Thread: Optimal Accessory Enhancement Discussion

Originally Posted by sanahtlig

I don't have an issue with not being able to level accessories fast enough, as I don't have enough accessories worth leveling in the first place, especially SSRs.

I am almost done levelling my 4th SSR (I started a couple months late), but have already have 14 (9 drop, 2 from AQ4, and bought 3). I use Mordred w/ Snatch 3 in AQ3 (everywhere but Thunder where I use Sleipnir w/o Snatch).

There doesn't seem to be a shortage, but I'm a beggar, not a chooser.

I have plenty of SSRs, just not ones I want to level.

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There's no guide to cure "picky" lol.

Originally Posted by CBW

There's no guide to cure "picky" lol.

I think the real question is...

Is it actually worth leveling just "any" SSR Accessory?

I think we can divide Accessory enigmas into four tiers:
T1 (in a complete different league of good): Affliction+ (rare)
T2 (great): Atk+ (rare), dbl+ (rare)
T3 (good): HP+ (uncommon), def(common), drop rate+ (rare)
T4 (utter trash): Gauge (common), ability+ (common), status res+ (uncommon), burst+ (rare)

T4 is just there to flood in garbage and should be ignored. The only difference between T2 and T3 is that the latter doesn't help in your damage output, and as such, some people might choose to ignore T3 as well. T1 is in its own power level, as nothing else can hope to compare to it. However, T1 doesn't apply to all Hime - only those who have debuffs can make use out of it.

Also, what are the differences between R, SR and SSR? Four things:
1. Rarity, you can get dozens of Rs every day, 6 SRs per day but only like 1 SSR a week (if even that).
2. Number of enigmas, most Rs with 1, most SRs with 2 and most SSRs with 3.
3. Base stats. Roughly 550 atk on R, 750 SR, 1200 SSR.
4. Number of materials required to reach level cap. 3145 for R, 7245 for SR, 13345 for SSR.

Now then. With the premise out of the way, finally to the point.

Is it really worth leveling up SSRs, just because they're SSRs?
Playing around with Sanahtlig's accessory comparison tool, at 40k Atk and 120% Assault (pretty normal for current stage of non-whale end-game), triple Rs with Atk ties with three SSRs of garbage. In attack, that is. The HP difference means that the SSRs pull ahead by a bit. Regardless, we're talking about a resource difference of 9435 vs. 40035! And if we're looking at Gem cost, it's 6k vs. 180k+. I don't know if Gems even matter to people playing the US anymore, but it matters to those poor souls who play in the EU.

So, triple Rs are about as good as triple SSRs. At the fraction of the cost. If an SSR has a T2 or even T3 ability, then they'll absolutely demolish the Rs, of course.

So, what about SRs, then?
Finding double T2 SRs is really, really tough. I think over the past months, I've found a total of...five, across all the elements combined. But because def+ is fairly common, it isn't unrealistic to find a multiple T2+T3 SRs per week. And, when it comes to these, three of them absolutely demolish three garbage tier SSRs. The SSRs need to have 3/9 T2/T3 to roughly tie, and 4/9 to just barely pull ahead. And seeing as almost all of those 3-4 is going to be def+, the SSRs will lose in damage. And this is at 21735 vs. 40035 resources spent.

So, triple SRs are far better than triple SSRs. Of course, if you get lucky and keep finding SSRs that have not just one T2, but also at least another T2/T3 enigma, then the SSRs will be far better.

The caveat of using Rs and SRs is that eventually, you might replace them. However, keep in mind that this is true with garbage tier SSRs as well. The gain from 6/9 T2/T3 SSRs and 0/9 SSRs is almost double. Because enigmas matter that much. This isn't realistic until AQ5 is released though - since until then, you get far too few SSRs to even find a single T2 reliably. But once you start finding 3x SSRs a day that is feasible.

Of course, the question then is, CAN you clear AQ5? There's quite a lot of doomsayers around, and only time will tell if playing smart will enable people to go around the barriers. But even playing smart, you will probably need key SSRs, which is not really feasible for non-whales. Time will tell.

I roughly summarize the value of accessories using the following scoring system:
Rarity

• 1 for SR
• 2 for SSR

Buff: Using Slashley's criteria, total up the buff value. I heavily favor affliction rate up and always give these to my debuffers with debuffs that miss, regardless of rarity.

• 1 for tier 2
• 0.5 for tier 3
• 0.25 for tier 4 (I'd actually put rage meter reduction in T3, especially for attackers)

Value = Rarity + Buffs

SRs are plentiful, relatively easy to level, and give you a wide selection of T2/T3 buff combinations, so I favor these unless there's a deficit of more than 1 compared to R or SSR alternatives. In other words, unlike Slashley, I don't usually max Rs. The intended result of this scoring system is that if an SSR doesn't have at least 2 T2/T3 buffs, it typically loses to SRs by default.

Note that this is a simple scoring system I'm proposing to summarize findings using my Accessory Comparison tool, as detailed by Slashley. The scoring system may yield value approximations that are not consistent with actual value, either your's or mine. Use the tool when in doubt to evaluate simulated effects on effective HP and damage.

wait... so u will level an R of affliction+ over an SSR with 3x ATK+?

Originally Posted by QXZ

wait... so u will level an R of affliction+ over an SSR with 3x ATK+?

I think it all depends on what hime you're dealing with... what use is giving... let's say Ryu-Oh or Cthulhu a 3x atk if you clearly know that their debuffs are the thing you need more than their damage output? Then you deal with hime like Svarog... well it's the other way round.

Originally Posted by QXZ

wait... so u will level an R of affliction+ over an SSR with 3x ATK+?

I don't even think I have an SSR with 2x ATK, much less 3x ATK. The Affliction Rs are cheap to level, free to remove, and increase damage comparably to 1-2 ATK buffs in most situations when equipped on appropriate characters.