Well, now that we can't infinitely use boards, I've decided to write a brief guide on the cost of synthing various grades of weapons. Not really important for the people with 99 million meseta and 3 stacks of photons or whatever, but for us mere mortals (and for those on 360 and JP PSU), this should come in handy.
Cost/benefit analyses are used in professional circles all the time, but this is easy because the game gives us straight numbers and we can extrapolate from them.
One note: I do NOT account for the cost of photons in this thread, because either you can 1) pay any price for photons and it doesn't matter or 2) have to farm your own. No middle ground on PS2. This also assumes pure synthing PMs (at 100%) and also that you're synthing melee weapons, since doing anything else is basically a risk of money: OK to do if you have plenty of it or plenty of the synthing parts/a free board from a run, but not a bread-and-butter item like % weapons should be for us fighter-jocks. This also has nothing to do with specialty items or rare single-use boards; those are generally good enough that they're worth the gamble, regardless of the %s.
7* weapons are 58.5k to synth apiece from raw materials count and 1/3rd the board price; to make an entire board costs 175.5k. Since they come out to a 67% chance, that means that 33% of that money is wasted (in the long run) - add another 57.915k to that total to account for wasted cash in lieu of accounting for bad weapon synths. In all, a 7* board costs 233,415 to synth fully.
8* weapons are 101,667 meseta to synth apiece; an entire board costs 305,001. Because it comes out to a 61% chance, that means 39% of that is wasted - tack another 118,950 to the cost of an 8* board. 423,951 is the full cost of an 8* board - note, too, that at this point, the failure cost outweighs the cost of an actual synthing of the weapon!
9* weapons are 146.5k to synth raw - 439.5k for the complete board cost. Because it only has a 55% success rate, 45% is wasted - 197,775 must be accounted for. 637,275 can be called the 'total' cost.
Oh, and here's 6* boards - as the best lower-class weapons (ones that grind to better than 9*, should you choose to), it should be included in this set.
6* weapons cost 26.6k to synth each; that comes to 79.8k. As 78% to synth, only 22% goes to waste - 97,356 is the total board cost. If we only had firm numbers on exact grinding %s (because real hackers haven't pulled them yet, it's likely that the %s are chosen server-side only), we could cost-out grinding them to 10; but 5 grind is easy enough to achieve on a 3* day and puts most 6* weapons very close to 7*.
One interesting thing of note is that the final synthing cost of a weapon is about 2/3s the price of a weapon in the store; from that we can say that 9*s will probably cost around 220k in the NPC stores. <_< Except in the case of Force weapons; more metals are required in that case.
Now, what does all this mean?
You can synth 9 7*s weapons for the cost of 3 9* weapons - and you can synth 36 6* weapons for the cost of 3 9*s. Since %s matter a lot more than base ATP, the more you synth the better a chance you have of good %s. Also (in my casual estimation) having more weapons means that you have more PP to spam the PAs.
After quite a bit of experimentation, I've determined that elemental %s are added AFTER your base atp is added to the weapon's atp; that's important because it means even low atp weapons (like daggers) and the 6*s weapons ground sufficiently are still viable as elemental %s.
The main SIGNIFICANT difference between a high % 7* and a low % 9* is the matter of Att. Accuracy is very important, particularly to a beast fortefighter - then again, the 9* axe only has 20 more Att than a 7*, and you can always, in the immortal words of Leo, "Move in from behind!"
Of course, that isn't ENTIRELY the final word. Several of the A rank weapons have special abilities that throw this curve out, because the expense and risk of synthing them are worth it.
The Jogiri (8* GRM sword), for example, has a chance to poison enemies; with the Spinning Break PA, high base ATP, and the poison SE it is a strong weapon against the larger creatures, particularly ones that are melee-resistant. Final assessment? Worth it in my book.
The Phantom, too, has a strong set bonus with the Phantomline; 25% atp and ATA is nothing to sneer at, particularly with a low-damage class like the Ranger. However, the Phantom will eventually be in stores - no need to blow a lot of cash on it unless you REALLY want it now, plus the Phantomline will consume enough of your money.
Does anyone know any more A-rank weapons that have special effects which are worthwhile? A rank mind you; I don't need anything lower than that. ^-^
Also, these A-rank weapons come in the NPC shops with %s already on them, so there's no need to synth them with this element. Don't synth any of the matching 9*s with the same element because the slight benefit of enhanced stats are buried by the superior %s. Not worth the gamble.
8* GRM single saber: 29% Ice (ftw!)
8* Yohmei Twin Claws: 34% Dark
8* Yohmei Single Claw: 35% dark
Because this is striving to be a relatively complete guide, here's the Brank weapons that come with %s (for the newbies and people who like to synth Branks):
5* GRM Sword: 25% ice
5* GRM Twin Sabers: 22% ice
5* GRM Single Saber: 26% ice
5* Yohmei Spear: 28% fire
4* Yohmei Twin Daggers: 30% fire
5* Yohmei Single Dagger: 31% fire
6* Tenora Knuckles: 23% light
5* Tenora Spear: 24% Lightning
Now, for a few words on grinding.
GRINDING IS GAMBLING.
I can't state that firmly enough. GRINDING IS GAMBLING!! Never gamble what you're not able to lose. The successful gamblers, the ones that make a living on it, know when they're ahead and walk away and more importantly, know when they're losing and when to RUN away.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument (and this isn't by any means TRUE, just useful for illustration) that on a 3 luck day Guaranteed means 100%, Very High means 90%, and High means 70% - this'd hold up with what I've seen too. Now, assuming that you have enough B+10s to carry an item all the way to 10 grind...
2 grind = 100% chance of surviving.
3 grind = 90% chance of surviving.
4 grind = 72% chance of surviving.
5 grind = 64.8% chance of surviving.
6 grind = 58.32% chance of surviving.
7 grind = 40.82% chance of surviving.
8 grind = 28.58% chance of surviving.
9 grind = 20% chance of surviving
10 grind = 14% chance of surviving.
Essentially, you have a 14% chance(assuming that this is accurate, which it isn't) to get a weapon up to Grind 10. Conversely, the chance of you BREAKING it on the way is 86%.
86% that your weapon dies. And we've all heard too many horror stories of weapons busting on even the 2nd or 3rd grind - just two days ago (as of this guide's creation) one of my buddies broke a 44% light Deljabaner going from 1 to 2.
I would state with some firmness that grinding any further than "There is no chance of failure" with ANY weapon over 30% is simply not worth it in the end - very few weapons get HUGE bonuses from grinding, and the % is worth far more than the grind. Heck, even 20% is pushing it - but 20% is easy enough to get synthing, so if you've got it than risk it.
After all, it's a crooked game run by a crooked house, but if you don't play then you can't win.
OK, anyone know any other A-rank weapons that have special benefits? I'm waiiiiting....
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: imfanboy on 2007-01-19 18:53 ]</font>
Reply With Quote
Blink & you might miss it! ;3
Connect With Us