From: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/36412-STR-PIE-ATK-Testing

Good suggestion Silvano. I honestly hadn't considered the AF armor, and I hadn't put too much thought into the poor man's gear set. I focused more of my attention on the more expensive version.

Also, if you guys really want to test the difference in weapon Base Damage, I would suggest using a naked Archer and firing different kinds of Arrows. That should be a cheap way to get the data. I've been meaning to do that myself for a long time now >.>

Another tidbit of data that me and my LS mate kaeko have been trying to analyze is that the "cap" for all the classes is not a fixed value. It has various factors that influence the caps. For example, If you parse on an Ifrit's Axe versus a Mog Axe you will find that the stats cap 3-5 points lower. If you wear a really low base damage weapon (I tested on a weapon with 59 base damage) you will find you have already capped your stats without wearing any gear. The frustrating part of the testing is that different Jobs/Classes have different Base Damage values for Ifrit Weapons, yet they all cap pretty much at the same values. Also, the base damage difference (as far I can tell) seems to be non-linear in stat cap influence. Most of this testing was pre-1.21 so once the game quiets down again I'll go back and revisit the data.

Just know that part of the reason why low base damage weapons do much less damage is because stats are capped earlier.Seiko

So i STILL need to get the damn Ifrit's Harpoon….once my STR is 350 xDD

So if I'm understanding what you just said correctly, and I'm probably not, the caps scale to the stats of the gear you're using? I mean I know the above only mentions weapons but does that hold true for armor as well?

I take it as the soft cap scales with your weapon only and gear is just a means to reach said cap.

Good thread. I suppose this means I should actually go for getting better gear… though I'll probably still be lazy about it. Better than having my soul crushed via abysmal drop rates and general bad luck. Haha.

Also, awesome knowing about that parser delay. It kind of sucked waiting for a minute waiting for a proper update.

I'm quite happy with my gear and damage output compared to accuracy. Lominsan scepter and Storm Seargent's Bliaud helped a ton.

So if I'm understanding what you just said correctly, and I'm probably not, the caps scale to the stats of the gear you're using? I mean I know the above only mentions weapons but does that hold true for armor as well?Arcell

According to the Parsed data, the soft caps for damage output are scaled to the base damage of your currently equipped weapon. Which is why he said with a 54 base damage weapon at lvl. 50, being naked pretty much caps the stat effectivity of that weapon and equipping more STR/DEX/INT/PIE (depending on job) wouldn't increase damage output any more.

So if I'm understanding what you just said correctly, and I'm probably not, the caps scale to the stats of the gear you're using? I mean I know the above only mentions weapons but does that hold true for armor as well?Arcell

According to the Parsed data, the soft caps for damage output are scaled to the base damage of your currently equipped weapon. Which is why he said with a 54 base damage weapon at lvl. 50, being naked pretty much caps the stat effectivity of that weapon and equipping more STR/DEX/INT/PIE (depending on job) wouldn't increase damage output any more.Silvano Conri

So then essentially, for melee, Ifrit weapons will allow you to reach the highest caps. Seeing as they currently have the highest base attack.

yah