What do YOU equip when survival grinding?

[moustachio77]

So I know about the Master Ring/Astral Ring trick, but I was just wondering what everyone is equipping to head, chest, legs, and back. I've tried various routes; Strong MP, High HP, nothing at all.... honestly, as long as master ring is equipped, levels go up at a decent rate (except 8-9 obviously). I've read the FAQ by Becquerel under the xbox360 pages and he suggests, for example Julius: shogun helm and Simon's gear. (no email address listed so I can't inquire as to his logic). What does everyone out there wear when grinding and why? I'm not hard pressed for levels, but of course I want to do it as efficiently as possible! I'm pretty pumped about picking up R. Boomerang last night on my FIRST bout against R. Count as a whip user!!!! Not an easy feat BTW, but I'm gonna start leveling it soon. Hit me with armor tips please!

Oh, and feel free to add me on PSN if you wanna play sometime - I'll keep up :-{D

[xcube2402]

I usually wear equipment that offers the highest HP without any INT increase, because INT increases the damage that skills can do, which would finish of the Boss too fast, and would take longer to level. Higher HP allows more attacks before having to commit suicide in order to replenish their HP. This is what I used for Survival Grinding:

Whip Users:

Helm: Simon's Bandana
Armor: Simon's Armor
Leg: Simon's Sandals
Back: Simon's Cloak

* You could use Shogun Helmet instead for the decrease in INT, which may help with leveling a little bit if you don't mind the lack of HP increase.

Shanoa:

Helm: Minerva Mask
Armor: Heavy Armor
Leg: Minerva Greaves
Back: Daikoku Raiment

* If you don't like to move too slow due to Heavy Armor, you can either change it to Demon's Mail, or replace Minerva Greaves with Winged Boots.

Maria & Yoko:

Helm: Velvet Hat
Armor: God's Garb
Leg: Winged Boots
Back: Daikoku Raiment

* You can also use a Fedora or Leather Hat in case you don't have a Velvet Hat. Winged Boots is used because they don't have any other items that increases HP without any INT bonus.

Getsu Fuma:

Helm: Attica Helmet
Armor: Heavy Armor
Leg: Samurai Leggings
Back: Daikoku Raiment

* Just like the whip users, you can use Shogun Helmet instead of Attica Helmet. Just like Shanoa, you can change Heavy Armor for Demon's Mail, or Samurai Leggings for Winged Boots.

* In case you don't have Simon's Cloak or Daikoku Raiment, use Paludamentum as a substitute.

[moustachio77]

THANK YOU. I was wondering why one would equip Shogun Helmet instead of Simon's Bandana or vice versa and this answers it. "Nicely Done!"

On a side note: Does anyone know if hits that occur postmortem count towards the skill leveling? I realize in the grand scheme of things that this may be arbitrary, given the thousands of hits it takes to max a skill vs the handful of hits that were talking about here. But again, efficiency is top priority!

[xcube2402]

You're welcome, and hits that occur when you die does count towards leveling, but not the ones that occur when time is up regardless of the state that your character is in.

- Added Getsu Fuma and my preference in equipment for Survival Mode in my previous post (forgot about him, sorry).

[Mooncake]

How about this, higher INT state increase attack power, and higher attack power increase mastery(speed). This is only my assumption though. How can I know I'm not the programmer of the software. Good luck to everyone who are still in the castle.