Tight-Wad's Corsair Guide

My name is DarkTrance, I play on the Gilgamesh server with a main job of Dark Knight 75. Corsair interested me because of many reasons, the unique buffs, the demand for support jobs, and style that Corsair portrays. While I'm sure the idea of being "Cheap" about any job will make some hard core players cringe, I do think that if your a casual Corsair you can choose not to buy every dice and every gun, and every ridiculously expensive piece of gear. This guide will remain a work in progress as I level the job, and may change as I construct it. If you have any comments please direct them to the talk page, and please check out my other guide in it's completion Darktrance's Armor Guide.

P.S. Opinions may change as I progress through the job as I began this guide as a lv 31 Corsair, it will be considered incomplete until I hit lv 75.

Tools of the Trade, Dice
Phantom Roll is a job ability that uses dice and "luck" to determine what AOE buffs will effect the party. Based on the number that gets rolled, your party will recieve a bonus appropriate for each die. These die all have their own unique lucky # that will be the 2nd best bonus that one could offer for their party. Add four to that number, and it's the worst bonus (but still a bonus) that a party can recieve. Eleven is the best possible roll for every die, but also takes the most risk to get there. While some Corsair's will always stop rolling once they reach a roll of 6, others take the risk (1:6) and try for higher numbers to improve their rolls and buffs for the party. How you choose to roll will be to your own playing style, but a roll of 12 is considered a bust and the party will lose their buff and you will be negatively effected by it for a duration. Personally if I roll a 6, I roll again, unless I already have one bust, and more often than not, it's to the party's benefit.

Dice
Purchasing every die available in the game (aside from the one given for unlocking Corsair) will cost you 686,717 gil. Every die has it's own particular use that makes it a worthwhile option, but some should be purchased immediately while others can wait until funds become available. I am listing die as I have used, or not used them, and based on demand I've seen as I level and play with other Corsair.


 * Lv 5- Corsair's Roll - Demand: Medium, most parties prefer to kill fast for experience, you'll use this more in early levels before Hunter's Roll and Chaos Roll becomes available. As it's a free die, and cheap to purchase if you lose it, their is no reason why any Corsair should go without.  At lv 5, I recommend finding a struggling player leveling and level with them to share your buff, I found a japanese Black Mage the same level and it made tedious 1-10 leveling a bit more fun.


 * Lv 8 Ninja Roll - Demand: Medium. Most parties in Valkurm will take this roll over Corsair's in conjuction with the next roll, Hunter's.  At higher levels, Ninja Roll fades in a similar fashion as the dia vs. bio arguement.  Most parties and want to kill things fast to obtain a chain and get more experience.  That being said, like shadows, an Evasion Bonus does not increase the speed of kills, it's a defensive roll and despite it's nice bonus will be overshadowed by rolls that will take down mobs quicker.  It's an inexpensive roll and expected even though you'll seldom use it. 316 gil.


 * Lv 11 Hunter's Roll - Demand: Very High. This roll will never outlive it's usefulness.  The Accuracy Bonus is as useful when in the Dunes as it is in Aht Urghan areas.  Their will be times where this roll will be traded out on low evasion mobs for one that increase damage output, but you will always want this roll on hand, and likely macroed. 1300 gil.


 * Lv 14 Chaos Roll - Demand: Very High. This is another roll that is exceptional, though is often replaced with other rolls after lv 37.  The Attack Bonus given is VERY noticeable, and joined with Hunter's Roll, these will be your two staples until lv 37, you melee will care for little else in a standard party. 2205 gil.


 * Lv 17 Magus's Roll - Demand: Very Low. It is generally accepted that defensive buffs are a job for Mages, and while a Magic Defense Bonus has it's uses, it does not increase the speed of a kill  I purchased this roll in a "Must have everything Corsair" mode, and while I'm sure their is an optimum use for it, it's not in experience parties.  Rely on Shell and Bar spells from White Mages, and just keep your DD deadly and you Mages fueled.  3525 Gil.


 * Lv 20 Healer's Roll - Demand: Very High. This roll makes a big difference in keeping you mages fueled.  You will be expected to have this, as it's one of the few buffs that reduce resting time for mages until Evoker's Roll at 40.  This will give the Conserve MP trait, which increases MP recovered while healing.  Do not go to Qufim without it. 5000 gil.


 * Lv 23 Puppet Roll - Demand: Very Low. Their will be a situation, sometime in your career, where a pet enhancing roll will be of much use for you.  Typically not in experience parties.  There may be a Wyvern Burn party or an eccentric bunch who will request it, but it's safe to say that this is something that can wait.  Increases accuracy for pets.  9216 gil.


 * Lv 26 Choral Roll - Demand: Very Low. Again, situational.  You might find a Ninja tank at some point who would request Ninja's and this to conserve shadows, but in the big picture, they will have a harder time keeping hate off of the more accurate and greater attacking party members.  This roll can wait, though it would give you a 2nd usable roll to throw on mages if you want to get 4 roll system down.  12,780 gil.


 * Lv 31 Monk's Roll - Demand: Very Low. Again, situational.  I've heard some bosses with incredible TP moves make this roll very effective, however, when using any roll you should ask "How is this roll increasing our party's experience points?".  It enhances Subtle Blow.  This does not increase attack, this does not decrease downtime.  This roll can wait. 22400 gil.


 * Lv 34 Beast Roll - Demand: Very Low. Refer to Puppet Roll notes.  Increases pet attacks. 26,600 gil.


 * To Be continued.

Swords vs. Daggers vs. Guns vs. ?Darts?
The type of weapons you utilize will largely depend on your own personal playing style. Most will agree that Guns are the greatest way to deal damage, and also the most expensive. Swords are often the best melee weapon because of higher damage and accuracy bonuses, however very few swords offer any bonus to Ranged Attack, which means they do not compliment guns very well. Daggers choices for Ranged Attack bonuses are more accessible, but will mean your sacrificing melee damage for Ranged Attack options. You can help find a balance by going Ninja and equipping one of each, but it really comes down to your own choice.

As a Corsair, you've a unique job and are in high demand. Most parties won't pay much attention to your melee because they'll be too busy wowed by the bonuses Corsair can give them, which is why so many Subjobs work for the job depending on each player's style. Guns don't become an essential tool until lv 40 when Quick Draw becomes available, and they become more than just a deadly attack that takes forever to go off. Until lv 22 Bullets, Guns really don't pack much punch in exp parties on their own.

Swords
My favorite. While our sword skill is B-, next to marksmanship, it's the second best for damage. There is one near godly Corsair sword that would be ideal for a serious COR, but is far from cheap. The Phantom Fleuret drops from a NM Proteus similar to Charybdis, it's said. On AH in Gilgamesh it retails for 700k, and will probably not be ideal for most. Corsair can equip Broadswords, Xiphos, Degens, and Bilbo type swords.


 * 1) Lv 7 Xiphos - If you have a friend to brass this, then your set through the dunes.
 * 2) Lv 10 Royal Archer's Sword - Dittos to this to upgrade to the lv 15 version, should last you til 20.
 * 3) Lv 19 Small Sword - Obtainable through a Bastok Quest for free, +2 Dex, and piercing, this should last awhile.
 * 4) Lv 22 Kaiser Sword - Drops from Weapons in Qufim and cheap on AH. I'd stick with Small Sword, but it's cheap and a relatively easy drop.
 * 5) Lv 27 Gladius - Nothing fancy here.

Daggers
If your focus is Ranged Attack, you'll be equipping daggers. Several daggers offer Ranged Attack bonuses, making them a common sight on Corsair. With a B+ skill, they are formidible but often times less flashy. They are my least favorite weapon and the Weapon Skills for COR are less impressive, but a necessary evil for the gun toteing pirate.

Ranged Attack Bonus Daggers

 * 1) Lv 28 Archer's Knife - NM Drop, but relatively cheap off of AH too. +10 Ranged Accuracy and an Agility point.  Every COR should have one if they are going to utlized Ranged Attack, their is little else readily available til lv 61.
 * 2) Lv 38 Chiroptera Dagger - NM Drop, Rare/Ex. +12 Ranged Accuracy.  It is obviously better than the above, but probably not worth the efort to go after unless your going after one of the other two drops from Tres Duendes.
 * 3) Lv 61 Trailer's Kukri - +14 Ranged Accuracy BCNM Drop. Very expensive on AH on Gilgamesh (over 100k).  Do the BCNM and get it for free if you can.  If your ONLY doing shots, +4 RACC might not make a big difference depending on other gear.
 * 4) lv 69 Farseer - no information other than it increases RA.

Daggers for Melee

 * 1) Lv 1 Bronze Knife - Nothing else to really equip this level, moving on.
 * 2) Lv 7 Blind Knife - I'd go Xiphos, just take what's cheapest, these levels aren't going to matter.
 * 3) Lv 20 Mercenary's Knife - Buy with conquest points if you can and then find a smith to upgrade to lv 25 levels, though check AH first. At times you can get NQ buffed cheaper and get a better knife and make a profit.
 * 4) Lv 30 Mercenary Captain's Kukri - You can keep Windurstian/Federation, or switch to this. If you get this, find a Smith to upgrade it, but check AH price first.
 * 5) Lv 46 Bone Knife - Cheap, decent, if your going this route, may as well get it.

Guns & Bullets
Guns are expensive, bullets are expensive. If you want guns to be your main form of attack, I strongly suggest making your own bullets. Alchemy is a good skill for Corsair anyhow. Making bullets, making cards, and can be profitable, and COR needs all the help it can get. Here are my very biased and cheap @$$ opinions about guns.


 * 1)  Don't bother til lv 22, and even then using for Weapon Skills only.
 * 2)  Level marksmanship on another job using cheap ammo.  My DRK 75 may only have an E in Marksmanship, but capped that's lv 60ish COR.  You may be able to do this while farming.
 * 3)  Go /RNG if you want marksmanship to be your primary form of damage.  And invest in gear to compliment it.  Lv 22 bullets avg about 40 gil each, every miss is 40 gil wasted.
 * 4)  If your going to pull, pull with Darts. You save 5 times the money.  If your party expects you to pull, and time your rolls, and be DD, they need to take one of those jobs from you and give it to someone else.  You'll find other less demanding parties.  Macro in gun equip/bullet equip and equip darts.
 * 5)  If you want to be the best COR you can be, it's going to be expensive, that is true for every job, but as you level some things are essential and other things not so much.

Guns by level

 * 1) Firefly Lv 5 = Nice for Agi +1, if you get it from a Treasure Casket then equip for the bonus, your on call on weather you fire off Bronze Bullets with it.
 * 2) Bandit's Gun Lv 15 - Don't bother.
 * 3) Platoon Gun Lv 20 - A cheap option that comes available about the same time as Lv 22 Bullets.
 * 4) Pirate's Gun Lv 27 - 33% More damage for about the same price on Gilgamesh, can't argue with that.
 * 5) Mars's Hexagun Lv 30 - Again, more damage for about the same price, and Ranged Accuracy.
 * 6) Military Gun Lv 30 - About 3 times more on AH than Mar's on my server, you get extra Ranged Accuracy.  You also get more damage.  You should be able to keep this til your AF gun.
 * 7) Darksteel Hexagun lv 36 - About the same price as Military Gun, if your doing level syncs to get here, Military will be better for you.  It does give you a bit more damage for a little less accuracy.
 * 8) Trump Gun lv 40 - It's a free gun!  And a good one too :)
 * 9) Deluxe Carbine lv 46 - Can be a free gun if you do the quest for it, but it is exclusively worse.  NPC it for 9k.

Bullets by Level

 * 1) Bronze Bullet Lv 1 - Unless your crafting them, don't bother.
 * 2) Bullets Lv 22 - This will be your bullet for a long while. Watch AH prices and buy a few stacks when they are low.
 * 3) Iron Bullet lv 50 - 10 pt jump in damage, which may or may not be very noticable, I'll add more when I start using them.

Throwing - Darts
Yes, Darts. Why spend 40gil to pull a mob when you can spend 9? Chances are, if your pulling, guns are going to be slow delay, not a big deal, but not optimum for pulling. Also, the sweet spot for Guns is much closer than you would often pull a mob, so your hits probably won't land. You generally want the most distance between you and the mob your pulling, and that's outside any Marksmanship sweet spot. Darts are cheap, and Corsair's have a C+ throwing skill. While we are never the best option for pulling, if your asked to do it, be smart. You can also level clothcraft on darts as well.


 * 1) Dart lv 7 - 9 gil, nuff said.  Clothcraft 13, but prolly cheaper to buy from vendor because of Animal Glue.  Buy some stacks, keep with ya at all times, and don't bother on any others less you find something cheaper.  All other darts are overpriced, these you can get from NPCs in chocobo stables everywhere.  If your leveling clothcraft, some other dart might be worth doing for skill ups, i.e. Aht Urhgan Dart made from Colibri Beaks and feathers.  Otherwise, keep a couple stacks on hand and save your money.

Until lv 70, their is no equipable returning weapon, Lamiabane and the like might be another option.

Throwing isn't a viable form of damage, just a cheaper way to pull.

Equipped for all occassions
Corsair can be a great many things, depending on the player behind the job. First and foremost we are a support job, our ability to buff our party make us what we are, and is why we are invited to parties. Regardless what other equips your sporting, if your not prepared to make your group more efficient, you may as well have come out in bronze subligar.

Corsair can also be decent melee, but will never outshine the classes that are the best at it. We have fewer weapon options, in front line fighting, and building towards being an effective front line fighter will often make you less effective back line fighter and support. Most COR's will focus on being a Support Job first and a Ranged Attacker second. It's very unlikely that anyone will refuse to invite you for being Support first and melee second, so keep that in mind.

Corsair's built correctly can be excellent ranged attacks, but will likely NEVER outshine a equally equipped ranger. They can attack faster, they have mor access to ranged attack buffs, more accuracy, and when they sub ninja they keep their accuracy bonus and get two weapons to add to it.

Corsair's can be effective pullers, and in this situation /nin would probably be an ideal choice, and use of ninjitsu would likely be less expensive than using bullets for pulls. Darts are another option, but reequipping a gun and switching back to darts would lose tp. Pulling with bullets is just very expensive, and a waste of ammo. Subbing Bard would allow you to pull with songs, but I've not had any experience with bard yet to comments. Corsair's should avoid pulling, as it's likely to disrupt the optimum ammount of buffs at a given time, and you'll find yourself playing catch up. Even juggling three rolls and pulling will keep most players hoping.

When it's said and done, I'd recommend picking 2 of the above roles, and anything above those 2 is probably asking a bit much for one job to do. If your just supporting and pulling, your runnng around the whole time, and you damaging the mob is third priority. If rolls stay up and mobs come in, your doing your job. If you get a few hits in too, all the better.

All around GREAT Corsair Gear
At some point you should camp Valkurm Emperor and Leaping Lizzy. The BCNM's will get you these drops, but even if you have the Rare only, the ammount they sell for on AH makes the Rare/EX a ideal camping opportunity. Every melee job will wear the two above pieces. I cannot stress enough how great these pieces can be to make things easier. Check the moon notes on the NM's and Creatures that drop these items, pay attention to moon phases, I often find rare drops do increase when the drop rate for regular items are at it's worst. The above items are relatively easy to obtain. Their are other very nice drops out there, but these are reasonably easy to obtain.
 * 1) Bounding Boots/Leaping Boots lv 7 - I strongly recommend getting these boots. I guarantee every job that can wear them will benefit from them.  The +3 Agi & Dex compliment Corsair's ability to both melee and attack from afar.  If you hunt them or do the BCNM they are free, if you do the BCNM to get them I'd still hunt the NM and resell them.
 * 2) Optical Earring lv 10 - Not necessary, and outlives it's usefulness in time. It's an easy to obtain rare/ex drop.  When you camp for it, I strongly suggest kill EVERYTHING in the spawn range.  You'll get use out of this for most every melee job in Valkurm, but you'll replace it with attack+ and agi+ later.
 * 3) Empress Hairpin/ Emperor Hairpin lv 24 - Same as above, you'll never stop using this piece. Gives the same dex/agi bonus but includes +10 Evasion, which is very noticable.  You'll wear til AF and be glad that you did.
 * 4) Shikkaree Ring lv 30 - Very low drop rate, but is obtainable and really is ideal for a well rounded Corsair. +2 Accuracy, +2 Ranged Accuracy.  You can equip 2 of them to give a modest boost to both accuracy without sacrificing the other.

Gear for Ranged Attacks

 * 1) Lv 5 Bronze Bandolier - Rare/Ex [Treasure Casket]] Drop.  You will get nothing better for Ranged Accuracy until Gun Belt to wear around your Waist.  Argueably +1 is a Small bonus, you'll notice it less at higher levels, but might be worth leveling in South Gustaberg for the chance.
 * 2) Lv 30 Noct Doublet Set - This set focuses on ranged attack bonuses.  Assuming you have the above pieces, you'll only need body, gloves and pants.  All are relatively inexpensive and the hands and pants will prolly be your gear till AF.
 * 3) Lv 40 Iron Musketeer's Gambison - Replace Noct Doublet with this, and buy with Conquest Points if you can.
 * 4) Lv 50 Shikaree Aketon - A very nice piece obtainable through Brygid the Stylist once you've done some of the Promyvion quest line.  Use it til lv 58 AF, or if you like the -1 enmity, you can wear longer.  It's free, and you can sell your Gambison 8 levels earlier.
 * 5) lv 52-60 COR AF - You can pretty much wear this til end game, as you'll find little else that compliments the job so well.

Gear for Melee Attacks
Generally speaking, I know with Dark Knights it's generally accepted that during TP phase Accuracy > Attack, and that is especially true for Corsair as their skills are often B+, B, or B-. It does help that Hunter's Roll is amongst the more common rolls to use. I would still keep hairpin and boots till AF.


 * 1) Lv 10 Legionnaire's Mittens / Royal Footman's Gloves - Same difference, both can be upgraded to lv 15 versions, but the next set would be better.
 * 2) Lv 14 Battle Gloves - You cannnot beat the accuracy bonus for the level. From King Ramperee's Tomb.  You'll have nothing else better for melee for a very long time to equip to hands.
 * 3) Lv 21 Spike Necklace - Very nice piece, you should buy it and keep it in your mog, you'll have a use for it for a very long time.
 * 4) Lv 45 Brigandine - Won't make a big deal with the NQ one, but +2 dex on any one piece is pretty nice.
 * 5) Lv 55 Jaridah Peti Set - This is an Awesome set. If your going for melee, most of these piece will beat out your AF gear.  You lose some HP, but both Ranged Attack and regular attacks are inhanced, along with Accuracy of both varieties.  It's a beautiful set, but costs a bit.  At this level you may just opt to keep with your AF and let food supplement your Accuracy.
 * 6) Lv 57 Scorpion Harness - The most expensive piece I'll suggest. The nice thing about this piece is the ammount of jobs that can benefit from it.  Because at this level you'll be obtaining AF, you can do without this piece and no one would look at you crosseyed, but Scorp will last you til end game if your plan is to melee your way around.  This one piece gives +1 more melee accuracy than Jaridah.

Sub Job Options
Being a job in demand, don't be afraid to experiment with subjobs as long as you got some of the proven ones ready to go.

Cheap Sub Jobs
Dancer - Probably the cheapest subjob you can use. If your using TP for dances and curing then your not firing bullets, and no one is going to mind if your putting tp to good use. Your able to heal without having to deal with a small MP pool, you get an accuracy bonus an evasion bonus, you can even use it for soloing opportunities. If you use this sub, you'll prolly want to focus on melee equips like Scorpion Harness and use a gun only for Quick Draw. This is a great way to focus on melee and benefit your party while saving gil.

Bard - Adds little to damage, but juggling four rolls and one song keeps you hoping quite a bit, and doing less melee. Your gear choice would probably be more ranged than anything, but you can pull with songs and save yourself having to swap equips and other such issues. This saves you ammo, and that's always a plus. Your melee attacks won't gain anything, but your party will recieve an extra nudge in the right direction even if you can only keep one song up.