Dragoon Guide by Sharaa

Introduction
So you've chosen to become a DRG. Congratulations, it can be a very strong job or a very weak job. It comes down to if you're willing to put in the time and gil to equip yourself properly, or be one of those "lolDRGs"

Strengths

 * Dominates DD 1-55, And still Good after it.
 * Ability to solo very well
 * Versatile
 * Able to open many Skillchains, notable are: Distortion, Light and Darkness.

Weaknesses

 * Reliance on wyvern for solo restricts target choices.
 * High Delay, it hurts when you miss.
 * Slow Invites

DRG at a Glance

 * Weapons: Polearm (A+) / Staff(B) / Sword (C-) / Club (E) / Dagger (E)
 * Armor: No heavy chainmail (such as Haubergeon)

Before DRG, Warrior 1-37
Warrior, is probably the best subjob for all melee jobs. It provides a good boost to STR and DEX, as well as giving you Double Attack, Berserk and Warcry. So, first things first. Before you can get DRG you neeed to get a job to 30.

I would recommend Leveling MNK to 18, Getting the Subjob quest done then levleing WAR to 37 before starting DRG. this makes it so that, save upgrading gear, you don't have to stop to level another job.

Most times as a WAR you will be used as a tank, so gear for DEF and VIT over STR and ATT. It's alos a good idea to keep a str/att set lying around in case you aren't used a tank however.

DRG Unlocked, The Basics
DRG Specializes in using a lance as well as fighting alongside a wyvern companion. They get a few job abilities that are nice, from both sub and main.

Spirit Surge
Spirit Surge Recast: 2:00:00 Level:1 Adds your Wyvern's Strength to your own. Our two hour, and a pretty good one at that.


 * Resets Timers for Jump, High Jump and SUper Jump.
 * Adds Additional Effects to jumps.
 * Jump Will lower Defense by 20%
 * High Jump will Lower the targets TP.
 * Super Jump will remove 50% of the closest person behind you's hate.
 * Adds all of the wyverns stats, including TP and HP.
 * Will grant a Mini-Haste

Call Wyvern
Call Wyvern Recast: 20:00 Level:1 Summons a wyvern to fight by your side.

This is straight forward, Call your wyvern, it attacks what you do. Quite simple. Your wyvern can do a variety of emotes as well as different breath attacks.

Jump
Jump Recast: 1:30 Level: 10 Perform a jumping attack on the target.

So, looks fairly simple, and it is. You get an extra attack every 1:30, This is useful in gaining TP quickly. It has no added effects other then higher damage.

High Jump
High Jump Recast: 3:00 Level: 35 Performs a high jumping attack on the target.

Once again it looks straight forward. Early on this will probably just be used as another jump for TP gain. High Jump has the added effect of removing some of your hate(Believed to be 33%, 50% with Wyrm Brais Equipped.) This is more useful as the battle goes on since it is a %of your hate and not a static number.

Super Jump
Super Jump Recast: 3:00 Level: 50 Performs a Super Jump.

When you first use this, you will probably say "Huh?" Super jump does no damage, and you stay in the air for a couple of second on using it. On using it, it will put you at the bottom of the hate list, or lose almost all Enmity. So if you get hate, just super jump it all away.

Boost
Boost Subjob Needed: MNK Recast: 0:15 Level: 10 Enhances user's next attack.

This will boost your next hit but 12.5%, Not amazing for later levels but early on it's fairly decent.

Provoke
Provoke Subjob Needed: WAR Recast: 0:30 Level: 10 Goads an Enemy into attacking you.

This will spike your hate, use it only when a mage is being attacked.

Sneak Attack
Sneak Attack Subjob Needed: THF Recast: 1:00 Level: 30 Deals critical damage when striking from behind.

The next attack you do will critical if you're standing behind the target. Note that it only works on one hit of a multi-hit weaponskill, so /THF is only useful on something like Wheeling Thrust

Last Resort
Last Resort Subjob Needed: DRK Recast 5:00 Level Needed: 30 Increases user's attack, but lowers defense.

Honestly, Don't bother. It's less attack then berserk and lasts shorter as well.

Berserk
Berserk Subjob Needed: WAR Recast: 5:00 Level: 30 Enhances attacks but weakens defense.

This will increase your damage by 25% for 3 minuites, keep it active as much as possible.

Third Eye
Third Eye Subjob Needed: SAM] Recast: 1:00(0:30 with Seigan active) Level: 30 Dodges the next attack.

This is a nice little defensive measure, simply doges the next attack letting your mitigate a bit of damage.

Zanshin
Zanshin Subjob Needed: SAM Recast: N/A Level: 40 May attack again immediately after missing a target.

If you miss an attack you get a second chance to hit them.

Double Attack
Double Attack Subjob Needed: WAR Recast: N/A Level: 50 May double your attacks.

Not an actual ability, but worth mentioning. This gives you a 10% chance of attacking twice in one round. It can also activate during weaponskills. resulting in much more damage then usual.

Hasso
Hasso Subjob Needed: SAM Recast: 1:00 Level: 50 Grants a bonus to attack speed, accuracy, and Strength when using two-handed weapons, but increases recast and casting times.(not that the increased Spell casting times/recast times would matter to DRG/SAM)

It's 10% delay reduction, +10 Aacc and the str goes up with level(10STR at 75SAM, 5STR at 37SAM). It's obviously a nice ability for anything two handed(like polearm) As is double attack, it's hard to choose between /SAM and /WAR, so it comes down to preference in the end.

Focus
Focus Subjob Needed: MNK Recast: 5:00 Level: 50 Enhances user's accuracy.

Now, It's a +20 ACC. Obviously twice as much acc as Hasso, but hasso also gives STR and Haste. If you're having acc problems that hasso can't fix, this is an option, but more then likely you have gear problems you should address.

Meditate
Meditate Subjob Needed: SAM Recast: 3:00 Level: 60 Gradually charges TP.

This will only grant 60% tp, but that's 60% tp for standing there doing nothing.

Store TP
Store TP II Subjob Needed: SAM Recast: N/A Level: 60 Increases the rate at which TP is gained.

Stpre TP 2 will grant you +15% tp per swing, this will obviously build tp faster which means more weaponskills. Store TP1 will Grant +10% per hit, at level 20

Souleater
Souleater Subjob Needed: DRK Recast: 6:00 Level: 60 Consumes your own HP to enhance attacks

It's not really worth it, you will lose 10% hp and that will be halved and converted into damage per swing.

Warcry
Warcry Subjob Needed: WAR Recast: 5:00 Level: 70 Enhances attacks of party members within area of effect.

This will spike your hate like provoke, but will give a +5.25% attack increase, best used before a wepaonskill where you'll probably need to remove your hate anyway afterwards.

Seigan
Seigan Subjob Needed: SAM Level: 70 Grants a bonus to Third Eye when using two-handed weapons.

This combined with third eye will let you "take" a few hits in case your jump timers are down.

Your Wyvern, and You
This section will encompass the wyvern and what it does for you.

Your Wyvern's Abilities
Depending on the type of wyvern you'll get a selection of abilities. These abilities are usually based on the wyvern's HP. All Wyverns get Super Climb at 50, which like Super Jump will make the wyvern immune to attacks for a few seconds, but unlike it will not shed any hate. The wyvern will use Super Climb wheny ou use Super Jump.

Offensive Wyvern
Now you're probably wondering how the heck you determine your wyvern's type. Well It's dependent on your sub (but defaults to offensive if there is no subjob, such as the maat fight)

The Offensive Wyvern is gained by Subbing:
 * BST
 * MNK
 * PUP
 * RNG
 * SAM
 * THF
 * WAR
 * COR

Using any of these subs will make your wyvern use an elemental breath attack whenever you skill. The elemental Breath is based on its TP and Current HP.

Defensive Wyvern
The Defensive wyvern can main heal a party in the right circumstances, you can also solo quite well through the use of this.

The Defensive Wyvern is gained by Subbing:
 * WHM
 * BLM
 * BLU
 * RDM
 * SMN

Note that with smn you cannot cast any spells from smn because you already have a pet. Every time you cast a spell the wyvern will use healing breath if you are below 33% (50% with Drachen Armet equipped). The wyvern gets Healing Breath I at 1, healing Breath II at 20 and Healing Breath III at 40.

Healing breath is based on the wyverns TP and it's maximum HP.

The defensive wyvern will also remove your status ailments on weaponskills. It gets Remove Poison at 1, Remove Blind at 20 and Remove Paralysis at 40.

Multi-Purpose Wyvern
The multi-purpose wyvern will do elemental breahts and healing breaths. However, the Healing breath trigger is 25% (33% with Drachen Armet) so soloing like this is more risky. Your wyvern will not remove status ailments on weaponskills, but will use an elemental breath.

The Multi-Purpose Wyvern is gained by subbing:
 * PLD
 * BRD
 * DRK
 * NIN

Role of a DRG in a party
DRG usually gets invited to do damage,On rare occasions you might get asked to heal but will either be in a TPBurn, or a Skill Chain + MB type of party.

Opening Skill Chains
Yes, you know those things where people use two weaponskills after each other? Well, DRG is a THF's best friend. We open up distortion with one of our better wses. You'll want /WAR for this because you will need to voke the mob so the thf can SATA the tank.

Common Skill Chain Openers:
 * Double Thrust: Used for Opening Distortion
 * Skewer: A Replacement to Double Thrust for Distortion
 * Wheeling Thrust: For Opening Light
 * Impulse Drive:For Opening Darkness

You'll want a macro to alert your skill chain partner of your TP. For instance

/p Dragoon TP = 

When both you and your partner have 100% Tp, then Use your weaponskill. Another macro may be helpful here.

/p Wheeling Thrust // Opening Light ->  /ws "Wheeling Thrust" 

This will let your partner know that you went and to close the skillchain.

TP Burn
This is more common, and quite simple. You use your best ws as soon as you hit 100%, these parties generally target VT mobs to chain faster. You won't need any special macros or anything, but the hate is usually a lot less organized then in a SC party, if you pull hate super jump it away, it may be a good idea to save high jump for hate removal rather then TP gain.

Healing
This you'll want to make a macro to cast dia or whatever spell you choose, thse parties will target VT mobs with little or no AOE, sometimes there will be multiple drgs for a DRG-brn or wyvern burn. Consisting of 5 DRGs and a Refresher such as a BRD, RDM or COR.

Subjob Selection
Ah, the subjob choice. DRG can use a couple different subjobs and perform well, personally I recommend /war.

Warrior
As /war you get a useful trait and a couple nice Job Abilities.
 * Double Attack : This will Increase your TP gain a lot, and your WSes will do more if it kicks in during it.
 * Berserk: 25% Attack increase, what else is there to say.
 * Warcry: A smaller attack bonus, but still nice non the less

Samurai
As /sam you get some defensive abilities and faster tp gain, if you absolutely cannot level war or are pulling too much hate, might be worth giving /sam a try.
 * Hasso:10% delay reduction, +10Acc and some str(5 STR at 75DRG/37SAM). A nice little ability if your having acc problems.
 * Seigen + Third Eye: Defensive measures if your jumps are down this should let you go a couple rounds so you have time to remove your hate.
 * Zanshin : To put it bluntly "You Miss." Swing again! It procs about as much as double attack when /WAR.
 * Meditate : This gains you 60 TP

Monk
Mnk is a nice sub early on, and I would recommend it for level 1-30. Once passed 30 Berserk makes /mnk outclassed.
 * Boost: Nice early on, not that great later.
 * Focus: +20 acc, however if you're needing this much acc you probably have gear problems.

Mage Sub
Access to healing breath, what else could you need? I recommend /blu for faster casting spells.
 * Healing Breath
 * Status Ailment Removal Breath

Dark Knight
This is a bad sub. Don't do it.
 * Last Resort: Outclassed by berserk.
 * Souleater: This will only convert half the damage taken into damage.
 * Stun: This is the only reason you would sub DRK, but it will probably be resisted.

Types of Polearms
There are Three types of polearms
 * Spears Are usable by many types of jobs and are low damage/low delay compared to the other polearms.
 * Cousses are SAm/DRG, they are Average delay and damage, usable by SAM and DRG. these are best left to the SAMs
 * Lances are high damage, high delay. Usable by DRG only, get used to using it. This is your weapon.

Weaponskills
Polearms get some decent weaponskills which I'll go into.


 * Double Thrust This will be your best friend until Penta, It's a two hit ws that does pretty good damage.


 * Thunder Thrust It's crap, don't bother.
 * Raiden Thrust Can be useful on High DEF/ Mobs Weak to lightning, usualy will be out-done by Double Thrust however.


 * Leg Sweep Your stun WS, sometimes you just need to stun that bomb toss, or final sting or sickle so someone doesn't die.


 * Penta Thrust This is your TP burn ws, you will use this all the way to 75 and beyond. It's very accuracy dependent, so stack on the acc.


 * Vorpal Thrust All Right! New opener for Distortion! Too bad it fails. Stick with Double Thrust.


 * Skewer This is your new opener for Distortion. It's a 3 hit ws and does pretty decent damage.


 * Wheeling Thrust This is Your HNM/God/Anything with high defense WS. Also used for opening light. (It closes as well, but drgs don't close very well.)


 * Impulse Drive It sucks. But it opens darkness. Get it if you want.


 * Geirskogul Your relic ws, it's.. meh. It's a 2 hit ws, just use it in place of wheeling.

Equipment Choices
This is not going to mention EVERY piece of gear you should get, upgrade your lance every couple levels goes without saying. Get HQ if you can.

Meat Build
Meat builds are when you stack lots of acc and eat meat, this usually results in better Damage then sushi builds, but can be more expensive due to the price of some gear.

Weapons:

 * Obelisk - It's got STR+1, which is pretty nice for this level.
 * Gimlet Spear - Attack +3 Enchantment, Get it.

Earrings

 * Cassie Earring - +50 HP will help you out a lot for your first 10 levels, and a bit of str too. But it's a bitch to get, so obviously optional.

Rings

 * San d'Orian Ring - STR+1 is pretty decent at this level.

Feet

 * Leaping Boots/Bounding Boots - your first foot piece that give Melee stats. get a pair if you can.

Head

 * Enyo's Mask - Doubtful you'll have this, but if you do it's a bit of acc.

Earrings

 * Optical Earring - Bit of acc, nice for this level.
 * Bone Earring - Some attack

Body

 * Garrison Tunica - A bit of dex, which means small ammounts of acc.

Hands

 * Battle Gloves - Get these. You'll use them for a long, long time.

Rings

 * Balance Ring - Dex = acc

Waist

 * Runner's Belt - The enchantment will counter the DEX- use this if you use any of the belts.

Legs

 * Enyo's Cuisses - A bit more DEX

Weapons:

 * Platoon Lance - The first thing you'll notice is the damage. And then the delay, then you'll notice the damage again. Get used to it, this is your weapon.
 * Military Spear - This will tie you over until your next Lance.

Head

 * Empress Hairpin/Emperor Hairpin - More DEX never hurts.
 * Phobos's Mask - You probably don't have it, but if you do it's a great piece.

Neck

 * Fang Necklace - The HQ is better, and cheap so you might as well go HQ,
 * Tiger Stole - This will give you more per hit, but doesn't offer the acc of Spike necklace.

Earrings

 * Beetle Earring - Some more attack

Legs

 * Republic Subligar - Get used to this, you'll be wearing it for a long, long time.

Feet

 * Savage Gaiters - Some str is better then nothing.
 * Wonder Clomps - Less str then Mithra, but better then nothing.

Weapons:

 * Lance - Our real weapons are now close enough together in level that you should never have to use another type of polearm.

Ammo Slot

 * Attar Sachet
 * Balm Sachet
 * Civet Sachet
 * Millefleurs Sachet
 * Olibanum Sachet

Grips

 * Brass Grip +1 - The first grip we can equip . 2 DEX for cheap in the off-hand slot.

Head

 * Mercenary Captain's Headgear - Some STR and DEX, this will be good for a little while.

Neck

 * Peacock Amulet/Peacock Charm - This is THE best Accuracy piece on your neck you can wear. It is however, quite expensive to buy,a and a very annoying NM to camp.

Body

 * Mercenary Captain's Doublet - 1 DEX and 1 AGI. Standard upgrade from Garrison.
 * Magna Bodice/Magna Jerkin - Switch over if you want, otherwise stick to Mercenary Captain's Doublet.
 * Savage Separates - 1 STR and 32 HP.

Rings

 * Shikaree Ring/Jaeger Ring/Venerer Ring - Get some Combination of these three. Unless you have a Rajas.
 * Rajas Ring - If you have it, you know you should be using it.
 * Divisor Ring - Latent is having your job be multiples of 5.

Feet

 * Deimos's Leggings - Doubtfuly you'll have it, but if you do it's better then the other options at this level.

Weapons:

 * Peregrine - Our AF, and it gives some dex too, how nice of them.

Head

 * Voyager Sallet - It's a bit of ACC if you can get it.
 * Valkyrie's Mask/Walkure Mask

Earrings

 * Tortoise Earring - Replace your beetles finally.

Body

 * Brigandine - Some more DEX, Yay!

Rings

 * Woodsman Ring/Sniper's Ring - Your first expensive piece of gear. No they are not optional. get 2, Unless you have a Rajas, then you can get 1.

Back

 * Jaguar Mantle - Holy Attack Batman! A Back piece with DD Stats! Get it.

Waist

 * Tilt Belt- Your first bit of ACC.
 * Life Belt- Your second piece of ACC, and probably the last on your waist as well.

Ammo Slot

 * Smart Grenade - A new item added in the WotG expansion, has the hidden effect of 4 att. A nice upgrade until Tiphia.
 * Tiphia Sting - Got screwed with your RSE? Here you go, something for you. I would switch to this even if you didn't get screwed however.

Grips

 * Mythril Grip +1 - A nice upgrade from the Brass Grip. 2 STR, VIT and accuracy.
 * Sword Strap - 3% off your delay.

Neck

 * Coral Gorget - You can replace your Neck piece now with this, or you can wait a couple levels for Chiv chain.

Earrings

 * Accurate Earring - If you have the gil, go ahead.
 * Fang Earring - yeah. More attack. You know how it works by now.
 * Assault Earring - This is a very nice Earring, and will take you to 75.

Body

 * Jaridah Peti - If your cheap, use this until you can use P.Body
 * Scorpion Harness - This is the best ACC piece you can get. The end. Get it unless your waiting for P.Body.

Hands

 * Spiked Finger Gauntlets -- Expensive, and optional. You can get the same thing at 70, but it's there if you want to use it.

Rings

 * Toreador's Ring - It's expensive, but very nice. Optional.

Waist

 * Swift Belt - Haste and acc at the cost of a few attack. Requires Sacrarium access.

Weapons:

 * Grand Knight's Lance/Dark Mezraq - The effect on the mezraq kicks in quite often, but some things resist status things. Personally I would say get the mezraq, it does more damage and gives evasion down so your entire party benefits.

Grips

 * Katana Strap - Enhances Zanshin effect. It may sounding tempting but skip it. Especially because...
 * Pole Strap - Double Attack +2%. The best grip we, or any other 2-handers, can use. Get it and never take it off! Beneficial for TP as well as WS.
 * Axe Grip - 3 STR and 20 HP.
 * Claymore Grip - Critical Hit Rate +3%. Not a bad choice, however the crit rate will not be active on any WSs besides Vorpal Thrust. Not worth using over the Pole Strap.
 * Platinum Grip +1 - 3 acc and a chance to Stun. Stick with the Pole Strap.

Head

 * Drachen Armet - This is an awesome piece for solo, nothing else.

Neck

 * Chivalrous Chain

Body

 * Assault Jerkin - Doesn't give as much acc, but it gives a very large bit of Attack. You might want to try this after a few polearm merits.

Back

 * Amemet Mantle - At least get the NQ, but the HQ is much better.
 * Psilos_Mantle - Not as much Attack as the HQ Amemet, but It gives a bit of acc.

Legs

 * Tiger Trousers - Yay pants! Get some if you want, they have the same stats as the subligar.

Feet

 * Tiger Ledelsens - Some feet with DD stats, finaly.
 * Rutter Sabatons - It has some minor slow, but not enough for it to be noticeable

Weapons:

 * Colossal Lance - This can take you to 75.
 * Dreizack - Pretty decent, the Attack down kicks in fairly often.
 * Imperial Neza - This actually outclassed Mezraq in DPS, but mezraq's Evasion down makes it better. Also you could spend the assault points on something else like Amir Boots.
 * Ice Lance - the HQ is very nice and cheap, use it until you get Mezraq,
 * Mezraq - Get it. Yes it's that good.
 * Valkyrie's Fork - Outclasses NQ Mezraq in DPS slightly, as well as a store TP and Double attack stat on it, if you manage to obtain one make your own decision on if you want Double Attack+ or Evasion Down.
 * Thalassocrat - Slightly better than the Mezraq - added in a recent update.

Head

 * Optical Hat - Best Acc piece you'll get for your head.
 * Pahluwan Qalansuwa - Bit Less acc, but some attack too.
 * Ace's Helm - Bit less acc then Ohat, but you get haste and str. Could be the start of a haste build.
 * Ares's Mask - This piece is just. WoW. More acc then Ohat, and A bunch of attack as well.

Neck

 * Love Torque - +7 Polearm skill. It's very nice. Use it if you can.
 * Light Gorget/Flame Gorget - Macro in for wheeling thrust

Earrings

 * Fenrir's Earring - very sexy at day.
 * Fowling Earring - More acc, and 1STR too.
 * Brutal Earring - It's a nice earring, get it if you can, If you can never take it off.
 * Ethereal Earring - Good for both solo and Party.

Body

 * Assault Jerkin - It gives less acc then SH/ P.Body, but it's attack makes up for it. Consider after a few polearm merits.
 * Hydra Mail - It's usually more expensive than SH so don't bother. Unless you think it looks cool or something.
 * Pahluwan Khazagand - So you're cheap and didn't get an SH. This is for you.
 * Hecatomb Harness - Great WS macro Piece.
 * Ares's Cuirass - You can get other acc in other pieces, the attack on this is massive with no downsides. The full set is amazing.
 * Homam Corazza - Triple Attack and Massive ACC. It's quite nice.

Hands

 * Tarasque Mitts - These are cheap, stop using your battle gloves.
 * Barbarian Mittens - Another ATK piece for your hands.
 * Dusk Gloves - They aren't cheap.. but with a couple other haste pieces you can get a nice haste setup going.
 * Hydra Finger Gauntlets - A mix of ACC and ATK
 * Ares's Gauntlets - Yes, that's 10ACC on your hands. A Bit of STR as well too.

Rings

 * Mars's Ring - This is pretty impossible to get. But if you can, well. You have THE best acc ring in the game.
 * Iota Ring - It's less ACC then a Woodsman, so I wouldn't really bother.

Back

 * Forager's Mantle - Beats Amemet+1 by 1 STR. Get it if you want.

Waist

 * Wyrm Belt - It's nice. Use it if you can get it.

Legs

 * Barone Cosciales - They're pretty nice. Use them.
 * Drachn Brais +1 - If you can get them, it's a pretty nice ACC piece.
 * Ares's Flanchard - A bit of Double Attack, a bit of STR and DEX. Pretty nice.

Feet

 * Barone Gambieras - Pretty decent.
 * Amir Boots - Thse are nice, get them as soon as you can.
 * Ares's Sollerets - More ACC, and More ATK.

Sushi Build
Sushi builds are gearing towards lots of STR and ATT, and eating sushi for your acc needs. You'll still need some ACC to help, but not as much as a Meat build. If you find you need a bit more acc, swap out some pieces for some acc pieces.

Rings

 * San d'Orian Ring - A Bit of STR To start you off.

Earrings

 * Bone Earring - Attack, get two.

Hands

 * Bastokan Mittens - Some attack, use it.

Rings

 * Mighty Ring - Useful Enchantment, Might want to look at it.
 * Sardonyx Ring - You should really be able to afford HQ on these.

Waist

 * Samsonian Belt - While all the belts give STR, this one gives Additional STR.

Head

 * Phobos's Mask - A bit of ATT

Neck

 * Fang Necklace
 * Tiger Stole - This will perform better then Spike because you don't need the acc the dex provides

Earrings

 * Beetle Earring - Some attack

Body

 * Phobos's Cuirass - Some STR

Hands

 * Wonder Mitts - I'd stick with Bastokan mittens.

Legs

 * Bastokan Subligar - It's ugly.. deal with it.

Feet

 * Savage Gaiters - Mithra? Get these,
 * Wonder Clomps - Some str for you, little tiny drg.

Ammo Slot

 * Attar Sachet
 * Balm Sachet
 * Millefleurs Sachet
 * Olibanum Sachet

Head

 * Mercenary Captain's Headgear - STR, Good til the 40s

Body

 * Savage Separates
 * Wonder Kaftan
 * Deimos's Cuirass - Some str if you have it.

Hands

 * Deimos's Gauntlets- if you have them...

Rings

 * Rajas Ring - You know you should be using it...
 * Garnet Ring - Go HQ if you can.

Head

 * Walkure Mask/Valkyrie's Mask - Pick one up.

Earrings

 * Tortoise Earring - Replace the beetles finaly.

Rings

 * Assailant's Ring - Pre ATT Is generally better then STR.
 * Kshama Ring No. 8 - Pretty nice little ring.

Back

 * Jaguar Mantle - First Back DD piece. Use it.

Waist

 * Swordbelt - Nice bit of ATT

Ammo Slot

 * Tiphia Sting - Pick it up if you want.

Body

 * Jaridah Peti - Bit of ATT

Earrings

 * Fang Earring - YOur next ATK earring.

Hands

 * Spiked Finger Gauntlets - Very nice bit of ATT off of one piece.

Rings

 * Sun Ring - Your next STR option.

Weapons:

 * Dark Mezraq - It does more damage, get this one for sushi.

Head

 * Drachen Armet - It's not a party piece unless your healing.

Neck

 * Chivalrous Chain - Some STR, some Store TP and you'll need a bit of acc even with sushi.

Earrings

 * Coral Earring - Last Attack Earrings
 * Triumph Earring - STR on your ear

Body

 * Assault Jerkin - The attack screams get me.

Back

 * Psilos Mantle - Some ATT, Some ACC
 * Amemet Mantle - At least get the NQ

Legs

 * Tiger Trousers - Get them if you want.

Feet

 * Rutter Sabatons - Decent piece of gear.

Weapons:

 * Colossal Lance - This can take you to 75.
 * Dreizack - Pretty decent, the Attack down kicks in fairly often.
 * Imperial Neza - This actually outclassed Mezraq in DPS, but mezraq's Evasion down makes it better. Also you could spend the assault points on something else like Amir Boots.
 * Ice Lance - the HQ is very nice and cheap, use it until you get Mezraq,
 * Mezraq - Get it. Yes it's that good.
 * Valkyrie's Fork - Outclasses NQ Mezraq in DPS slightly, as well as a store TP and Double attack stat on it, if you manage to obtain one make your own decision on if you want Double Attack+ or Evasion Down.

Head

 * Hecatomb Cap - Ws Macro
 * Ace's Helm - Str, Acc and Haste All in one.
 * Ares's Mask - Good Attack
 * Askar Zucchetto - Good attack.
 * Wyvern Helm - Some STR
 * Wyrm Armet - Some STR

Neck

 * Harmonia's Torque - Some STR, But watch your hate.
 * Light Gorget/Flame Gorget - ws macro for Wheeling
 * Love Torque - +7 Adds alot of ATT and ACC

Earrings

 * Fenrir's Earring - Only during day.
 * Bushinomimi - If you really wanna blow your DM earring on 2 STR.
 * Fowling Earring - Some STR

Body

 * Barone Corazza - Expensive, And Inferior to AJ. Get it if you have bad luck with Ose, Allthough the Regen may be useful in a HJ/SJ merit build, The extra TP per jump can be useful as well.
 * Assault Jerkin - Lots and lots of attack.
 * Amir Korazin - Allright, but better options.
 * Hecatomb Harness - Ws macro piece.
 * Drachen Mail +1 - Str on the HQ version of your AF
 * Narasimha's Vest - Much better options then this.
 * Ares's Cuirass - Chuck of STR and ATT
 * Askar Korazin - Some ATT

Hands

 * Tarasque Mitts - They're att.
 * Dusk Gloves - Start of a Haste build.
 * Hecatomb Mittens - ws macro

Rings

 * Ruby Ring - bit of str for your ring slot.
 * Flame Ring - the last STR ring you can buy.

Back

 * Forager's Mantle - Best back piece you can buy

Waist

 * Warwolf Belt - Yes the stats are appealing, do not use it. The enmity is bad.

Legs

 * Barone Cosciales - They're sexy.
 * Dusk Trousers - Nice bit of ATT
 * Hecatomb Subligar - ws Macro
 * Ares's Flanchard - More STR and some DA+

Feet

 * Barone Gambieras - Some ATT for your feet.
 * Hecatomb Leggings - ws macro
 * Ares's Sollerets - The entire set is pretty good.

Haste Build
The Dragoon Haste Build: A note: Haste does not come easily with DRG, but with the introduction of Limbus and the Homam gear set it's much easier for a DRG to get now. Do not try to be a full haste build if you are not planning on going 8/8 polearm skill. The down side of Haste is you lack ACC(unless you can Homam) Haste Gear. Does not come cheap in anyway, can be very annoying to get alot of the drop pieces.

Weapon

 * Mezraq- Does not come cheap in anyway, can be very annoying to get alot of the drop pieces.
 * Valkyrie's Fork - Hands down the best weapon you could use on drg with a haste build. The Double attack with alot of haste will be orgasmic.

Head

 * Ace's Helm- The best head any drg could possibly ever want. Haste and Acc what more could you want.
 * Walahra Turban- 5% haste, 1 more over Ace's Helm, but lacks in other stats. This is the average haste drg's head piece due to Ace's Helm's rarity.
 * Homam Zucchetto - Not very good, I'd rather be using Walahra Turban. But the extra acc on it could be somewhat decent.

Neck

 * Peacock Charm/Amulet- Because alot of the easier haste pieces lack acc, on the pieces of gear that dont have a good amount of haste need to be large sums of ACC.
 * Love Torque - Will actually provide more ACC then PCC.

Earring

 * Brutal Earring- Should never be taken off no matter what sub or set up you use.
 * Assault Earring- very nice piece.
 * Fowling Earring- Use this if you NEED the extra ACC.

Body

 * Assault Jerkin can still be used if you have alot of Acc.
 * Barone Corazza is a very good situational piece, the 2hp/tick can be very good in a burn PT
 * Scorpion Harness is nice if you need the extra acc to keep yourself above 90% hit rate.
 * Homam Corazza, hands down best body you can use if you have a full haste build. The triple attack will go off more because you attack whatever% faster. 15 acc also, great haste build body.

Hands

 * Dusk Gloves: Basic haste gloves
 * Dusk Gloves +1: more haste then any other hand piece in the game.
 * Homam Manopolas: Haste and ACC, great piece.

Rings

 * Woodsman Ring/Sniper's Ring - You won't get acc from places in other places, so you will more then likely need them.

Waist

 * Swift Belt- Annoying to get, but best thing you can get.
 * Speed Belt- 2 more haste over swift belt, but no acc. Can be great depending on what your set up is.

Legs

 * Barbarossa's Zerehs- Good haste and str, very rare and hard to get.
 * Homam Cosciales- Would be the best haste you will get on legs.
 * Drachen Brais +1- Lots of ACC if you need it.
 * Barone Cosciales- Str and ATK, put substance in your swings.

Feet

 * Homam Gambieras - Best feet for a drg, for solo your wyvern heals for more HP. Haste and ACC
 * Dusk Ledelsens - If you cant get a hold of Homam, these are good too for haste.

Merits and what to get first
So YOu've reached 75, and your ready to start meriting. Now what do you want to merit? Well it depends on what you're going to do.

Choices

 * Angon - Before anything, get an angon merit. It's -20% Def for 30 Seconds, a very nice ability and the angon are pretty cheap to buy.
 * Polearm Merits - Every Skill level increases your acc and damage, just cap this.
 * Critical Hit Rate - It's not much, but Cap this as well.
 * Empathy - This will copy your most recent beneficial status, (songs, berserk, etc)
 * Jump - I Recommend meriting High Jump/Super Jump, but meriting jump will increase your overall damage.
 * High Jump - You will pull hate, so merit the recast to shed it.
 * Super Jump - Read High Jump.
 * Enmity - Merit Enmity down, it will help you pull hate less.
 * STR / DEX - Our two mods for Penta as well as ATT/ACC, I recommend 2STR 3DEX, but mix and match to your liking.
 * Deep Breathing - This will make your wyvern's next breath land for 100% accuracy and do double damage, not the most useful thing, but might as well grab it.
 * Strafe - This thing is horrible, don't bother wasting your points on it.

DD, A Recommendation

 * 5 High Jump
 * 5 Super Jump
 * 2 or 3 Angon
 * 2 or 3 Empathy
 * 1 Deep Breathing
 * 8 Polearm
 * 4 Critical Hit Rate
 * 4 Enmity Down
 * 8 HP
 * 3 or 2 STR
 * 2 or 3 DEX

An Explanation of why these are my recommendations:


 * Angon is an ability that lowers defense of the mob, making it die faster and lead to highe exp/hr. THe average Merit Mob usually won't last longer then the duration of 1, but sometimes it needs the second merit. The third merit is pointless because if it takes 1:30 to kill the mob, you should probably find another party.


 * Empathy, while seemingly useless at first is very good at boosting your damage. Let's say you Merit it 3 times, You have a BRD and they're singing Madrigal and Minuet. You use berserk, and Spirit Link it over. that will give your wyvern A very decent boost in ACC and ATT, While many people dismiss the wyvern as useless without empathy your wyvern usualy does 3-4% of the total damage. With it you can push those numbers up to 5-6% And added to your damage is a significant portion.


 * Deep Breathing, It's not the most useful ability ever, but You might as well throw out an extra bit of damage now and then from it.


 * Polearm, Critical Hit rate and the STR/DEX are obvious, they increase your overall damage.


 * HP and Enmity down increase your survivability, the enmity down makes it so that you are less likely to pull hate and the HP is so you have a bit more HP to take hits when you do pull hate.


 * High Jump/Super Jump vs Jump/High Jump Jump Merited will add thousands of damage, however you will pull hate often without the additional damage. For this reason I recommend meriting High Jump and Super jump, while doing a bit less damage, you make it easier on the mages by almost always having a hate shedding ability ready.

Choices

 * Angon - Def down, is there much else to say?
 * Polearm - More acc, More att, etc.
 * STR - You'll be using Wheeling Thrust, so you might as well make it a bit better.
 * Deep Breathing - It's alright, might as well get it.
 * Jump / High Jump - It will increase your damage by a pretty good amount.
 * Super Jump - You don't want an HNM beating on you, and it allows another DD to SATA you and release all the hate.
 * Critical Hit Rate - Extra chance for crits
 * Enmity - Might as well merit Enmity down, just to make sure you don't pull hate.
 * HP - That extra 80 HP might save you.

HNM, A Recommendation

 * 5 High Jump
 * 5 Super Jump
 * 3 Angon
 * 3 Deep Breathing
 * 8 Polearm
 * 4 Critical Hit Rate
 * 4 Enmity Down
 * 5 STR

An Explanation of my recomendations.


 * High Jump/SUper Jump allow other jobs to Trick Attack you for veryt large ammounts of damage, then have you instantly release the hate.


 * Angon will last 15% of the time fully meited, not the best but it will still make the mob go down faster.


 * Deep Breathing will make it so you get as mucha s possible out of your ws, as well as make the wyvern land for 100% acc.


 * Polearm, Crit Rate and STR all increase your damage.


 * Enmity down Makes it harder to Pull hate.

Choices

 * Angon - It makes the mob Die faster
 * Polearm - More damage/acc, of course.
 * Critical Hit Rate - Might as well cap it.
 * Enmity - You'll want to get enmity up, so you keep hate and your wyvern doesn't die.
 * Jump - More damage
 * High Jump - More damage still.
 * HP / MP - You'll want both for solo.
 * Empathy - It's just a fun ability.
 * Deep Breathing - Doubles healing breath too.
 * VIT will increase your defense (however slightly)

Solo, A Recommendation

 * 5 Jump
 * 5 High Jump
 * 2 Angon
 * 3 Deep Breathing
 * 1 Empathy
 * 8 Polearm
 * 4 HP
 * 4 MP
 * 4 Enmity Up
 * 4 Critical Hit Rate
 * 5 VIT

An Explanation of my Recommendations:
 * Jump and High Jump will increase your damage output.
 * Angon will make the mob die faster
 * Deep Breathing works on both Elemental Breaht and HEaling breath, making it able to snap your health from one end to the other.
 * Empathy for if you use something such as cocoon so your wyvern can take a few hits before dying, taking you with it.
 * HP and MP are obvious, you're going to be hit and you'll need the MP.
 * Enmity up makes it so you keep hate more then your wyvern will.
 * VIt increases your Defense making it a bit easier to solo.
 * Polearm/Crit Hit increase your damage, leading to higher chains.

Special Thanks

 * To Dakk for the haste build.