By Lakshmi.Buukki 2016-05-20 12:47:39
You are correct. In terms of sheer gear progression, AF is the easiest to 119. Then Relic. Empyrean requires vagary wins to 119. However, mostly all of it is extremely inferior to augmented 119 gear (abj gear) and it could be considered a waste of time/money to pursue.
There are some exceptions to this, though. Luhlaza feet for the diffusion bonus, empyrean +1 body for the blue magic fast cast, and maybe the feet for chain affinity, though im sure those are outdated too now. empyrean legs for efflux, but in the same boat as feet, since casting for phys dmg is outdated and uneffective. Luhlaza body provides a good fc body and acc/att/ws piece if the others aren't attainable, but overall, all of that gear is sadly inferior to everything else available.
EDIT: ineffective*