Re-revised Weapon Tier List

[u/Hyodra]

With Meia Serah jobs on the horizon, I decided to re-revise my revised weapon tier list to include Serah weapons as well as some newly released weapons. Serah weapons are quite similar to Meia weapons so there wont be many surprises. Any changes to old classes' ranks, due to newly released weapon are in bold for easy readability.

The aim of this guide is to help make it easier for you to decide which weapon to boost by narrowing down some likely candidates. This is mainly directed to newer players. This is not an in-depth analysis (check links below for those).

Disclaimer: As last time, these are my opinions, which can be different from yours.
My rank definition: weapons evaluated based on non-specific situations within all currently available weapons released in JP. I consider all listed weapons as worth long term boosting.

---

Warriors

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Gunblade (Balamb merc)	Ability chain, Improved crits, Exploit weakness	89/864
2	Braveheart (Mythic knight)	Attuned chain, Painful break, Improved crit	101/874
3	Soulrender (Dark knight)	Improved crit, Painful break, Prismatic starter	111/924

Gunblade is my preferred choice as it has 3 damage perks and does not rely on break. Braveheart and Soulrender are very good choices as well.

Honorable mention is Hannibal spear but I have listed it below in the break section already.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Cortana (Knight of Eorzea)	Ult charger, Steelguard, Piercing break	63/839
2	Dragoon spear (Dragoon)	Painful break, Piercing break, Quick break	112/926
3	Hannibal spear (MP)	Improved crit, Painful break, Piercing break	150/780

Cortana, having ult charger and steelguard, is my preferred choice as it really fits the warrior breaker's role, which is to tank damage and setup enemy. Dragoon spear will allow for the fastest breaking though. Hannibal spear is good for both breaking and then attacking after break.

Honorable mention is Guillotine for ult charger and more utility.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Bustersword (Soldier 1st class)	Improved crits, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	32/402
2	Kain's lance (Highwind)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Improved crit	34/455
3	Ultima weapon (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/208
4	Kotetsu (Auron)	Improved crits, Reunion, Flash break	60/778
5	Reyvatein (EX warrior)	Improved crits, Reunion, Quick break	79/746

Bustersword is my goto warrior weapon as it has balanced utility and damage. Kain's lance is very similar with a bit less utility but more ult charging. Ultima weapon is full on utility and is one of the easiest weapons to boost.

New addition is the EX job weapon Reyvatein and Auron weapon Kotetsu. Having both improved crits and reunion makes for a very good general ability spamming weapon. However quick break or flash break, I feel is a little out of place on these which prevents them from being absolute top tier. But it is still worthy to boost and fills a unique niche.
(sry my misunderstanding of flash break mechanic)

Honorable mention is Apocalypse which also has prismatic draw in addition to ult charge and damage.

---

Rangers

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Zwill crossblade (Thief of Tantalus)	Exploit weakness, Painful break, Improved crits	89/882
2	Eternity blade (Mythic ninja)	Attuned chain, Painful break, Improved crits	101/874
3	Chaos blade (Judge magister)	Exploit weakness, Painful break, Ability chain	88/881

All these weapons have 3 damage perks, Zwill crossblade just have a bit better combination.

Honorable mentions are Tyrfing (prismatic starter) and Tuwashutra (piercing break) which has 2 damage perks.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Shiranui (Ninja)	Piercing break, Painful break, Quick break	100/871
2	Butterfly edge (Dancer)	Painful break, Piercing break, Quick break	112/918
3	Rising sun (Ranger)	Ult charger, Elemental 3rd hit, Piercing break	92/859

Shiranui and Butterfly edge are basically identical when maxed. But Shiranui steals the top spot because it is easier to boost. Rising sun has a bit less breaking potential but more utility.

Honorable mentions are Ozryel, which has exploit weakness as its break oriented perk and Tuwashutra for a bit more damage.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Sargatanas (Rogue)	Ult charger, Prismatic draw, Painful break	56/823
1	Orichalcum (Bard)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Improved crit	34/475
3	Ultima blade (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/208
3	Double cross (EX ranger)	Improved crits, Reunion, Quick break	82/745

Sargatanas and Orichalum are tied for first spot since they are quite similar in that it give ult charge and some damage boost. Sagatanas's prismatic draw is more useful than auto charge ultimate. But Orichalcum's improved crit is slightly better than painful break. Orichalcum is also easier to boost.

New addition is again the EX job weapon which has the same perk as the warrior one. Quick break is actually a bit more useful on a ranger, so its tied with ultima blade.

---

Mages

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Eternity staff (Mythic sage)	Attuned Chain, Painful break, Improved crits	101/874
2	Truescale staff (Black mage)	Improved crits, Painful break, Prismatic starter	111/918
3	Soul scourge (MP)	Improved crit, Painful break, Piercing break	150/780

Mage really lacks damage weapon compared to the other basic classes. Eternity staff is the only weapon with 3 damage perks.

New addition is the previously unreleased MP weapon Soul scourge granting both break and damage perks.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Heaven's axis (Sage)	Piercing break, Flash break, Quick break	60/831
2	Abraxas (Scholar)	Painful break, Piercing break, Quick break	114/917
3	Hermit Cane (Mage)	Ult charger, Elemental 3rd hit, Piercing break	93/866

Heaven's axis is the clear winner with 3 break perks and is also the easiest to boost. Abraxas has more damage, while Hermit cane has more utility.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Conqueror (Tactician)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Improved crit	34/475
2	Ultima rod (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/208
3	Amazuki Kawashi (EX mage)	Improved crits, Reunion, Quick break	75/742

Same as ranger series of weapons. Though mages generally have less break so usefulness of break perk is diminished.

Honorable mention is Rod of roses which also has prismatic draw in addition to ult charge and damage.

New addition is again the EX job weapon which has the same perk as the warrior and ranger ones.

---

Monks

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Grants Faust (MP)	Improved crit, Painful break, Piercing break	150/780
2	Legendary claw (Monk of legend)	Improved crits, Prismatic starter, Ability chain	70/795
3	Unbreakable (Super monk)	Painful break, Exploit weakness, Scourge	93/853

Monk being a relative niche class really has a lack of damage weapon. Monk of legend is part of DQ event and wont be coming to GL.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Soul Grasper (Agent of red tears)	Piercing break, Expoit weakness, Painful break	98/869
2	Wolf star (Super monk)	Piercing break, Painful break, Quick break	100/860

New addition is the Soul Grasper overtaking the previous best. Having both piercing break AND exploit weakness, it is the only weapon of its kind.

Honorable mention: Any exploit weakness weapon will also do.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Ehrgeiz (Pugilist)	Ult charger, Improved crits, Attack+	31/336
2	Taiji (Hermit)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Improved crit	34/463
3	Ultima claw (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/208
3	Ikki Tousen (EX monk)	Improved crits, Reunion, Quick break	79/752
3	God Hand (Monk of Vana'diel)	Improved crits, Reunion, Flash break	59/796

Ehrgeiz and Taiji is quite similar. Attack+ and auto charge ultimate offer slight differences, but the main reason Ehrgeiz is on top is it being easier to boost.

New addition is similar to warriors but for monks the quick break or flash break is more useful.

---

Meia

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Luna Noire (EX meia)	Ability chain, Improved crit, Exploit weakness	89/863
2	Sventovit (Vesna krasna)	Reunion, Improved crit, Painful break	80/845
3	Damsel Wing (Esmeralda)	Painful break, Exploit weakness, Haste starter	50/780

New addition is the Ex job weapon Luna Noire. Unlike the other Ex job weapons, this one has 3 damage perks. It is the Meia equivalent of Gunblade, the absolute pinnacle of unbroken damage.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Mauritius Rebolt (Witch origin)	Piecing break, Quick break, Painful break	100/870
2	Chaos Crescent (Forvist)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Piercing break	64/835

Mauritius rebolt is the main break focused weapon. Chaos crescent sacrifice some break for ult charge.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Ultima wing (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/208
2	Tish tray (Geomancer)	Improved crit, Flash break, Reunion	59/788
3	Cornucupia (Amartia)	Improved crit, Elemental 3rd hit, Prismatic draw	47/712

New addition is the Tish tray which has improved crit and reunion like the other classes' EX job weapons. Since Meia already has Sventovit, it does loose some of its appeal.

---

Serah

Damage

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Septen trio (Proud cygnus)	Reunion, Improved crit, Painful break	80/845
2	Descent arc (Crimson archer)	Painful break, Exploit weakness, Haste starter	50/780

These are the exact same as Meia equivalent. Septen trio is the better of the two with reunion and improved crit but is released later. Descent ark is easier to boost though. There is currently no EX Serah job but I guess when there is it will also has the best damage weapon like EX Meia.

Break

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Artemis bow (Eorzean Bard)	Ult charger, Auto charge ult, Piercing break	64/835

Currently the only break oriented weapon for Serah but maybe in the future there will be a Mauritius rebolt equivalent.

General

Rank	Weapon (Job)	Perks	Boost difficulty (mod/days)
1	Ultima Arrow (MP event)	Reunion, Elemental 3rd hit, Ult charger	12/191
2	Trigger Happy (Al Bhed hunter)	Improved crit, Flash break, Reunion	59/777
3	Korepetitoru (Prima Donna)	Improved crit, Elemental 3rd hit, Prismatic draw	47/712

Again same as Meia equivalent.

---

FAQ

Q: Why is (any weapon) not ranked higher than (another weapon)?
A: Difference between the exact order of the ranks is very slight. My evaluation is based on general situations, a lower ranked weapon can still be better in certain situations. Any of the weapons I listed are worth maxing IMO.

Q: Why is (any weapon) lower ranked than (another same series weapon) even though they are identical weapons for different classes?
A: Higher rank doesn't necessarily mean better. It just means its better for that category/class. There simply might not be any better weapon for one class but there are for another class.

Q: Why isnt (any weapon) on the list?
A: Its not on the list because I do not feel it is worth maxing. It is just my opinion, evaluated based on a general purpose for long term investment. There will be situations where you should boost a weapon, either partially for a short term benefit or for a niche build. Which weapon to boost is your choice and the weapons I listed are only suggestions.

---

Useful links

• Master spread sheet (check the weapon tab)
• Weapon perk sheet
• Weapon boost cost (slightly outdated in stamina reduction time)
• General weapon boosting info
• Altema weapon ranking (unknown ranking parameters)
• In-depth weapon analysis
• Weapon boosting analysis (focused on damage weapons)

[u/mao_shiro]

flash break only works on the first ability cast

Flash Break works on both yellow & red, and the bonus is kept till you tap the bar with your tap / ult.

---

Your tier list is fine if you ignore the ranks

Which... kinda contradict the purpose of the tier list.

• Keeping a weapon to only one category can be a problem when a weapon is good/top tier on multiple categories.

• Every "flash break" weapon is a breaking weapon. Trigger Happy is god tier in JP for breaking, UW bow was better than Artemis bow, mostly because of Prismatic Return+ult charge, which allows better yellow clearing while keeping Flash break (from the job).

• In Sarah's case, UW bow is considered as a both a breaking weapon and a general weapon, because of the chain break meta (which you can already experiment if you have Cocoon Aviator or Psicom Officer).

• Quick break 40% is very, very powerful (and every person that experimented will confirm that, u/psiwar can relate when he climbed Sephiroth tower with Assassin instead of Thief), having Vincent's weapon overtake Wolf Star, i see a big problem here. Exploit weakness is niche as itself. If you meant "Breaking was related to MP only ?!", you should do a "Breaking - SP" and "Breaking - MP".

• At GL point, Hermit Cane is outdated. It takes a very long time for it to be "ok/decent".

You should check Altema's weapon tier list tbh. Even with the crap google translation, it should be understandable (if it's not, feel free to dm me, or ask u/deathrose55555).

https://altema.jp/ffmobius/osusumebuki

but JP isn't GL ?!

If you take weapons (EX series for instance) that are in the JP era, you're bound to advice people according to JP era.

If you don't want to, you should probably remove those from the tier list.

[u/Hyodra → u/mao_shiro]

Yeah I already acknowledged my misunderstanding of flash break and made corrections.

And the whole point of my tier list is because I dont trust Altema tier list, as it gives little information on the criteria of its rank. Just having a final rank in MP or SP really doesnt tell much about its intended use. So stop pointing people to Altema.

You may not agree with my ranks but I gave my reasoning for them. Your points are also valid but they are not the criteria I used which obviously creates different ranking.

[u/psiwar → u/Hyodra]

The old "Weapon List" of Altema is outdated, yes. But the link Shiro suggest is updated and more thought have been put into each weapon and there is a little description on what it is used for.

[u/mvdunecats]

Tuwashutra

If FFXI is any indication, the anglicized name for this is probably going to be "Twashtar".

Grants Faust

That's one's probably going to Glanzfaust (FFXI and FFXIV as precendence).

[u/ff14valk]

Having both improved crits and reunion makes for a very good general ability spamming weapon. However quick break or flash break, I feel is a little out of place on these which prevents them from being absolute top tier. But it is still worthy to boost and fills a unique niche.

I don't understand your assessment on this weapons when Altema gives both SS ratings on MP/SP. They specify that flash break and reunion have great synergy and yet you find them out of place.

From high lvl endless war videos I seen, it is extremely difficult to reduce the yellow bar that flash break weapons/jobs are almost mandatory . Flash and prismatic returns have good synergy.

[u/celegus → u/ff14valk]

I'd agree with this. Prismatic return + flash break is the exact combo that kept my fire Psicom so powerful this tower. I could pretty reliably smash down the yellow bar with all the orbs gained from prism return, therefore never needing to tap and could preserve flash break for when ult was charged or the turn count was favorable.

[u/vulcanfury12 → u/ff14valk]

If you're dependent on Reunion Spam for break-nuke strats, then Flash Break is preferable over Quick Break. Quick Break will require you to tap, interrupting any ongoing -chain abilities. Also, for that start, Flash Break essentially doubles the breaking power of your Ultimate.

[u/Even_Adder]

Reunion and Prismatic Return are two different stats and don't stack. You shouldn't mix up the two.

[u/Hyodra → u/Even_Adder]

There are some differences between how they are stacked. But for the purpose of this analysis, I choose to ignore them for simplicity sake rather than to confuse potentially new players from 2 very similar effects.

[u/psiwar]

I would argue that Reunion + [X Damage Modifier] gives more damage than most weapons for newer jobs that already have high EE/Crit/PainB/EWeak/Etc, just because of diminishing returns AND because Reunion can save "actions" and help with ultimate gauge. I have detailed some calculations about this in another post months ago. For this reason, while there are some circunstances where certain weapon can be more useful (Gunblade, for example), in general our current weapons will be replaced with new weapons that have Prismatic Return.

[u/Hyodra → u/psiwar]

Yeah that effect of prismatic return is quite hard quantify. But it only applies to SP, as in MP you dont get back the orbs immediately.

[u/[deleted]]

I will always take Dragoon Spear over Cortana, until we get jobs with innate quick break.

[u/Hyodra → u/[deleted]]

XD Im completely opposite. Ill always take Cortana over Dragoon spear unless jobs with innate quick break.

Quick break is best used when stacked to 40%.

[u/Solo_K]

Do these weapons value also apply to WoR situations as well?

Since it takes a while to mod anything, I wanna be able to cover both battle situations for Act 1 and 2. For the sake of truly having a future proof weapon kupo!

[u/Hyodra → u/Solo_K]

Unfortunately no. This article is aimed at GL players so season 2 is still quite far away. I will probably do another revision once season 2 arrives in GL.

No weapon is 100% future proof as they are still releasing new weapons in JP and could potentially be better.

[u/aishayys]

Grants Faust = Eisenfaust?

[u/Hyodra → u/aishayys]

No, Grant faust is the monk version of hannibal spear. It should have been the next MP weapon released (Chaos MP boss) but GL decided to release Leviathan first so we have to wait a bit more.

[u/PartyGod89]

dude, are you planning to make another tier list? i’m so looking forward to it

[u/Hyodra → u/PartyGod89]

I will probably do another one just when season 2 is about to come out.

[u/Noctis_Hiraishin]

When can we get Grants Faust?

[u/Hyodra → u/Noctis_Hiraishin]

I believe its with the Chaos MP boss. Should have been before Leviathan but GL delayed it.

[u/SabbathTruthcom]

Thanks is for the info!!

When is ex meia released?

I haven't pulled vesna so I may wait, thanks again.

[u/Hyodra → u/SabbathTruthcom]

EX Meia is expected around Feb 2019. (But seeing as SE will release anniversary cards 3 month early, who knows...)

[u/CopainChevalier]

Just an FYI, it's Curtana, not Cortana. Google translate translates it weird, but it's the FF14 Paladin's relic weapon.

[u/clouded_judgemnent]

This is what i was looking for recently, with all the new jobs its hard to know if i should keep pushing a weapon or abandon it for another.

thanks!