When to use Grinders?

[EX-731]

Let me illistrate my question with a real life example.

Ex finds his first dragon slayer. Rock on! Quickly Grind it to max. Few days later, he find another, this one with a 10% to hit... Cool, grind it to max, give old DS to new Hu Rurouni, alls cool. Few days later find new DS with 25% to hit...

See my point?

So i'm asking your option on when you should use your grinders to improve your weapon. Now i relize the DS to be such a common weapon, i'll not waste grinders on it again, but what about something much less common, say a red sword or parstion? I got lucky and found a red parstion with 15% to hit, so i maxed it out. (now i'll find a better one, just watch...) Is it worth holding out for a better rare weapon, or should you grind a good rare as soon as you get it, or what?

What do you think?

EX-731

[demonknight]

id say only use grinders on rarer weapons

[jlkeeton]

I'd personally find an item you like to use and grind it -- rare or not. If it'll be the weapon you'll be using, it makes sense to bump the attack power up. Waiting for a rarer weapon could take a long time and you will probably find more grinders in the meantime. I ended up grining my Varista & Crush Bullet (lost due to NASTY mem card problem... grrr!) with some to spare. I also bumped up the Soul Eater and Club of Laconium up to Max. At first, I had an almost fully-ground Autogun when I started off -- but the power on it is quite good even compared to later Rayguns out there ^__^. You'll find tons of grinders, so enjoy the weapon now if you like it .

[Elusive_Llama]

Rules for using grinders:

1) Don't use grinders on 9* stuff. Worthless junk.

2) Don't use grinders on any kind of FO-only weapon.

3) Check the grind limit of your weapon. If the limit is low (ie. +9) and your grinder supply is limited, save your grinders until you get a decent weapon with a high grind that you intend to use.

ex. Red Swords grind to +52, so they see a boost of 104 ATP. Red Partisans grind to +40, so that's +80 ATP.

On the other hand, Frozen Shooters only grind to +9, so there's only a boost of +18 ATP.

4) Don't waste a di/trigrinder to grind a weapon to its max if the remainder is only 1 point. You'll be wasting those grinds.

[Tulathis]

1) Don't use grinders on 9* stuff. Worthless junk.

2) Don't use grinders on any kind of FO-only weapon.

Well, for the most part I'd say you were right. There are a few times I would take exception to this though. If you find a 9* mechgun with a high hit percentage, I would grind it. There are a few other 9* weapons that I still use with high level characters, including an Angry Fist for my FOmar that has really good stats. I think if you find this kind of weapon you'll generally know it. I'd also say that there are a few force-only weapons that I would grind, but then only if you know you're going to be using them a lot. Even if you are exclusively casting spells there might be an instance or two where you'll be forced to smack an enemy with whatever cane or staff you are using. Grinders aren't so rare that you only need to use them on 13* weapons, just be selective and use common sense.

[TedEdFred]

I usually just grind my best stuff and keep going down the list until I start getting to common things. Then I grind the common stuff that has the best percents which I don't think I'll soon find better of.

[FluxGryphon]

I tend to save my grinders for stuff that has good stats and intend to use it. And since the weapons that grind to 9 (like mechguns) are quick to max out, they are tended to first. Then there are certain non-red box weapons that not only have good stats but also a kick-arse special. My RAmar has a Geist Laser with a mix of stats with 25% to hit that he uses for filling up TP. In my pre-Frozen Shooter days, when I felt like using it for more than its special (sometimes it is damn inconvenient to switch weapons) it doubled as his rifle of choice. Didn't have enough grinders to max it out, but the extra grinds helped.

Demon weapons and Hell weapons (for pre-Ultimate runs) do well as double service weapons. When the special isn't hitting, you can just blast them down. And if you have hit it already with the demon attack, maybe you'll kill it in the next hit.

Other than that, it's a good idea to save grinders for the good stuff (i.e. good stats with hit, good rare weapon, etc.). And if you need to stockpile grinders, go kill El Rappies in Fake in Yellow with a Force! Not only will you get mats and XP in the process, but it's wildly addicting!