Knives For THF

Now I have Blau/Sirocco which I like and know it's good.. Lately I've seen some peeps using Azoth/Blau instead... is that combo any good (better than my current I mostly mean)? Or just for higher WS #s.. DPS lower?

I know P.Harpe/X's/Relic etc is gonna be better.. just wondering about those other ones.

The higher damage main hand such as Azoth/Pharpe will definately benefit your weapon skills in the damage department, as well as gives you more umph as far as STR goes too. Just make sure you always have blau in there since the attack and accuracy bonus (not to mention the low delay thus amazing dps) are indispensable.

All I can really say is unless you got deep pockets and/or play dancer to 75, don't spend an arm and a leg for an Azoth over a Harpe. The evasion and acc bonuses do not justify it's price tag for a thief's use. Hopefully you get lucky on Xoltol that way you'll have a free 2nd highest base dmg dagger, first being Mandau of course.

Arty said it pretty well. Higher-damage main-hand weapons lead to better WSs, though less frequent.
That being said, Azoth is not really worth using on THF unless you're going for a full-EVA solo build, and even then, there's better choices. I'm guessing these people just got lucky with Ixion and decided to use it instead of selling it.

If you can get X's Knife/P.Harpe/Mandau, they will replace Sirocco, but other than that, stick with it for now.

Edit: The one downside Sirocco has is the 100% Wind proc healing Puks. Other than that, it's definitely top 5 in the dagger department.

ATM This was my set ups...

When Melee or campaign battles:

Blau main, and Jambiya 2nd, but when I killed Garuda and took her dagger, I was told that Jambiyas DPS was too high being 200 sumthin so with what I had I thought greater dmg would be appealing but told with what Daggers I used that atm ( not having Sirocco) to use Garuda's Dagger would come in fine( Added bonus windsday, I would deliver Silence from dagger which did sound appealing).

Treasure Hunting:

I did Theif's Knife in Main, Blau in second.. but I think Theif's Knife can be used either way so maybe theif's knife should be in secondary and Blau main.. ( Someone please let me know this..)

High damage daggers tend to have delays that are dangerously close to that of some swords, but if you own a blau, the only excuse to having one of these is if the base dmg is higher than 33 (blau), otherwise you want to simply offhand something with low delay and or additional stats to keep your dps high, TP gain rate high, and weapon skills in full contact/power.



Thief Knife's effects will function in either main or offhand, I highly doubt it would get any additional benefit from being in your main hand slot over your off hand. Therefore for the sake of your WSes I would main hand that blau you have, even for farming. Assuming you sub ninja of course.

keep what you got and get a free dagger like x's/p.harpe when you can otherwise just drop TK in for SK against wind absorbing mobs

Well I go Blau Main and Garuda's Second for now.. and Blau main, Thf Knf 2nd

Till I either Get Sirocco or P harpe or Azoth!

I think maybe the higher DoT of Sir still out dmgs THF Knife even with it healing the mobs?

I always use thf's in main when farming, better safe then sorry. I offhand garuda for battle, xp etc, b/c i dont have sirroco or blau. Use regular Harpe, currently saving up for Blau Dolch ^^

I'm saving up for a blau but don't wanna break the bank for having a decent main-hand dagger. I'm only 60 and currently using Corsair's Knife + Hornetneedle. I was thinking of using Hoplite's Harpe and offhanding Garuda's dagger until about 70 or so and hopefully by then I will be able to afford my blau. Tell me if this sounds like a good idea or not.

not really since you're losing dps from the added effect. the slightly higher delay will net 1-2 tp higher return too so it equates to better dps ONLY on wind absorb mobs



i would have done just that if i had garuda's. you could try corsair's/garuda combo too just for kicks but the h.harpe main hand will net much better WSs

edit: misread Ethereal's post.

juju u nub, send me a tell.

some info on several daggers in this topic on my social LS's forums:
http://www.alwaysfune.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=506&p=4377

Just a friendly piece of advice: Do not, for any reason, use a dagger under level 68 once you're 68+. The 68+ daggers have a sizable boost in base damage.

If THF is your first job to 75, or if you're strapped for gil, use a Magnet Knife/Misercorde combo (with a TK available for your offhand if you're farming). A Benemoth's Knife is also decent if you can't afford much better, if you're soloing and Magnet's Knife -10 Evasion hurts you too much, or if you're saving gil for a significantly better dagger (i.e. Blau Dolch). A Magnet Knife/Misericorde combo isn't an awesome combo by any means, but it is a solid place to start while you work towards better daggers.

Here's a decent writeup on all the 68+ daggers save Azoth and Eremine's Tail:

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=10&mid=1168343202128505750

Ah, thanks for the advice/link everyone. Unfortunately I might blow my currently 2 million gil savings on a PCC since that would benefit all the jobs I wanna play (THF NIN COR RNG BST DNC) rather than just one. I suppose I can always farm like crazy and help out in sky to get gil once I hit 70+ til I can get a blau. Either that or I'll be spamming ENM to no end.

You could always camp the NM and save the gil.

Ehhh.... I tried it for a few nights and when competition showed up I just kinda gave up on it. Perhaps I'll buy it so I can use it all I need, and I'll give a shot at Argus post maintenance or when I got alot of time to kill =/

Besides I'm still level 60 and the need for a Blau is fairly far away still. I rather get something that benefits all the jobs I play early on and I'll focus on getting all the major upgrades once I ding 75.

Matron's knife is also a passable offhand dagger, although, its from Ashu Talif missions (or Mog Bonanza) only. Don't think the drop rate is too bad on it in Ashu Talif. As for the higher dmg knives (like P Harpe etc), its very situational. There are a good number of instances (tp spams) where other knives will outparse them. There are other situations (like HNM fights) where the higher dmg and slower swing will be more beneficial.

I have a bit of a collection of offhand knives, and have used most of the ones (aside from X and PH which I don't have) listed above. Honestly, I didn't see any of them make much difference - especially Azoth, that just didn't work out for me.

Main: Azoth, Harpe, Ermines Tail, P. Harpe, X's, Adder Jambiya +1. Perseus Harpe = Best

Offhand: Blau or Sirocco.

My dream set (outside relic) would be Perseus Harpe and Blau.

You would want to mainhand the blau with garuda off. Dmg mainhand over delay off-hand. WS =)

That was the plan. Although since the need for a Blau Dolch is fairly far off, I think I'll blow my savings on a PCC which would benefit all my jobs, and later on I can upgrade as I go for cheaper. With that plan in mind I think I'll main-hand Hoplites Harpe until Behemoth +1 or Stylet and offhand Garuda's Dagger until I find something better and can afford a Blau again. Hope this is a decent plan among you THFs out there >.>

Great write up.

~Yote

I currently run with a blau/stylet. Is there a better offhand short of sirocco (0/5) or relic?

With X's,P.harpe in main hand blau is the best offhand.

stylet is nice stat dagger, but when you get SK you'll see a drastic difference. especially coupled with haste gear. i think SK is the best off hand for blau due to the high dps of both daggers and the low delay combo is pretty sweet

With one exception. Never use a dagger under level 68 once your THF is above level 68. I can't stress this enough. SE boosted the base damage of all level 68+ daggers awhile ago. By using a sub68 dagger, you're hurting your DoT significantly.

If you've been using a Garuda's Dagger, replace it with a Misericorde (HQ if you can). It's the exact same delay, but Misericorde's base damage is 27. Garuda's Dagger is 19.

Obviously, Misericorde is no Sirocco Kukri, but it's still far better than offhanding a Garuda's Dagger while mainhanding a Blau Dolch.

totally agree. garuda's is really a pvp only dagger post 68 and even then its meh (unless silence procs then yay!)