String Theory: A Puppetmaster's Guide *NEW*

Instead of those Taeons, Rao+1 (C) would be "slower" (companion's yo) in exchange for higher regen, right?

If I'm understanding how light maneuvers work (more HP higher regen), then you using those Taeons helps explain that parse from earlier. (+20% DA is quite the DPS increase.)

Yes, Auto-Repair Kits give bonus Regen based on max HP values.

As for the parse sets, it's +15% DA and Store TP+15 if you are comparing the TP set to Rao+1. Here they are again but in a more readable form:

ItemSet 368164
- Anwig Salade: Haste+5%/Damage Taken-10%
- Taeon: Accuracy+25/Double Attack+5/Damage Taken-4%
- Ambu Cape: Accuracy+30/Attack+20/Haste+10%/Damage Taken-5%

ItemSet 353278
- Dispersal Mantle: TP Bonus+500
- Naga Feet: Path D
- Automaton Skill+ seems to affect base damage according to some testing I did in the past, hence the Legs/Feet

for things like BC do you use augmented herc or just save yourself the trouble and use the acc/DA taeon?

Since I use my Bruiser (SoS/VE or VE/VE) almost exclusively as a tank with some DD capabilities I personally don't use VIT Herc to boost BC in order not to compromise its DT. I doubt it would die during the few seconds of missing -26% DT, but taking higher damage means losing more Enmity, which is not great when tanking.

Plus I already have inventory issues, so carrying around augmented Herc WS sets for relatively small gains is not a luxury I can currently afford. PUP already has crazy inventory demands if you gear up every aspect of the job.

ditto on that. I've been pushing multi use pieces/sets for awhile now when the gains/losses are small.

I made a vit set on a mule because awhile back I had different setup. I used to use SS and VE together and hold tp on VE's master so it would always be able to close SS's armor shatterer with a bonecrusher while maintaining light/fire/thunder maneuver and keeping capped DA during OD... but set didn't exactly get a lot of use since not long after I think is when they updated SS frame and it definitely became a lot better to use 2 of those.

Aerix why are you using shulmanu collar in ranged ws set? It has no pet ranged benefits, unless ranged ws are somehow considered differently for automaton?

The dispersal mantle lowers the automaton level for weaponskill so not worth it even for the TP Bonus. I find herculean gear with proper Pet: Accuracy and Pet: Attack, as well as the special Pet: Critical Hit paired with Double Attack augment are more useful than the emp +1 hands and feet and possibly Taeon if lucky with augments. When they become +3, however, I think they will be great contenders/replacements.

if I recall, the actual +1 level stats were very minimal.

I'm sure, but if you are going for optimal damage you will most certainly see an overall dip in weaponskill damage using dispersal over a fully augmented ambuscade cape. This is more noticeable on higher level monsters versus trash/cp mobs, etc.

How should I be skilling up archery? With both sharp shot pieces, percolator and double optic it took 4 hours to go from 0-28 skill on urganites! Lol

Yeah, I’m doing something wrong.

Yeah, that counts as something wrong lol.

I just loaded up every possible ranged thing and ran wind water light... it's not fast and there's no real way to make it fast, but definitely faster than that. I'd have to assume you were missing a lot. Try reives, they have zero evasion until you hit a reasonable level so you don't miss.

Barrage Turbine, Drum magazine, Repeater, skip the damage things like true sights you want the target alive longer.

I don't know which is the most optimal config of wind(s) water(s) and light(s) though

I don’t have percolator yet or optic fibers but I went 0-100 in gusgen with drum magazine and 3x wind maneuvers in just over an hour

Edit occasionally 2x wind 1x light to regen

If the monster exceeds the Automaton's Ranged Skill level by a significant amount - for example a level pre-lvl 100 Ranged Skill vs an Apex Monster - the Automaton will not be able to hit it at all with ranged attacks. You will have to go to a lower level monster and skill it up to a level that it can hit an Apex or any other monster past your range, such as Ranged Lvls 100-200+. This is a hard limit that is only applied to Ranged Attack Skilling and not Melee or Magic.

I did those delve bosses you can access via home points. I fought and killed Tojil, then fought and killed the winter lion one, whatever it's called. It took about 2 hours total but I used akimochi, trusts and put up fire, water, light maneuvers.

My automaton used ranged WS's and was around 400 melee skill and 325 ranged by the end of the 2nd hour. Also stay out of range of the winter lions paralyze aura, and resummon trusts if they die.

I finished my skill ups having fun in reisenjima. I didn't use percolator, just fire, light, wind and some good old fashioned *** whooping.

Contrary to its description, Shulmanu collar also adds Ranged Accuracy/Attack. Pretty much all pieces of PUP gear that say they only add Pet: Accuracy/Attack will also grant the same to Ranged stats.

Interestingly, using checkparam <pet> it seems like Shulmanu's Attack+20 is boosted additionally by Optimization (zero attachments equipped), as my maton was getting +27 instead. But Klouskap Sash+1 was adding +23 Accuracy so it seems kinda arbitrary or unrelated, as Fine-Tuning adds flat values and not % bonuses.


The +1 Lv. itself only adds stats, no hidden bonuses or level correction differences as proven by Nirvana SMNs. But you're right that the Ambu cape does add a significant amount, namely:

STR/DEX/VIT/AGI/MND/INT/CHR+4, Accuracy+32, Ranged Accuracy+33, Attack+29, Ranged Attack+28, Evasion+23, Defense+43
before augments and attachments; tested on a VE/SS automaton (stats can vary depending on head/frame)

However, aside from the small attribute bonuses the loss of Accuracy/Attack bonuses can be made up for relatively easily with Food, Attachments, Dia 2/3, Armor Shatterer, COR rolls and GEO support. Or Overdrive when solo/lowmanning. At which point the Ambu cape adds very little to the Automaton's WS damage (but is obviously a necessity for the TP phase).

On the other hand, Dispersal Cape grants +500 TP Bonus for WSs like Arcuballista and Daze which adds a significant amount of damage due to their good fTP scaling. Armor Piercer and other WSs also benefit to a certain extent. Obviously Dispersal Mantle is useless for damage when using Armor Shatterer and Bone Crusher.

Whether high level target or low level target, Dispersal Mantle significantly outdamages the Ambu cape unless the maton is overcapping on TP or possibly if you're severely underbuffed (in which case Overdrive is a good idea).


The set shown including Empy+1 was strictly for Ranged WS as per the title of it, i.e. the VE/SS maton I used, never for Valoredge body. Herculean with Pet: Crit Hit and and Double Attack will do nothing for Ranged WSs, so you're better off making Herc with Pet: DEX+ if you want to boost Sharpshot WSs. However, Empy hands+1 already have DEX+16 on them so that's wasted effort outside of a perfect DEX+15 augment with additional Ranged Attack.
Nobody said anything about using Empy Feet+1, though, unless you mean the Legs. In which case only Herc Legs with a good amount of Pet: DEX+ would be better as Automaton Skill+23 adds a decent amount of Accuracy/Attack and some amount of base damage.

But I agree that if you get really good augments then Herc can surpass Taeon for TP gain at the cost of Damage Taken-%, if the situation allows for that.

If my word alone doesn't convince you regarding Dispersal Mantle (which apparently it never does, since so many people regularly disagree with me), then maybe this damage comparison on Neak will, who I think is sufficiently high-level enough compared to CP mobs:

Dispersal Mantle:


Fully augmented Ambu Cape:


- 1k-1.1k base TP
- Dia 2, Barataria Beast/Companion's Roll, 2xFire/1xWind, no Overdrive

I had no issues the first few times in Ambu this month, but the last two fights, the boss keeps popping adds. What is triggering this? I can't recall to save my life.

You need to have any form of rolls, songs or Geomancy up to force Quenching Hammer over Providence (the move that spawns adds).

Even GEO Trusts like Brygid, Sakura or Moogle will force Quenching Hammer 100% of the time.

Oh right, idk how I managed to forget that. Thank you Aerix

Who is Aerix again? Never heard that name around the pup forums before...

</s>

/cry

Guess I'll go play DRK instead...

What sorts of things do you do in that set? (TP set) As opposed to what would need to be done in turtle?

How do you equip the auto's WS set for when it WSs?

You watch its tp and swap manually when it's near/over 1k


Only time you really turtle is like trying to be pure tank, so you avoid breaking skillchains. Like... Odin if using smns to volt>crush or... Genbu, maybe dynamis bosses (idk) Skirmish, if you're trying to cheese it.

You can automate swap based on pet TP condition (check packets) but it isn't perfect as the automaton might sit on TP

Its likely basically a hybrid set. Keep a decent tp gain rate while sitting in round 30~% dt with trait while turtle would be higher dt/hp but less tp gain

It's a pure DPS TP set. With Companion's Roll it parses basically the same as or better than an STP Herc set without losing out on DT-% or Accuracy (depending on Herc augs) and the Double Attack synergizes well with the white damage provided by Magniplugs. Without Companion's Roll Herc pulls ahead slightly.

Without Inhibitors in both cases as I use it alongside SMNs when pet burning with my maton not tanking in any way. In any case, Inhibitors tend to devalue STP Herc somewhat.

Awesome... Are you using the bruiser attachment setup from the guide for that?

I make my own setups; see my parse here and my attachment post from the previous pages. The guide hasn't yet or won't be updated with all the new info or setups I've been posting lately. Unfortunately I haven't seen Fabiano around since June or so.

It's best to read the full thread if you want to stay up-to-date on endgame stuff, especially with the recent updates to PUP.

This is what I do. They do sit at least a few seconds pretty often cause autos are dumb so I try to minimize how much DT I take out during that if it's any kind of fight that might matter