Blade: Hi WS Set.

is that chakram for the ws necessary? would you not loose the tp when equiping it and unequiping after the ws or am i mistaken? since Qirmiz already does a good deed.

This is my ws set currently and I don't notice a static dif. between loki's and iga ningi +2. Out of all my options I see the best results with this. Any idea's on improvements that have been tested?

This is my ws set currently and I don't notice a static dif. between loki's and iga ningi +2. Out of all my options I see the best results with this. Any idea's on improvements that have been tested?

The Nightfyre static breakdown was a page back I think. But!

Centaurus/WoTG earring with attack and TP bonus over Light Earring. I use Iga Ningi over Loki's. Looks pretty solid though.

my WoTG earring is for ranger as I'm almost done with yoichi. i just got the light earring so i've been playing with that OUTSIDE. inside still centaurus.

Only 60-70 pieces of gear?

Only 60-70 pieces of gear?

Middle of the road is hard to define because it still depends on what you do and how you do it.

Kannagi/Arisui/---/Qirmiz
Ocelomeh (+1)/Rancor/Moonshade/Brutal
Iga +2/Seiryu's/Epona's/Stormsoul
Atheling/Anguinus/Byakko's (aug)/Koga +2

Replace body and legs with Athos once you have both. Use of Rancor Collar instead of Rancor Mantle is under the presumption that you're again prioritizing inventory given that that's the more effective TP configuration. If you don't ever TP in Rancor Collar, go for Rancor Mantle and Hope Torque instead.

On a semi-related note, I think you overrate the amount of effort involved in managing multiple similar sets. If you're using NQ macros then that's one thing, but you can set up toggles in Spellcast that manage all the different choices for you and you can just set up duplicate macro sets with minor changes if using .txt macros. It requires very little additional effort to set up and minimal maintenance aside from periodically updating gear.

funny. i dont want 150 pieces of situational gear :x is that too much to ask for? ; ;

Because Ninja is such a versatile job I don't see how carrying 60-70 pieces is even possible. There are hundreds of situations you can find yourself in, and there's nothing better than digging into your mog sack/satchel to grab the piece that's gonna put you on top of that situation.

Each monster is different, why wouldn't you want to adjust gear to best combat it? Ninja is my baby, maybe I see things differently.

Airplanes are one thing, kicking the ***out of Monsters on FFXI is entirely different. Plus I'm a fan of the super plane anyway. xD

Sort of. I'll break it down slot-by-slot, focusing on non-Abyssea content.

Main: Kannagi, duh
Offhand: STR Arisui is currently your best general-purpose option. Other weapons may have situational applications.
Ammo: Qirmiz Tathlum all the way.
Head: A perfectly augmented Shura Kabuto +1 has the greatest potential if ignoring dDEX, but that requires three very strong augments. Even then it's pretty close to an Ocelomeh Headpiece +1, which is vastly superior if the DEX does have a significant impact on critrate. Given its superior utility (idle, mixed eva), I've chosen to stick to Ocelomeh +1.
Neck: Not as obvious as it might initially appear. Rancor Collar is generally best-in-slot, but Rancor Mantle doesn't stack with it. As such, you should use Hope Torque if you have access to Rancor Mantle. If critrate and pDIF are both high but pDIF is uncapped, Hope Torque may pull ahead of Rancor anyway.
Ears: Moonshade Att+4/TP Bonus and Brutal
Body: Athos's Tabard with high critrate, otherwise Iga Ningi +2. I'll cover set bonus in greater detail later.
Hands: Augmented Seiryu's Kote if you're not trying to boost dDEX. If you are, you have the choice of Iga Tekko +2 or Athos's Gloves. If you're able to get a partial set bonus with the gloves then they're generally the better option.
Rings: Epona's/Stormsoul is a pretty safe bet for most things.
Back: Rancor Mantle, otherwise Atheling.
Waist: Depends. Cuch or augmented Warwolf for dDEX, Anguinus for low critrate/pDIF/hitrate, Crudelis for high pDIF/critrate especially with favorable WSC rounding.
Legs: Augmented Byakko's with critdmg and AGI. Preferably STP too so you can TP in them as appropriate.
Feet: Koga +2 are your best full-damage option, but this is where considerations for the Athos set bonus really come into play. Given a set bonus of at least 2%, Athos body + feet will generally match/beat Iga Ningi +2 + Koga Kyahan +2.

I just got the Athos's Chapeau to go with my Boots the other day, and, I've been poking Lesser Colibris for the last few hours during the football game. My crit rate without any Athos's on was 30%. (Rancor Collar + 5 crit. hit merits) My crit. hit rate now after swapping in Athos's Chap. and Boots is 34.09%. (861/2529)
I'm about to go out now but I'll keep the parser running and do more when I get back.