gloves
Byakko's Haidate
Fuma Sune-ate
Faith Torque
Amemet Mantle +1
Black Belt
Lava's Ring
Kusha's Ring
Brutal Earring
Sarabande Earring

That's +25% Haste, Attack +64, Accuracy +34 for TP gear, not including food.

WS Gear (Asuran Fists)
Destroyers
Astrolabe
Hissho Hachimaki
Shura Togi
Melee Gloves
Shura Haidate
Denali Gamashes
Faith Torque
Amemet Mantle +1
Virtuoso Belt
Lava's Ring
Kusha's Ring
Merman's Earring
Sarabande Earring

That's about +82 Attack, Accuracy +66 for Asuran Fists.

Planned Merit Setup (Monk-specific)
5 Counter
5 Kick Attack
5 Penance
4 Invigorate
1 Formless Strikes

So regarding this setup, I have a few questions.
If I'm missing any glaring Some have to do with the leveling up process:

-- Boreas Cesti worth it til 50, or go for Impact Knuckles?
-- In the level 50s, Cross-Counters/Retaliators are an obvious weapon choice, but how about Birdbanes? Will their piercing damage vs. Colibri outweigh the increased counter rate? I take it as a given that with some of these items I'll have at the 56 area (Harness, Lava, Kusha, Virtuoso, Brown Belt, etc.), that I'll pretty much be guaranteed to be tanking during the leveling path. How about in meriting versus Destroyers?
-- Will I ever really use Footwork outside of Dragon Kick? I need to know if I want to bother myself with getting a pair of Dune Boots.
-- For that matter, will I ever use Dragon Kick (and to a lesser extent, Ascetic's Fury) while I have Asuran Fists available? Is it worthwhile to acquire gear for both of these WS?
-- Best TP pants until I grab Byakko's? Shura Haidate, maybe? Should I just wear subligar until Shura?
-- Should I ever bother getting an Optical Hat if I can get Hissho Hachimaki?
-- I listed Melee Gloves rather than Okote/BandoKote for 75 because I think the Subtle Blow is a good idea. Yay/nay?
-- Should I level a THF sub for Monk?
-- Flame Gorget looks nice for Asuran, but I've heard all sorts of shit regarding sea gorgets. It would be nice to get seeing as how I also have Atonement, but is sticking to Faith (or Ancient) Torque better?
-- I'll have 20% Haste when I hit 75 (probably won't ding into Byakko's), so while my Monk won't be absolutely perfect, is it feasible to start taking it into Salvage and start tanking chariots at this point (obviously I should finish off Counter and Penance merits first)?

Also, my setup won't have access to Rajas/Etheral/Hollow/Bushi/Ulthalam's due to choices made for other jobs.
Will lack of these options seriously impact my Monk, or am I worrying for nothing?

Thanks in advance.

[TresDuendes]

Jeryhn, on 24 January 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Right now I'm level 10 on my Monk, and I'm thinking I should give the job a shot because I need/want a melee job, I could use another job that's awesome in Salvage and I already have the mats for a Black Belt.
I'm also looking to do this rather cheaply gil-wise, but I'm not like poor or anything so big-ticket items are a-ok as long as I get some bang for the buck.

Gear for leveling up is mostly straightforward, but here's what I'm looking for as a basic setup for 75:

TP Gear
Destroyers
Astrolabe
Walahra Turban
Shura Togi
Melee Gloves
Byakko's Haidate
Fuma Sune-ate
Faith Torque
Amemet Mantle +1
Black Belt
Lava's Ring
Kusha's Ring
Brutal Earring
Sarabande Earring

That's +25% Haste, Attack +64, Accuracy +34 for TP gear, not including food.

Fairly decent set up baring usukane choices. Pick up a minuet earring, use that when active, otherwise Diabolos' earring is nice too. I prefer PCC to faith torque, but shit is situational. You could pick up a pair of N.Kote for when you need the ACC as well.

Jeryhn, on 24 January 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

WS Gear (Asuran Fists)
Destroyers
Astrolabe
Hissho Hachimaki
Shura Togi
Melee Gloves
Shura Haidate
Denali Gamashes
Faith Torque
Amemet Mantle +1
Virtuoso Belt
Lava's Ring
Kusha's Ring
Merman's Earring
Sarabande Earring

That's about +82 Attack, Accuracy +66 for Asuran Fists.

Bit of overkill on ACC compared to your TP set. Atm you'll be adjusting your food to match your ACC gear as you don't have some of the bigger budget ACC items (cuchu, usu body / feet etc) which means you'll be using pizza everywhere but colibri.

Jeryhn, on 24 January 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

Planned Merit Setup (Monk-specific)
5 Counter
5 Kick Attack
5 Penance
4 Invigorate
1 Formless Strikes

Fairly standard

Jeryhn, on 24 January 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

So regarding this setup, I have a few questions.
If I'm missing any glaring Some have to do with the leveling up process:

-- Boreas Cesti worth it til 50, or go for Impact Knuckles?
-- In the level 50s, Cross-Counters/Retaliators are an obvious weapon choice, but how about Birdbanes? Will their piercing damage vs. Colibri outweigh the increased counter rate? I take it as a given that with some of these items I'll have at the 56 area (Harness, Lava, Kusha, Virtuoso, Brown Belt, etc.), that I'll pretty much be guaranteed to be tanking during the leveling path. How about in meriting versus Destroyers?
-- Will I ever really use Footwork outside of Dragon Kick? I need to know if I want to bother myself with getting a pair of Dune Boots.
-- For that matter, will I ever use Dragon Kick (and to a lesser extent, Ascetic's Fury) while I have Asuran Fists available? Is it worthwhile to acquire gear for both of these WS?
-- Best TP pants until I grab Byakko's? Shura Haidate, maybe? Should I just wear subligar until Shura?
-- Should I ever bother getting an Optical Hat if I can get Hissho Hachimaki?
-- I listed Melee Gloves rather than Okote/BandoKote for 75 because I think the Subtle Blow is a good idea. Yay/nay?
-- Should I level a THF sub for Monk?
-- Flame Gorget looks nice for Asuran, but I've heard all sorts of shit regarding sea gorgets. It would be nice to get seeing as how I also have Atonement, but is sticking to Faith (or Ancient) Torque better?
-- I'll have 20% Haste when I hit 75 (probably won't ding into Byakko's), so while my Monk won't be absolutely perfect, is it feasible to start taking it into Salvage and start tanking chariots at this point (obviously I should finish off Counter and Penance merits first)?

Also, my setup won't have access to Rajas/Etheral/Hollow/Bushi/Ulthalam's due to choices made for other jobs.
Will lack of these options seriously impact my Monk, or am I worrying for nothing?

Thanks in advance.

1. Boreas should work ok until 50. At 38 or so, Mythril knuckles +1 seem like a good option for colibri but it depends on how well the enaero is procing.
2. Birdbanes should last you all the way til Waghs/Hades/Destroyers if you're doing piercing camps. If not, use CC/Retaliators.
3. Footwork sucks.
4. Don't use Dragon Kick unless you're doing 300tp SATA WS. Even then, a staff might still be better. Ascetic's is nice for turning things black, but that's about where it ends.
5. Best TP pants before Byakko's depends on how much time you're looking to spend. Usukane > Barbarossa's > Shura > Cobra > Prince's slops. Pick up a pair of the slops off the AH until you can get something better - they're ugly but they're a nice piece.
6. If you want to make an evasion build yes, otherwise no.
7. Wouldn't make the change for subtle blow specifically. However the evasion is nice in certain situations - salvage (outside of chariots) being one of them.
8. You can but you probably won't ever use it.
9. Use Gorget
10. Absolutely, your MNK is already better geared than most who start doing salvage. If you already have Salvage experience on a mage, there's a small amount of shock changing to a melee, but it's really not any harder.

The only real loss you're losing out on is Hollow earring, but it's by no means make or break.

[Jeryhn]

TresDuendes, on 24 January 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:

Fairly decent set up baring usukane choices. Pick up a minuet earring, use that when active, otherwise Diabolos' earring is nice too. I prefer PCC to faith torque, but shit is situational. You could pick up a pair of N.Kote for when you need the ACC as well.

I looked at Diabolos', but figured that the events I might use MNK for (Apollyon, Dynamis, Einherjar) made the earring less attractive.

TresDuendes, on 24 January 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:

Bit of overkill on ACC compared to your TP set. Atm you'll be adjusting your food to match your ACC gear as you don't have some of the bigger budget ACC items (cuchu, usu body / feet etc) which means you'll be using pizza everywhere but colibri.

Any suggestion you'd make besides getting Cuchu and Usu?

TresDuendes, on 24 January 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:

1. Boreas should work ok until 50. At 38 or so, Mythril knuckles +1 seem like a good option for colibri but it depends on how well the enaero is procing.
2. Birdbanes should last you all the way til Waghs/Hades/Destroyers if you're doing piercing camps. If not, use CC/Retaliators.

Alrighty, how about Birdbanes vs. Destroyers in meriting (Greater Colibri)?
Also, do Birdbanes retain their piercing effect under Level Sync (thinking East Ronfaure [S] Colibri).

TresDuendes, on 24 January 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:

7. Wouldn't make the change for subtle blow specifically. However the evasion is nice in certain situations - salvage (outside of chariots) being one of them.

Also figured the HP+% would be nice, particularly for Chariots, is this incorrect?
Honestly have no idea what a Monk tanking a chariot should look like beyond wearing normal TP gear.

TresDuendes, on 24 January 2010 - 04:21 PM, said:

10. Absolutely, your MNK is already better geared than most who start doing salvage. If you already have Salvage experience on a mage, there's a small amount of shock changing to a melee, but it's really not any harder.

Well, I have PLD75, so I'm used to tanking stuff I suppose. No worries here.

Thanks again for your reply, the info's been most helpful.

[Aliadim]

Jeryhn, on 26 January 2010 - 03:10 AM, said:

Alrighty, how about Birdbanes vs. Destroyers in meriting (Greater Colibri)?
Also, do Birdbanes retain their piercing effect under Level Sync (thinking East Ronfaure [S] Colibri).

Birdbanes shouldn't outperform Destroyer's on Greater Colibri. Someone else could better tell you the math, but the damage seemed to be about equal to Destroyers at 75 not including WS. Birdbanes start falling behind when WS gets put into the equation, 'cause our WS's are blunt base, thus nulling the piercing advantage. As for your other questions: Honestly? Everything looks good. It's one of the first posts of a new MNK where things actually looked in order. Any gear that you need to upgrade will either be marginal or obvious. I'm somewhat confident you know what you're aiming for.

[TresDuendes]

Aliadim, on 26 January 2010 - 03:16 AM, said:

Birdbanes shouldn't outperform Destroyer's on Greater Colibri. Someone else could better tell you the math, but the damage seemed to be about equal to Destroyers at 75 not including WS. Birdbanes start falling behind when WS gets put into the equation, 'cause our WS's are blunt base, thus nulling the piercing advantage. As for your other questions: Honestly? Everything looks good. It's one of the first posts of a new MNK where things actually looked in order. Any gear that you need to upgrade will either be marginal or obvious. I'm somewhat confident you know what you're aiming for.

Just verifying about Birdbrainz v Destroyers - the melee DoT is slightly in favor of Destroyers if your ATK is low due to the crit, and goes the other way with high attack. WS dmg is what makes Destroyers pull ahead in either situation.

[Severance]

Destroyers over Birdbanes in merits.

N.Kote are nice gloves.

Cuchulain's Mantle is worth the money if you start to use the job a lot.

Use Gorgets. WS builds for Howling Fist and Dragon Kick are fairly similar and pretty easy to obtain, may as well.

Chakra sets are awesome.