Samurai Guide by Fae

Introduction
よろしくです. わたしの戦略ガイドに歓迎する. (' v '*)

Samurai is a job that few have experienced as a member of their party and sometimes mistaken as a tank. Much like Dragoons, we do not have the vitality or defense to prevent a large quantity of damage. Our role lies on our strongest offensive capability: TP efficiency.

It is more important for us Samurai to hit our target than it is to deal damage. As long as we can generate TP, we can aid our teammates in dealing the damage for us: your fighters can do more skillchains and, most importantly, your mages can land more Magic Bursts. To help you do this, your equipment needs to focus on Accuracy and Dexterity.

If you do not already know, DEX+2 = Accuracy+1 (not a concrete fact but rather a logical assumption understood by many). Always try to favor wearing Accuracy Bonus items over Dexterity items; it is not too important for us to make critical hits. You do not have this choice early on, but think about it as you progress in levels.

When you first start your Samurai, you'll quickly notice how much damage you do on your own. Our Great Katanas deal more damage than Great Swords of near-equal level, so you can expect to rival Great Sword wielders without having the Strength modifiers. However, your ability to take hits will decrease the closer you get to Level 30 without the help of sub-jobbing Warrior.

Support Jobs
One fact that you should know about sub-jobs: the base stat bonuses you get (not from Job Traits) should not be the biggest reason in deciding on which sub-job to choose. What you should be considering first are the Job Traits and Job Abilities you inherit from a sub-job:

WAR - 05 . JA. Provoke - 10 . JT. Defense Bonus - 15 . JA. Berserk - 15 . JT. Resist Virus - 25 . JA. Defender - 25 . JT. Double Attack - 30 . JT. Attack Bonus - 35 . JA. War Cry

THF - 05 . JA. Steal - 05 . JT. Gil Finder - 10 . JT. Evasion Bonus - 15 . JA. Sneak Attack - 15 . JT. Treasure Hunter - 20 . JT. Resist Gravity - 25 . JA. Flee<bt> - 30 . JA. Trick Attack<bt> - 30 . JT. Evasion Bonus<bt> - 35 . JA. Mug<bt>

RNG<bt> - 01 . JA. Sharpshot<bt> - 05 . JT. Alertness<bt> - 10 . JA. Scavange<bt> - 10 . JT. Accuracy Bonus<bt> - 15 . JT. Rapid Shot<bt> - 20 . JA. Camoflauge<bt> - 20 . JT. Resist Poison<bt> - 30 . JA. Barrage<bt> - 30 . JT. Accuracy Bonus<bt>

MNK (excluding Martial Arts)<bt> - 05 . JA. Boost<bt> - 10 . JT. Counter<bt> - 15 . JA. Dodge<bt> - 15 . JT. Max HP Boost<bt> - 25 . JA. Focus<bt> - 35 . JA. Chakra<bt> - 35 . JT. Max HP Boost<bt>

DRG<bt> - 05 . JA. Ancient Circle<bt> - 10 . JA. Jump<bt> - 10 . JT. Attack Bonus<bt> - 25 . JT. Dragon Killer<bt> - 30 . JT. Accuracy Bonus<bt> - 35 . JA. High Jump<bt>

Amongst all these sub-jobs as an option for you, you really get next to nothing with Monk and Dragoon as your sub-job in the long run.

Samurai/Monk--to me--is absolutely ridiculous. Boost enhances Attack for one hit. I can Counter attacks (assuming I'm getting attacked, which rarely happens). Dodge increases my Evasion (again, assuming I'm getting attacked). Oh, but wow... Focus is a Job Ability that increases my Accuracy... every 5 minutes. Let's move on to sub-jobs that make sense.

Samurai/Dragoon does sound like an doable combination. The Attack Bonus will allow you to deal a bit more damage. The ability to Jump is a neat way to help build up your TP gauge, and when your Samurai reaches Level 70, you'll be able to also High Jump (Dragoon LV35). As LV50+ SAM, however, the fact is Jump has a 1.5 minute duration whereas Warrior's Double Attack can occur several times within that same timeframe. Jump gives 10-12% TP a hit (depending on the delay of your Polearm), but an extra Great Katana hit with Double Attack will give 12-15% TP a hit (depending on the delay of the Great Katana). Although, I believe Dragoons as a sub-job also gives a base DEX bonus, but I don't think even the Accuracy Bonus that DRG as sub-job can give as LV60+ SAM isn't going to be worthwhile considering the DEX and Accuracy bonuses that can be gained from equipment at that level. Bottom-line: I think Dragoon as a sub-job would only be good until LV30.

Samurai/Warrior is one of the obvious, best choices to make. Post-Level 30, it also makes sense to have the Warrior sub-job for its offensive capabilities such as Berserk and eventually Double Attack (a nice way to increase TP gains at LV50+). Defender is also nice to have if you find yourself pulling agro or forced into taking the place of the group's tank (either your tank died or your PT lacks a better tank--may Altana help you should it come to that).

Samurai/Thief is also one of the best job combinations due to its Dexterity and Agility sub-job bonuses and ability to Sneak Attack and, much later, Trick Attack. At LV30+, it seems this can work out to be a better subjob since you can stack Sneak Attack with a weaponskill for added damage to work into your skillchains, and at LV50+, Flee can also help when you're the puller. I don't recommend using Sneak Attack without using a weaponskill; it will cause a large delay in your attack as a drawback for using THF as a sub-job.

note: any Great Katana weaponskill can stack with Sneak Attack and/or Trick Attack due to the fact that--even though most of the Great Katana weaponskills have elemental strengths to them--they are not elemental weaponskills.

Samurai/Ranger is another interesting possibility. Ranger as a sub-job would work pretty well if your Archery skill is capped, and I know that's very rare amongst Samurai--being one myself and observant in my server's Samurai community. If you actually have your Ranged Attack skill capped, this can possibily be a much faster way to gain TP. Accuracy Bonuses... nice. Barrage... also nice to get a good chunk into the TP bar. Let's not forget the fun, additional Weapon Skills we get for having RNG as sub-job. Hmm... however, I don't think I can recommend this as a sub-job until SAM60+ for Barrage. Otherwise, THF or WAR would be a better choice. I cannot confirm this myself to be a good combination, but it would definitely make for a fun sub-job. Please turn to any experienced SAM/RNG for advice.

I am sharing all of this experience as a Mithra, and my race has the greatest amount of base Dexterity given for this job. You might want to search for a guide that outlines the race comparisons in terms of STR, DEX, etc., but Elvaans surprisingly have the lowest amount of base Dexterity for the Samurai job despite how professional they look at wielding the Great Katana. As much as it is argued that you should always focus on your race's strength, I still firmly believe that it is more important to hit than anything else. Otherwise, you will have a harder time utilizing the Samurai's greatest and most useful strength: TP efficiency.

Party Strategy
Our role is to provide bountiful amounts of TP to allow maximum Skillchain (れんけい "renkei" in Japanese) possibilities. This is greatly useful for Black and Red Mages to land more Magic Bursts that can allow for much more damage if you manage to pull off two Skillchains. In order to do this, it'll require a great deal of patience, integrity, and knowledge on your part.

Pre-LV30, you should be able to juggle two seperate skillchains due to your ability to hit more frequently than others. With Store TP, you'll get an extra hit's worth of TP to help push you into 100%. However, handling two skillchains might prove difficult because of the common player's ineptitude in your group and the lack of Meditate. All I can suggest is finding out if you can generate TP twice as fast as your other two fighters. Otherwise, just work with one long skillchain.

Post-LV30 is where the fun begins! You'll acquire the Job Ability Meditate which will allow you to gain 100% TP within 10 seconds (20% TP every 2 seconds). Now you can most definitely juggle two seperate skillchians at once, and that will definitely aid the group in killing enemies faster.

As Samurai, you need to be the Skillchain organizer; it's important to take this initiative. When your Great Katana reaches 100th Level (about Job Level 33 or 34), you can practically start ANY skillchain with anyone else's weaponskill. Make sure you start each skillchain to efficienty gather TP, and I'll explain to you why this is important.

The best way to handle two skillchains is to not use your Meditate unless you're not at 100+% TP and someone is ready to use their weaponskill. I cannot stress this enough. Only use your Meditate when you are not ready and someone else is ready. The reason behind this is beautifully realized.

example Your group's skillchains are... Skillchain [ A ]: Tachi: Enpi(Fae) >> Seraph Blade(Harmonic) = Distortion(water/ice) Skillchain [ B ]: Tachi: Kagero(Fae) >> Raging Fists(Shein) = Fusion(fire/light)

Shein says her TP is 103% and you're only at 68%. Shein is ready, so Meditate and immediately call Skillchain B.

First tick will put you at 88%. You miss with your weapon, but another tick puts you at 108%. The VERY moment you get 100+% TP, do your skillchain.

POW, you hit for 100 damage with Tachi: Kagero and instantly get 12-13% TP, and Shein will follow up with Raging Fists for the Fusion Skillchain. Guess what? You still have 3 more ticks of Meditate left still filling your TP gauge while Shein performs her weaponskill. By the time your Meditate finishes, you should have at least 72% TP, and this does not include possible weapon hits to give you 12-13% TP each! It's very possible to already have 100+% TP to be ready to do a skillchain with Harmonic!

As said earlier, without taking the initiative in organizing the party’s skillchains, you may not have this kind of control. Having a good macro set can help you communicate to your party and keep you in control.

Macros
How you organize and use your macros is up to you, but it’s our greatest tool in communicating to our party. I recommend using clear and definite macros for your weaponskills to help your party members know exactly what you are doing. Also, I recommend having separate macros for announcing the start of a skillchain. It also might be a good idea to separate your macros to have status, skillchains, and weaponskills on one side and job abilities on the other side.

For example, here is what I use for my macro set (understand that I use a controller—much quicker response and easier to use than a keyboard):

L1 - /p .:[ (Samurai) ]:. HP[ <hp> ]:. TP[ <tp> ]:.

L2 - /p .:[ (Ready!) ]::[ « A » ]::[ (Distortion) ]::.:..

L3 - /p .:[ (Ready!) ]::[ • B • ]::[ (Fragmentation) ]::.:..

L4 to L0 (weaponskills) - /ws “Tachi: Enpi” <t> - /p .:[ (Samurai) ]::[ <tp> (Tachi: Enpi) ››› <t> ]::.:.. … and so on

R1 - /ja “Provoke” - /p .:[ (Samurai) ]::[ (Provoke) ››› ]::.:..

R2 - /ja “Third Eye” <me>

R3 - /ja “Meditate” <me>

R4 - /ja “Berserk” <me>

R5 - /ja “Defender” <me> … and so on

note: if you’re interested in my complete macro set, it will be amended in a reply comment below

As you may have noticed, I seem redundant when mentioning “Samurai” in my macros. I just believe in giving as much information as I can, and you can see that in each of the macros. The purpose of me using L2 and L3 to call the skillchain separately from using a weaponskill is to let everyone know the skillchain’s designation and the effect of that skillchain, and this accomplishes several things: - lets the person involved with the designated skillchain to prepare him/herself - lets the mages know in advance which Magic Burst to get ready to do - gives me a chance to use Meditate if needed (especially if I end the skillchain) - allows me to change my mind should the situation suddenly change (assuming I start the called skillchain)

L2 and L3 are modular, which means I can change what skillchain effect that particular skillchain does (using the Auto-Translator) without wasting much time in doing so. However, my weaponskill macros are not modular. Since I am controlling which skillchain to initiate at any available time, I feel it isn’t necessary to show which skillchain my TP is building up for. Therefore, my TP macro is generic and weaponskill macros are static. Everyone will already know which skillchain is occurring and what to prepare for when I use L2 or L3 to call the start of that skillchain.

This is just my style of how I play Samurai. It’s up to you on how you organize and use your macros, but I still recommend that you follow my guidelines to help forge your own style. Communication and staying in control is key.

Meikyo Shisui
Meikyo Shisui is the Samurai's 2-hour ability which allows you to instantly gain 300% TP and forces your weaponskills to only cost 100%TP for a duration of 30 seconds. However, you will not be able to accumulate any additional TP from weapon hits and taking damage while using this special ability (but you can still use Meditate). Although, there is a way to take advantage of Meikyo Shisui to use 400% TP or even 500% TP.

To get 400% TP, start with 100% TP. With this TP, use a weaponskill. Once that weaponskill's animation is complete, fire up Meikyo Shisui and immediately break into a Skillchain with another weaponskill and proceed with Skillchaining with the remainder 200% TP.

To get 500% TP, it's the same as getting 400% TP except with Meditate. Start with 100% TP and use a weaponskill. Once that weaponskill's animation is complete, fire up Meikyo Shisui and immediately break into a Skillchain with another weaponskill. As soon as possible, use Meditate. You might need to space out the weaponskills a bit, but you should have 300% to play with for a total of 5 weaponskills and 4 skillchains. However, I recommend saving your Meditate for when a fighter in your PT is ready to do a skillchain. There's more potential damage in doing that instead, but play by ear--especially when the situation is dire.

Until you get Tachi: Kagero, you're pretty much stuck doing two separate skillchains with the 400% TP at your disposal. With Tachi: Kagero, you're open to these early possibilities:

Hobaku >> Goten >> Kagero >> Enpi Hobaku >> Goten >> Kagero >> Goten Goten >> Kagero >> Enpi >> Kagero Kagero >> Enpi >> Kagero >> Goten Kagero >> Enpi >> Kagero >> Enpi Enpi >> Kagero >> Enpi >> Kagero

Probably the most damaging (and prettiest) Skillchain is: Kagero >> Enpi >> Kagero >> Goten. Although, it would really depend on what type of creature you are fighting.

Once you reach a Great Katana weaponskill level of 150 and 175, you can practically come up with many possible combinations of unleashing 100% TP + Meikyo Shisui.

If possible, remember to inform your mages which weaponskills you will be performing to allow them the opportunity for more Magic Bursts.

Polearms and Great Katanas
Great Katana: A+ Polearm: B-

At LV51 with your Polearm skill at 150, you'll learn the weaponskill Penta Thrust. Does this make Polearms more powerful than Great Katanas? No. Due to the patch update on April 21st, 2004, the TP you regain from any weaponskill (except a couple Club skills) has been reduced to the normal amount of TP you would gain from a normal hit plus 1% TP for each additional hit. If you get 12% TP for each hit with a Polearm, this means you'll now only get 1-16% TP back from using Penta Thrust (if you miss the first hit, you’ll still only get 1% TP for each additional hit). It makes more sense to just use your Great Katana, which is a weapon you're most proficient in and can also gain a lot more TP from using it. However, you may still want to keep your skill level capped for Polearms in case this change gets lifted or adjusted or to have more skillchain possibilities.

Goodluck!
If your party is uninitiated to the ways of a Samurai, then it's up to you to educate them. The more people know what a Samurai can do for them, the better your chances are at becoming a successful Samurai.

-This was From Fae at Killingirfit this is her thread so Credit is given to her the link for the thread is below