Warrior: Guide to Weapons and Armor

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Beginning Note
Note: All weapons in Italics are likely to be expensive. All in Bold cannot be bought at an Auction House and typically can be skipped over. All items are my own personal opinion as to what's the best or most feasible choices at these levels.

Author's Opening
Note: this does not reflect the views of the wikipedia or the owner of this site whatsoever. This is merely an opinion on how to optimize yourself as a Warrior. ~Andres

This list is a collection of what many a Warrior have seen and used in going up the ranks. Many of these pieces have fond (or not so fond) memories attached. They will get the job done, but if for some reason, a piece is hard to acquire due to price/availability, use your best judgment in suiting up before you XP.

I would like to now open with a piece of advice to all Warriors who want to be the 'best they can be'. A fact of FFXI is, there is almost no possible way to be the best you can in one set of armor. a full set devoted to "Damage Dealing" will often have low defense and Vitality and leave you in a bad situation if you become the monsters target or are asked to tank. A full set devoted to tanking will lack the power of a warrior to deal damage when asked to. A 'compromise' set of gear, although possible, overall limits a person from being the best they can be.

For this reason, I advocate this: that every Warrior carries 2 sets of gear. For a warrior with greater access to money, this means 2 full sets of gear. One devoted to pure damage dealing, and one devoted to pure tanking and damage reduction. In order to change this gear according to necessity, you must use Macros. For a warrior that cannot spend as much, I suggest one full set of either tanking or DD gear, and a few relatively inexpensive and multi-purpose pieces that can be switched in. An example of these pieces of gear could be Stamina Rings, since both a Paladin and tanking Warrior would use this piece of equipment, or for the opposite end Courage Rings since nearly every Damage Dealing job, and a Damage Dealing Warrior will use those rings. When in the opposite role as the 'full set' is made to do, you add in the multi-purpose pieces. In this way, you still utilize a Warrior's versatility; and overall only restrict yourself partially.

~ Andres


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Great Axe:

 * Lvl 5 Butterfly Axe
 * Lvl 8 Inferno Axe
 * Lvl 12 Greataxe
 * Lvl 16 Moth Axe
 * Lvl 20 Neckchopper (highly suggested)
 * Lvl 25 Plantbane (skip if you own the Neckchopper)
 * lvl 28 Military Axe (some argue this is when you should replace the Neckchopper)
 * Lvl 30 Centurion's Axe or
 * Lvl 31 Voulge/Voulge +1/Twicer
 * Lvl 34 Heavy Axe
 * lvl 37 Horror Voulge (Note: I find this axe better than the Huge Moth Axe from my own experiance ~Andres)
 * Lvl 39 Huge Moth Axe
 * Lvl 42 Raifu
 * Lvl 46 Eisentaenzer
 * Lvl 49 Gigant Axe
 * Lvl 54 Executioner
 * Lvl 59 Heavy Darksteel Axe
 * Lvl 62 Demon's Axe
 * Lvl 64 Colossal Axe
 * Lvl 69 Berserker's Axe
 * lvl 70 Rune Chopper (Latent Effects are activated at cost of 4 MP per 3 seconds, very high DoT w/ effects)
 * Lvl 71 Bhuj
 * Lvl 71 Gawain's Axe
 * Lvl 72 Martial Bhuj
 * Lvl 73 Toporok
 * Lvl 74 Byakko's Axe
 * Lvl 75 Bravura

End Game Great Axes
These axes are the top 3 Great Axe's that a warrior can ever potentially own, Martial Bhuj is a rare drop from an ENM, Byakko's Axe drops from the Sky God - Byakko, and Bravura is the fully upgraded Great Axe relic.


 * Martial Bhuj
 * Byakko's Axe*
 * Bravura

Bear in mind that these Great Axes can be difficult to acquire and that finishing up with Bhuj or, more preferably, Martial Bhuj is sufficient until either endgame axe is available. In many cases the damage output of a Martial Bhuj, due to its enhancing effects on weaponskills, will outperform any other Great Axe in the game.


 * Byakko's Axe is comparable in usefulness to Berserker's Axe. Both are good because of their high base damage. If you are unable to obtain a Byakko's Axe, Berserker's Axe is a good alternative.

Axe:

 * Lvl 1 Bronze Axe
 * Lvl 8 Brass Axe
 * Lvl 13 Bone Axe
 * Lvl 15 Bastokan Axe
 * Lvl 16 Bone Pick
 * Lvl 20 Battleaxe
 * Lvl 28 Military Pick
 * Lvl 31 War Pick +1
 * Lvl 32 Warrior's Axe
 * Lvl 37 Mythril Axe
 * Lvl 40 Combat Caster's Axe and/or Razor Axe (AF1)
 * Lvl 43 Combat Caster's Axe +1 or Combat Caster's Axe +2
 * Lvl 48 Viking Axe (very useful, highly recommended)
 * Lvl 56 Darksteel Axe +1 Useful axe for the extra DMG
 * Lvl 60 Tungi Excellent Axe. Great Main/Offahnd axe. Good dps and drops fairly easily off a spawned NM in Quicksand Caves
 * Lvl 63 Fransisca Another good axe dropped by Aquarius. You'll be competing with rangers for it
 * Lvl 68 Acha d'Armas
 * Lvl 70 Juggernaut Excellent offhand axe for it's unprecedented +attack.
 * Lvl 71 Tabarzin
 * Lvl 72 Woodville's Axe
 * Lvl 73 Maneater

Note: At the above level 48 zone, the dynamics of dual wielding axes become somewhat complicated. Swords may be worn in the offhand or sub slot, you will likely keep a Viking axe for its +10 ACC till lvl 75 as a backup weapon, but you may not. If someone more experienced than me can give a good opinion on this. I will gladly let them. ~User:Andres

Using Viking Axe will severely weaken damage over time if continued in use past the 60s, if you're having issues hitting a mob switching from an Attack based food to Accuracy will make up the loss and extremely help with connecting most hits on a Rampage. The switch can begin as early as 56 with Darksteel Axe/Darksteel Axe +1 or later at 60 with Tungi and 63 with Fransisca.

Using Viking Axes past 60 is going to cripple your damage. I advocate switching to two Darksteel Axe +1s at 56, but some people find that using DS +1/Viking until 59, replacing the lost Accuracy with the Accuracy from Haubergeon. Most Warriors will use Accuracy based food from the 50s-75, so keeping a Viking Axe around is particularly unnecessary, especially with the current trend of EXPing in Aht Urghan zones that concentrate more on killing lots of VTs and low ITs quickly, so less Accuracy is needed.

End Game Axes
The concept of Axes for the end game is potentially complicated for WAR. There are 3 main axes, and they can be worn either in main hand or off hand.

The Axes:
 * Lvl 70 Juggernaut
 * Lvl 72 Woodville's Axe
 * Lvl 73 Maneater

Generally, Juggernaut is considered the 'best' offhand weapon due to its high +Attack and +STR. Because the damage of weaponskills determined by the DMG of the mainhand, the Woodville's Axe is generally considered the best primary weapon, however, recently Maneater has become the most favored of all axes. This is due to it acting as a DMG49 axe with Attack +18 and Accuracy +5 so long as your current TP is under 100 (this latent also is active during Weapon Skills.)

Furthermore, due to the increadibly limited suply of Juggernaut's, the Tabarzin is often used as a viable offhand weapon, and is also a viable choice for a primary weapon if a Woodville's Axe is not available.

The most popular set up at 75 for Axe/Axe WARs is Woodville's/Maneater with Maneater/Juggernaut being the eventual goal.

Crossbow

 * Lvl 1 Light Crossbow
 * Lvl 10 Legionnaire's Crossbow
 * Lvl 12 Crossbow
 * Lvl 25 Power Crossbow
 * Lvl 40 Thug's Zamburak

Bolt
Note: This part is unique in the sense that status bolts do not ever disappear in usefulness. The only bolt you should change is the type you use to inflict damage. Bolts marked with a star are status bolts.


 * Lvl 1 Bronze Bolt or Crossbow Bolt
 * Lvl 10 Blind Bolt *
 * Lvl 15 Acid Bolt * (Very useful!)
 * Lvl 20 Sleep Bolt *
 * Lvl 25 Bloody Bolt * (Very useful for solo situations)
 * Lvl 30 Holy Bolt
 * Lvl 40 Mythril Bolt (Not really suggested, spamming Acid Bolts until one hits is more effective in cost and DoT. the D rank in Marksmanship really begins to show here since it is approx 10 lvls less than RNG, however, Iron Muskateer +Ranged Accuracy can help compensate)

Bow
Note: For most bows, especially those used in parties, I suggest the +1 versions for the + Ranged Attack and + Ranged Accuracy, since as a WAR, you will not focus on it in equipment.


 * Lvl 1 Shortbow
 * Lvl 5 Longbow
 * Lvl 16 Power Bow
 * Lvl 30 Great Bow
 * Lvl 40 Battle Bow
 * Lvl 55 Lightning Bow (No need for the +1, as this is used mostly for +DEX)

Arrow
Note: If the bow is only going to be used for pulling, then stick to whatever arrow you think is decent in price, or use a Poison Arrow. Most arrows here assume some Damage use.


 * Lvl 1 Wooden Arrow
 * Lvl 7 Bone Arrow
 * Lvl 14 Iron Arrow
 * Lvl 17 Beetle Arrow
 * Lvl 19 Poison Arrow *
 * Lvl 24 Silver Arrow
 * Lvl 29 Horn Arrow
 * Lvl 35 Sleep Arrow
 * Lvl 45 Ice Arrow, Fire Arrow, or Lightning Arrow

Throwing
Note: This is the most popular pulling device due to its unlimited use. Since most of these are only used for pulling, I feel updates are not necessary unless you have the money. Do not inconvenience yourself over a small increase in Damage on a throwing item. Combat Caster's Boomerang +1/2 is the exception!!!


 * Lvl 1 Happy Egg (For Tanking; DO NOT THROW THIS!!!)
 * Lvl 6 Coarse Boomerang
 * Lvl 14 Boomerang
 * Lvl 19 Flame Boomerang
 * Lvl 33 Long Boomerang (For Tanking; if you do not have a Happy Egg)
 * Lvl 43 Combat Caster's Boomerang +1 or Combat Caster's Boomerang +2 (One of these two are crucial! This is the only Ranged weapon that will increase Accuracy! I say buy this no matter what you normally use in case you party in an area where the effect takes place.)
 * Lvl 55 Goblin Grenade
 * Lvl 63 Bomb Core

Armor
* Bone or Lizard set may be used, Lizard is generally cheaper.

** There is debate over the Silver set's higher DEF and the Eisenschaller set's overall higher VIT and AGI as a better set of armor.

Head

 * Lvl 1 Bronze Cap
 * Lvl 7 Leather Bandana
 * Lvl 10 Faceguard or Royal Footman's Bandana
 * Lvl 16 Bone Mask or 
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Helm *
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Mask
 * Lvl 24 Iron Mask or Emperor Hairpin
 * Lvl 29 Eisenschaller or Kampfschaller (Tank) or
 * Lvl 30 Centurion's Visor (DD)
 * Lvl 36 Silver Mask **
 * Lvl 40 Iron Musketeer's Armet (Tank) and/or
 * Lvl 41 Voyager Sallet (DD)
 * Lvl 43 Valkyrie's Mask or Walkure Mask (DD, if you cannot obtain Voyager Sallet)
 * Lvl 59 Sipahi Turban
 * Lvl 70 Optical Hat (Drop off force pop NM Hakutaku)

Body
*** Unless you can get the Kampfbrust, the Centurion's Scale Mail is actually better for tanking at those levels.


 * Lvl 1 Bronze Harness or RSE
 * Lvl 7 Leather Vest
 * Lvl 10 Scale Mail
 * Lvl 16 Bone Harness or
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Jerkin *
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Harness
 * Lvl 24 Chainmail
 * Lvl 29 Eisenbrust or Kampfbrust or
 * Lvl 30 Centurion's Scale Mail ***
 * Lvl 36 Silver Mail **
 * Lvl 40 Royal Squire's Chainmail
 * Lvl 43 Royal Squire's Chainmail +1 or Royal Squire's Chainmail +2 (under own nation's control, more useful than Brigandine Armor for DD in this situation)
 * Lvl 45 Brigandine Armor
 * Lvl 50 Iron Musketeer's Cuirass
 * Lvl 55 Royal Knight's Chainmail (This can work as a stopgap until you get an Haubergeon)
 * Lvl 59 Haubergeon (The big one. This is the first big step toward end game pieces)
 * Lvl 69 Hauberk
 * Lvl 73 Adaman Hauberk (Good Luck. This lovely armor required the E.Abjuration, which drops off of Nidhogg)

Hands
*** The choice of these depends mostly on your race, although all should try to have Gigas Bracelets and its upgrades to boost Strength for Weapon Skills.
 * Elvaan will definitely want the Royal Squire's Mufflers
 * Tarutaru or Mithra will want Gigas Bracelets or either Tier of RSE
 * Hume will choose either unless they have RSE
 * Galka may choose either.


 * Lvl 1 Bronze Mittens or RSE
 * Lvl 7 Leather Gloves *
 * Lvl 10 Legionnaire's Mittens or Royal Footman's Gloves (can be kept until lvl 30 for pure DD situation)
 * Lvl 16 Bone Mittens or
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Gloves *
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Mittens
 * Lvl 24 Chain Mittens
 * Lvl 27 Hume only: Custom M Gloves or Custom F Gloves (DD)
 * Lvl 29 Eisenhentzes or Kampfhentzes (Tank)
 * Lvl 30 Royal Squire's Mufflers or Gigas Bracelets (DD) ***
 * Lvl 35 Iron Mittens **
 * Lvl 40 Iron Musketeer's Gauntlets (Tank) or Ogygos's Bracelets (DD, only if using Gigas Bracelets before this)
 * Lvl 50 Enkelados's Bracelets
 * Lvl 54 Fighter's Mufflers If not using Enkelados's before this
 * Lvl 60 Pallas's Bracelets
 * Lvl 70 Alkyoneus's Bracelets

Legs

 * Lvl 1 Bronze Subligar or RSE
 * Lvl 7 Leather Trousers
 * Lvl 10 Scale Cuisses
 * Lvl 16 Bone Subligar or
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Trousers *
 * lvl 20 Garrison Hose DD (note: I am still not sure if this or the Republic Subligare would be better for DoT as a DD.)
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Subligar
 * Lvl 24 Chain Hose (Tank) or
 * Lvl 25 Bastokan Subligar or Republic Subligar (DD)
 * Lvl 29 Eisendiechlings or Kampfdiechlings
 * Lvl 40 Royal Squire's Breeches
 * Lvl 55 Royal Knight's Breeches
 * Lvl 70 Barone Cosciales
 * lvl 75 Byakko's Haidate (DEX +15 and Haste +5%)

Feet

 * Lvl 1 Bronze Leggings or RSE
 * Lvl 7 Leather Highboots or Bounding Boots or Leaping Boots (if bought, these can be used as Tank footgear until lvl 29, DD till 52)
 * Lvl 10 Scale Greaves
 * Lvl 16 Bone Leggings or
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Ledelsens *
 * Lvl 18 Power Sandals (Obtained from not completing quest Test My Mettle, best Tank feet)
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Leggings
 * Lvl 24 Greaves (can be skipped)
 * Lvl 24 Winged Boots (same as leaping, just has some more DEF)
 * Lvl 29 Eisenschuhs or Kampfschuhs (Tank, if obtained, skip Iron Musketeer's Sabatons)
 * Lvl 34 Bastokan Greaves or Republic Greaves (DD under own nation's control)
 * Lvl 40 Iron Musketeer's Sabatons
 * Lvl 52 Fighter's Calligae
 * Lvl 62 Creek M Clomps or Creek F Clomps or Marine M Boots or Marine F Boots (Tarutaru and Hume RSE2 adds a lot to the table which outweighs the +DA of AF1)

Waist

 * Lvl 7 Leather Belt
 * Lvl 15 Warrior's Belt or Warrior's Belt +1
 * Lvl 18 Barbarian's Belt or Brave Belt (+1 version)
 * Lvl 40 Tilt Belt
 * Lvl 43 Swordbelt or
 * Lvl 45 Vanguard Belt
 * Lvl 48 Life Belt (crucial)
 * Lvl 60 Potent Belt 2 Less acc than Life belt but the STR +3 is very nice.
 * Lvl 70 Warrior's Stone

Back

 * Lvl 4 Rabbit Mantle
 * Lvl 12 Traveler's Mantle Expensive for it's level, but will help with tanking.
 * Lvl 17 Lizard Mantle or
 * Lvl 18 Dhalmel Mantle
 * Lvl 24 Nomad's Mantle See Traveler's Mantle.
 * Lvl 28 Wolf Mantle or Wolf Mantle +1 (+1 suggested)
 * Lvv 28 Invisible Mantle Will give the same benefits as Wolf Mantle, along with 20 cheap Invisible charges.
 * Lvl 40 Earth Mantle
 * Lvl 47 Jaguar Mantle
 * Lvl 61 Amemet Mantle/Amemet Mantle +1

Neck

 * Lvl 7 Justice Badge (only if you quest it)
 * Lvl 21 Fang Necklace or Spike Necklace (Spike is the +1 version of Fang, and highly recomended since all DD jobs will use this)
 * lvl 32 Medieval Collar (tanking, some argue Damage from Spike is better)
 * lvl 33 Peacock Charm or Peacock Amulet Rare/Ex (The BEST neck piece in the game for any DD. After 60, just macro Chivalrous Chain in for Weapon Skills.)
 * lvl 60 Chivalrous Chain (One of the best neck pieces endgame for all DD jobs)

Ring
Note: I personally believe +STR rings are the most effective choice, since the damage can be used to gain hate as a tank and add damage as a DD. However, for tanking purposes, +VIT rings may be the better choice. Some argue that +DEX is the best choice, however; many people disagree with that idea due to minimal +ACC and +Critical occurance changes.

A popular choice for the affluent warrior is to carry two sets of rings: one boosting accuracy and the other strength. The accuracy rings are used to gain enough TP to use a Weaponskill, and the strength rings swapped in to make the weaponskill more powerful.


 * Lvl 14 Sardonyx Ring or Courage Ring (Courage suggested)
 * lvl 14 Amber Ring or Stamina Ring
 * lvl 14 Vision Ring (note: wearing 2 and keeping the enchantments on constantly will provide +4 acc, which gives a significant boost at this level. However, this will be more expensive in the long run than buying ordinary rings.)
 * lvl 30 Rajas Ring (note: this is THE best DD ring out at the moment, however, you can only get it at the end of CoP the missions)
 * lvl 30 Sattva Ring (note: this is THE best tank ring out at the moment, however; you can only get it at the end of the CoP missions)
 * Lvl 34 Venerer Ring
 * Lvl 36 Garnet Ring or Puissance Ring
 * lvl 36 Sphene Ring or Verve Ring
 * Lvl 40 Sniper's Ring (DD only, -10 DEF hurts as tank) or Woodsman Ring (similar to Sniper, but -5 EVA is more functional when tanking since WAR have a overall low EVA anyways.)
 * Lvl 54 Sun Ring or the +1

Earring

 * Lvl 10 Optical Earring (useful only at lower levels, because anything that boosts accuracy is so rare before level 40)
 * Lvl 16 Bone Earring or Bone Earring +1
 * Lvl 21 Beetle Earring or Beetle Earring +1 (+1 is highly recomended, since almost all DD jobs will use these until lvl 55)
 * Lvl 29 Dodge Earring (for Tanking)
 * Lvl 35 Wing Earring or Drone Earring (for Tanking, cheaper than dodge)
 * Lvl 55 Fang Earring or Spike Earring (Spike is Recomended)
 * Lvl 58 Assault Earring
 * Lvl 61 Minuet Earring (Stats are very nice if you have a BRD in your party.)
 * Lvl 67 Triumph Earring/Triumph Earring +1
 * Lvl 70 Fowling Earring
 * Lvl 72 Suppanomimi (Enhances Dual Wield Effect)
 * Lvl 75 Brutal Earring (Enhances Double Attack)

Closing Note
Guide created by User:Andres, modified by many others.