optimum samurai builds?

anyone care to share with me their understood optimum samurai builds?

5/5 Tachi: Shoha, stack str.

ehmmm helpful you are.

There is no build, stack STR and get a high damage weapon to automatically win the prize.

The basic builds I see are:

High Parse

High Parse means to have higher damage per hit, as well as hitting out more damage with a 100% WS. Masamune, Stack Strength and Attack. Sub is typically /WAR for Berserk, Warcry and Aggressor (extra Accuracy's always a good thing).

TP Gain

TP Gain means to gain TP as fast as possible, typically through Store TP and Haste gear and buffs, get out as many WS as possible to match High Parse builds. Sub is typically /DNC for Steps + Reverse Flourish (+60 TP or +11 TP per Step) and Haste Samba.

TP Bonus

TP Bonus is all about bumping up your WS from 100% to 300%, typically achieved through Hagun + Hagakure and performed with Tachi: Gekko or Tachi: Shoha for higher TP multipliers.

Samurai Archer

Samurai Archer is what it says on the box, sub /RNG, grab the AF Bow and stack DEX, Accuracy and Ranged Attack. Many people like to stack -Enmity on the side to help deal with all the extra Hate gotten through a combination of Ranged Attacks and Weaponskills.

Hybrid

Additionally, many people make Hybrid Builds, I opt for a TP Bonus & TP Gain Hybrid, meaning it's quick to 100% then I can knock out a 300% just as quickly but with only the 100% I built up. Or I can build up 200% and drop Sekkanoki -> Konzen-Ittai -> Tachi: Gekko -> Hagakure -> Sengikori -> Tachi: Yukikaze for two weaponskills and two skillchains, all being treated as 300% TP weaponskills.

Gear Switching

Of course at endgame I imagine there's a lot of gear switching too, I'd assume mainly to quickly change from a TP Gain build to a High Parse build and back again, combined with a piece of TP Bonus gear and Hagakure, this is probably the best way to gain TP quickly and output high yet fast damage.

@the OP - I'm assuming you're talking about gearsets when you say "builds"?



As for the post above mine -

"High Parse" - I don't even know what that is. "Higher damage per hit"? Still don't know what you mean. Are you talking about tp phase? Or ws? And isn't the idea ALWAYS to do as much damage per ws as possible?

"TP Gain" - that's your tp phase. That's when you get as close to capped haste as you possibly can while maintaining a specific hit build (in most cases a 5-hit build). Oh and subbing dnc is only for soloing or for dynamis currency farming.

"TP Bonus" - I don't know a single sam that has a TP Bonus build.

"Samurai Archer" - sam/rng is a thing of the past and only good for messing around these days (if that).

"Hybrid" - only hybrid build for sam I have ever heard of, is the kind of hybrid tp set usually seen in Legion (i.e. having -DT gear in your tp set).


Again @the OP: If you are looking for gearsets I suggest you take a look at this thread: http://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/36...amurai-a-guide.

Edit: Didn't even notice the date on the OP, only on the latest post, meh. -.-

Now, keep in mind I haven't played any endgame at all, so I don't know a thing about what SAM try in the endgame. I've only stated what builds I've seen and what ones seem reasonable enough to try.

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

"High Parse" - I don't even know what that is. "Higher damage per hit"? Still don't know what you mean. Are you talking about tp phase? Or ws? And isn't the idea ALWAYS to do as much damage per ws as possible?

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I was meaning Higher Damage Per Hit, yes, aiming for overall damage output in both the TP Phase and the WS Phase.

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

"TP Gain" - that's your tp phase. That's when you get as close to capped haste as you possibly can while maintaining a specific hit build (in most cases a 5-hit build). Oh and subbing dnc is only for soloing or for dynamis currency farming.

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I'm aware of this, but I wasn't aware you could farm currency in dynamis as a solo (I'm assuming you mean solo) SAM/DNC, are you sure that's even possible? I've heard of soloing it with a BST/DNC but SAM/DNC? Really?

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

"TP Bonus" - I don't know a single sam that has a TP Bonus build.

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Again, just stating what seems like a reasonable idea.

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

"Samurai Archer" - sam/rng is a thing of the past and only good for messing around these days (if that).

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It's not something I use at all and it seems like a waste of money to me on Ammunition and the like, but some Samurai choose to actively pursue SAM/RNG and I don't really see a general problem with it, I know it's not as good as main RNG but surely it's the next best thing right?

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

"Hybrid" - only hybrid build for sam I have ever heard of, is the kind of hybrid tp set usually seen in Legion (i.e. having -DT gear in your tp set).

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Prior to endgame a lot of Samurai make a Hybrid Build, hell, I'm using one at the moment. Generally speaking, many Samurai are unable to get hold of the best gear until they've gotten a decent enough Hybrid Build, a lot of us can't afford the penultimate Store TP or Attack/STR Gear and many of us have to settle for a Hybrid Build while we slowly attain everything we need for the two separate sets.

Again I'd opt for two separate builds, one for TPing and one for WSing but many people simply can't afford it or don't have the means to quest/mission/xNM/whatever it.

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Originally Posted by airsparrowhawk

I was meaning Higher Damage Per Hit, yes, aiming for overall damage output in both the TP Phase and the WS Phase.

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I'm still utterly confused by this, and I mean no offense but I get the "tp in +STR gear so I hit harder"-vibe from what you're saying there. Your tp gear should always have as close to 26% haste as you can get, and then enough sTP for a specific hit build. That is your first priority when it comes to choosing gear for your tp phase. Then make sure you have enough acc to reliably hit your target, DA/TA/QA is also good, and then attack doesn't hurt I guess. However, your general goal as sam is to reach 100% tp with as few swings as possible, and not to hit for a few more damage per swing.

WS is a different thing, obviously. That's where you generally want to stack STR and attack, as well as TP bonus and DA/TA/QA (all depending on which ws we're talking about).

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I'm aware of this, but I wasn't aware you could farm currency in dynamis as a solo (I'm assuming you mean solo) SAM/DNC, are you sure that's even possible? I've heard of soloing it with a BST/DNC but SAM/DNC? Really?

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A sam/dnc with -DT sets can solo EP dynamis mobs np. However, I wouldn't recommend it due to having no TH. I've duoed as thf/dnc and sam/dnc for months and we usually got 450-500 coins each run doing DC mobs, although that's an exceptionally well geared Kogarasumaru sam.

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Again, just stating what seems like a reasonable idea.

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It isn't a reasonable idea. I have never ever heard anyone mention a TP bonus build ever before. TP bonus belong in your ws set (and on your weapon), it's of absolutely no use anyplace else.

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It's not something I use at all and it seems like a waste of money to me on Ammunition and the like, but some Samurai choose to actively pursue SAM/RNG and I don't really see a general problem with it, I know it's not as good as main RNG but surely it's the next best thing right?

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No, it's outdated and if you absolutely have to go sam/rng for anything, then it's like I said - it's for messing around, nothing else.

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Prior to endgame a lot of Samurai make a Hybrid Build, hell, I'm using one at the moment. Generally speaking, many Samurai are unable to get hold of the best gear until they've gotten a decent enough Hybrid Build, a lot of us can't afford the penultimate Store TP or Attack/STR Gear and many of us have to settle for a Hybrid Build while we slowly attain everything we need for the two separate sets.

Again I'd opt for two separate builds, one for TPing and one for WSing but many people simply can't afford it or don't have the means to quest/mission/xNM/whatever it.

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Ok so by hybrid build you mean one gearset for everything? TP and ws in the same gear? That is a HUGE no-no, it will gimp your tp phase AND your ws damage. You really don't need to spend a lot of gil to get a fairly decent gearset for both tp and ws.

As mentioned above, there are a lot of no-nos with SAM. That is, TP and WS "hybrid", and focusing on damage between WS. SAMs bread and butter is our ability to WS better than any other and to do it hard. SAM/RNG is kinda a no-no, but I ignore that one personally because it is fun. Here are what sets really are.

TP phase - Haste+26% > sTP >= and multi-hit gear > Acc/Att. Zanshin counts in that multi-hit gear portion because of Hasso-Zanshin bonus. Main focus here is getting to 100% TP as quick as you can without going too far over. 100% is better than 102% because that extra sTP can go towards some other stat, Acc/Att if nothing else.

WS phase - This is all about making your WS as tough as possible. This makes up for your lack of ATT in your previous 4-5 hits it took to get to this point. Stack STR, ATT, WS modifiers (Elemental belt/gorget/Phorcys Korazin), TP bonus. All of these make that WS as strong as can be. Then you swap back to TP to do it all again in 4-5 swings.

Defensive - Uses Seigan/Third eye to mitigate damage, as well as -P/M/DT gear. Not necessarily neglect your damage, but you won't be attacking like you were. This isn't for use when you take hate, but when everyone else is starting to die. Otherwise it is kill it before it kills you mindset.

Samurai Archery - SAM/RNG is outdated and used for fun and procs when you don't have a RNG in VW. Once you get Yoichinoyumi though, archery makes its return. Amano+Yoichi is a force to be reckoned with because /RNG isn't required. /WAR is completely acceptable!

This is just a condensed list though. Tamoa posted a link 3 posts up that will give you all the info you need. Ultimately though as a new SAM, focus on getting your Empyrean armor +2 and getting you out of pearl. That is the baseline decent armor. Then you can start expanding into the good stuff.

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Originally Posted by Delvish

Samurai Archery - SAM/RNG is outdated and used for fun and procs when you don't have a RNG in VW. Once you get Yoichinoyumi though, archery makes its return. Amano+Yoichi is a force to be reckoned with because /RNG isn't required. /WAR is completely acceptable!

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Amano + Yoichi is only a force to be reckoned with under very specific circumstances, and correct, that's subbing war and not rng. I'd never ever ask someone to come sam/rng for VW procs, if you can't cap lights without rng procs then /fume is in order. Likewise I'd laugh in the face of anyone asking me to come sam/rng for that reason - or any reason.

After reading through Delvish & Tamoa's posts, it's clear to me that I still have a lot to learn as a Samurai. I'll be honest, I didn't understand half of what you were saying. So it's time for me to get reading up on this even more, thanks for the link, reading it as I type this. Just a few questions though, what are:

DA/TA/QA

-DT

EP Dynamis

WS Modifiers

-P/M/DT

VW Procs

Cap Lights

/fume

?

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Originally Posted by airsparrowhawk

After reading through Delvish & Tamoa's posts, it's clear to me that I still have a lot to learn as a Samurai. I'll be honest, I didn't understand half of what you were saying. So it's time for me to get reading up on this even more, thanks for the link, reading it as I type this. Just a few questions though, what are:

DA/TA/QA

-DT

EP Dynamis

WS Modifiers

-P/M/DT

VW Procs

Cap Lights

/fume

?

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1. DA/TA/QA = double attack/triple attack/quadruple attack. I.e. gear that will increase your chances of swinging 2/3/4 times per attack round. Examples would be Brutal Earring (double attack), Windbuffet Belt (triple attack and quadruple attack), Ganesha's Mala (quadruple attack).

2. -DT = -damage taken, i.e. it will reduce the damage you take from both physical and magical attacks.

3. EP Dynamis = dynamis mobs that check easy prey.

4. WS modifiers = stats that will increase your ws damage. For example Tachi: Shoha has STR as it's modifier, which means stacking STR gear in your ws gearset will increase your damage.

5. -P/M/DT = -PDT means -physical damage taken; you take less damage from being hit. -MDT means -magical damage taken; you take less damage from magic. -DT; see 2.

6. VW procs = magic, weaponskills and job abilities that will stagger the enemy when doing Voidwatch. If you want to learn more, I suggest you check this page out: http://wiki.bluegartr.com/bg/Category:Voidwatch.

7. Cap lights = when doing Voidwatch (VW/VWNM), you want to at least cap red spectral alignment (red light) for a higher chance at the rare drops. Red light is raised by staggering the enemy with magic (specific spells per element). This is also better and more thoroughly explained in the link above.

8. /fume = sometimes you have bad luck when doing Voidwatch, and for some reason you're unable to stagger the enemy. You have the option to do the /fume emote at the enemy, which will reset it weaknesses. Can only be done by the player with hate, and only every 5 minutes (1st chance 5 minutes after pop).


Hope that helps. And if you have any further questions, don't be afraid to ask.

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

1. DA/TA/QA = double attack/triple attack/quadruple attack. I.e. gear that will increase your chances of swinging 2/3/4 times per attack round. Examples would be Brutal Earring (double attack), Windbuffet Belt (triple attack and quadruple attack), Ganesha's Mala (quadruple attack).

2. -DT = -damage taken, i.e. it will reduce the damage you take from both physical and magical attacks.

3. EP Dynamis = dynamis mobs that check easy prey.

4. WS modifiers = stats that will increase your ws damage. For example Tachi: Shoha has STR as it's modifier, which means stacking STR gear in your ws gearset will increase your damage.

5. -P/M/DT = -PDT means -physical damage taken; you take less damage from being hit. -MDT means -magical damage taken; you take less damage from magic. -DT; see 2.

6. VW procs = magic, weaponskills and job abilities that will stagger the enemy when doing Voidwatch. If you want to learn more, I suggest you check this page out: http://wiki.bluegartr.com/bg/Category:Voidwatch.

7. Cap lights = when doing Voidwatch (VW/VWNM), you want to at least cap red spectral alignment (red light) for a higher chance at the rare drops. Red light is raised by staggering the enemy with magic (specific spells per element). This is also better and more thoroughly explained in the link above.

8. /fume = sometimes you have bad luck when doing Voidwatch, and for some reason you're unable to stagger the enemy. You have the option to do the /fume emote at the enemy, which will reset it weaknesses. Can only be done by the player with hate, and only every 5 minutes (1st chance 5 minutes after pop).


Hope that helps. And if you have any further questions, don't be afraid to ask.

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Thanks a lot for the quick response, I really appreciate it.

I understand pretty much everything now except 'Stagger'. I'll be sure to have a read-up on that link you posted though.

Everyone on the FFXI Samurai Board is so nice, it's nothing like some of the other game forums I'm on, the Halo forums are in absolute anarchy at the moment. :3

I'm still in the process of understanding how Samurai builds work (I understand the basic TP & WS phase ideas) and I've assembled a couple of gear sets in order to gain a better understanding of the idea, if you wouldn't mind having a look and giving me some feedback, I'd greatly appreciate it. :)

Okay, first of all I have to say this: do your CoP missions if you haven't already and get that Rajas Ring and a Brutal Earring, please!


As for your tp set, here are my suggestions:

Weapon: lose the Futsuno Mitama, it's too weak now. Get a Kikugosaku at the very least (drops from Orthrus), or if you want to make an effort, make the TP bonus magian GK.

Grip: Pole Grip or Rose Strap (depending on if you need the store TP or not).

Ammo: Hagneia Stone for the store TP if necessary. If not I'd stick to Thew Bomblet for tp aswell.

Head: fine as is.

Neck: best option is Ganesha's Mala, you should really do VWNM fights! Unkai Nodowa is another option. Anything with some accuracy (and attack) works really, just get an up-to-date piece of gear.

Ear: Brutal Earring! Otherwise Unkai Mimikazari, I guess Kemas Earring is ok-ish, or an attack earring (NQ Ghillie Earring is dirt cheap and offers some accuracy as well as attack).

Body: Unkai Domaru +2.

Hands: Brego Gloves (cheap now), or Karieyh Moufles (free).

Rings: Rajas Ring! Mars Ring as 2nd ring, they are getting cheap now. Or any ring with accuracy and attack, I have to admit I'm not sure of what might have been added fairly recently that works here, just like with neck armour.

Back: Atheling Mantle, also from Orthrus - 100% drop rate.

Waist: get some help with Ovni for a Bullwhip Belt.

Legs: fine as is.

Feet: Ace's Leggings from Itzpapalotl offers 1% more haste.


This tp set makes you overshoot on TP for a 5 hit build, but it pretty much allows you to ws in anything without worrying about losing your hit build. It also has 24% haste.



Ws set:

Ammo: fine as is.

Head: Varangian works I suppose, it's a little outdated but yeah, shouldn't be the first of your priorities.

Neck: elemental gorgets!

Ear: Brutal Earring and a str earring - the NQ version of the level 86 str earring doesn't cost a whole lot. Or Kemas, I suppose.

Body: Twilight Mail? Ace's Mail?

Hands: Mustela Gloves are pretty decent.

Rings: 2 str rings, or a str ring and Rajas Ring (if you want to save gil and an inventory slot, the store TP on Rajas isn't needed here though)

Back: Atheling Mantle.

Waist: elemental belt!

Legs: Same as you tp in, or better yet, Karieyh Brayettes.

Feet: Unkai Sune-Ate +2 or Karieyh Sollerets.


Bear in mind, these are makeshift sets that I put together in a hurry (have to go out soon!), there might be some better (cheap or free) options for some slots that I haven't thought of.


I couldn't help but notice this part of your ffxiah post:

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I'm aware of the lack of Haste on any of the gear but I've never fully understood the point of putting Haste into your gear set when so many jobs are able to cast the buff regardless, it's always seemed like such a waste when you could be guaranteeing more consistent hits with greater Accuracy.

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Gear haste and magic haste is NOT the same, and they stack. To help you understand the importance of haste, let me direct you to this thread, which explains it better and more detailed than what I can: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...e-misinformed.

And by all means, the gear I have listed is far from optimal (aside from a few pieces). I have just tried to put together something that's better than what you currently have and is either cheap or free.







PS: Btw you cannot under ANY circumstance swap weapons around without losing all your tp. ; ;

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Originally Posted by Delvish

TP phase - Haste+26% > sTP >= and multi-hit gear > Acc/Att. Zanshin counts in that multi-hit gear portion because of Hasso-Zanshin bonus. Main focus here is getting to 100% TP as quick as you can without going too far over. 100% is better than 102% because that extra sTP can go towards some other stat, Acc/Att if nothing else.

WS phase - This is all about making your WS as tough as possible. This makes up for your lack of ATT in your previous 4-5 hits it took to get to this point. Stack STR, ATT, WS modifiers (Elemental belt/gorget/Phorcys Korazin), TP bonus. All of these make that WS as strong as can be. Then you swap back to TP to do it all again in 4-5 swings.

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I don't totally agree with the need to "true cap" haste before n-hit build,
i'd sya: haste (near cap)>STP for hit build> cap haste> qa/ta/da
+ with caped magic haste buffs sam don't need to true cap gear haste with augmented hasso

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Samurai Archery - SAM/RNG is outdated and used for fun and procs when you don't have a RNG in VW. Once you get Yoichinoyumi though, archery makes its return. Amano+Yoichi is a force to be reckoned with because /RNG isn't required. /WAR is completely acceptable!

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another bad point with bow sam is the total lack of decent bow other than yoichi. Apex arrow could have some situational use but low dmg bow/arrow+ lack of good AGI/rangestat for sam make it reallu subpar

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Originally Posted by Tamoa

Okay, first of all I have to say this: do your CoP missions if you haven't already and get that Rajas Ring and a Brutal Earring, please!


As for your tp set, here are my suggestions:

Weapon: lose the Futsuno Mitama, it's too weak now. Get a Kikugosaku at the very least (drops from Orthrus), or if you want to make an effort, make the TP bonus magian GK.

Grip: Pole Grip or Rose Strap (depending on if you need the store TP or not).

Ammo: Hagneia Stone for the store TP if necessary. If not I'd stick to Thew Bomblet for tp aswell.

Head: fine as is.

Neck: best option is Ganesha's Mala, you should really do VWNM fights! Unkai Nodowa is another option. Anything with some accuracy (and attack) works really, just get an up-to-date piece of gear.

Ear: Brutal Earring! Otherwise Unkai Mimikazari, I guess Kemas Earring is ok-ish, or an attack earring (NQ Ghillie Earring is dirt cheap and offers some accuracy as well as attack).

Body: Unkai Domaru +2.

Hands: Brego Gloves (cheap now), or Karieyh Moufles (free).

Rings: Rajas Ring! Mars Ring as 2nd ring, they are getting cheap now. Or any ring with accuracy and attack, I have to admit I'm not sure of what might have been added fairly recently that works here, just like with neck armour.

Back: Atheling Mantle, also from Orthrus - 100% drop rate.

Waist: get some help with Ovni for a Bullwhip Belt.

Legs: fine as is.

Feet: Ace's Leggings from Itzpapalotl offers 1% more haste.


This tp set makes you overshoot on TP for a 5 hit build, but it pretty much allows you to ws in anything without worrying about losing your hit build. It also has 24% haste.



Ws set:

Ammo: fine as is.

Head: Varangian works I suppose, it's a little outdated but yeah, shouldn't be the first of your priorities.

Neck: elemental gorgets!

Ear: Brutal Earring and a str earring - the NQ version of the level 86 str earring doesn't cost a whole lot. Or Kemas, I suppose.

Body: Twilight Mail? Ace's Mail?

Hands: Mustela Gloves are pretty decent.

Rings: 2 str rings, or a str ring and Rajas Ring (if you want to save gil and an inventory slot, the store TP on Rajas isn't needed here though)

Back: Atheling Mantle.

Waist: elemental belt!

Legs: Same as you tp in, or better yet, Karieyh Brayettes.

Feet: Unkai Sune-Ate +2 or Karieyh Sollerets.


Bear in mind, these are makeshift sets that I put together in a hurry (have to go out soon!), there might be some better (cheap or free) options for some slots that I haven't thought of.


I couldn't help but notice this part of your ffxiah post:



Gear haste and magic haste is NOT the same, and they stack. To help you understand the importance of haste, let me direct you to this thread, which explains it better and more detailed than what I can: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...e-misinformed.

And by all means, the gear I have listed is far from optimal (aside from a few pieces). I have just tried to put together something that's better than what you currently have and is either cheap or free.







PS: Btw you cannot under ANY circumstance swap weapons around without losing all your tp. ; ;

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Thank you so much for your posts, they've been really helpful. I've been chatting with the nice people on FFXIAH and I learnt about weapon switching = lost TP already too. xD

I'll definitely have to use this thread as a reference in future, I'll likely start putting together another build very soon with a lot of stacked WS Modifier Attributes and Multi-Hits. :3

I typically use Kikugosaku + 4 hit build and ride hasso if taking damage isn't too big an issue, but I just like to see the double zanshin go off xP getting 133~ tp occasionally in a single attack round is fun but idk about the practicality, my tp and ws sets still need some work
in case people are curious 133~tp comes from 25~ tp normal hit, then 2 54~tp zanshin hits, doesnt happen all to often but enough for me to keep using it xP

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Originally Posted by hiko

another bad point with bow sam is the total lack of decent bow other than yoichi. Apex arrow could have some situational use but low dmg bow/arrow+ lack of good AGI/rangestat for sam make it reallu subpar

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quoting myself but this is no longer true : http://www.bg-wiki.com/images/thumb/...escription.png

imo still < yoichi99 (agi VS str/agi mod+ WS dmg bonus)

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Originally Posted by hiko

quoting myself but this is no longer true : http://www.bg-wiki.com/images/thumb/...escription.png

imo still < yoichi99 (agi VS str/agi mod+ WS dmg bonus)

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Yea I saw this bow and had to think about it for a second. It is most definitely very pretty, but that is about it. Really it is just our good ol' Shigeto Bow reincarnated with higher DMG rating. Funny part is Shigeto had more RATT...

Unless SE goes through with RMEC WS unlock idea, that is all this bow will amount to as Apex Arrow is AGI. SAM just doesn't have the gear selection to stack AGI as it does STR for Namas. Refulgent Arrow is of course another option with a slight STR modifier, but requires /RNG.

str is still usefull for apex (ranged fstr, RAtt)
as for shigeto having more ratt, all plasm item, weapon included, are augmentable

Hello I'm brand new to this game and really want to build a strong samurai. As I'm sure you can imagine the waves of confusion are crashing against me on a daily basis.

My noobish samurai questions are:

What level should I stop to gear up? Do I just powerlevel to 99 in abyssea then work on skills after?

And why am I using great katana over polearm? First I give up 5 hit pentathrust then 4 hit 100% str mod starcaller. All for the sake of a bunch of 2 hitting katana skills? What am I missing?

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Originally Posted by JimmyYO

And why am I using great katana over polearm? First I give up 5 hit pentathrust then 4 hit 100% str mod stardiver. All for the sake of a bunch of 2 hitting katana skills? What am I missing?

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A decent polearm
best polearm sam have acces : Draca couse
DMG:112 Delay:480 STR+7
lvl87 war drg sam

GK WS have attack modifier and/or higher fTP values

After leveling all jobs to 75 and most to 99 (in progress), it really just depends on how you intend to level. If you aby burn it which I don't care for if you intend to use the job, then gear up at 1, 10, 30, and then 99. If this is your first time playing through and/or you care about bringing your skills to "reasonable" levels as you go, then you will follow the following path.

• Lvl1 - starter gear - starter zones (Solo)

• Lvl10-14 - Scale Mail - Konschtat Highlands (solo)

• Lvl10-30 - Scale Mail - Gusgen Mines
  Bit of variance here because you can continue leveling on your own for a bit or jump straight into a Gusgen Mines book burn alliance, the latter being much faster.

• Lvl30-60 - Gi's or Mail - Crawler's Nest
  Not going for stats here, just more DEF so you don't die immediately from taking hate.

• Lvl60-78 - Artifact Armor - Bostaneaux Obliette
  Should have AF anyway, as a few pieces are decent, but most of all it enhances you more than other pieces would and it is free. Also may want to pick up a Soboro Sukehiro while you're at it for the OA2-3 and skillup+

• Lvl78-99 - Perle/Relic Armor - Abyssea
  People can rag me all they want, but Perle is the baseline heavy DD piece at 78-98. Relic also works if you have it much like AF does. Once you hit 99, you can start building out your SAM normally.

As for your second question, Hiko was pretty accurate. SAMs use GKs because Tachi: Shoha is our bread and butter WS useable with any GK. Even with a dinky OA2-4 GK it does considerable damage. As a SAM, you should carry a Quint Spear, high damage polearm, High damage GK, and an OA2-X GK. If you are interested, may want to look into carrying a bow too.

Ok thanks for the reply, very helpful.

It seems that nowadays, as long as you have the Delve GK, all you need is sushi and a bit of acc in your gear and capped haste, and you can out-damage just about every other DD job in the game. That's in delve of course. Outside delve, drop the sushi for att food. Oh, and Shoha 5/5 of course, or you won't benefit from the complete brokenness of SAM.

That's right, SE has done it again.

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Originally Posted by JimmyYO

And why am I using great katana over polearm? First I give up 5 hit pentathrust then 4 hit 100% str mod starcaller. All for the sake of a bunch of 2 hitting katana skills? What am I missing?

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What you are missing is the fact that "many hits" do not equal "good damage" on Weaponskills. There is for example Rana, which is a three hit weapon skill and yet it will never beat Fudo, ever and Fudo is a one hit Weaponskill. In that regard Fudo as well is a much better Weaponskill than Shoha as long as you cap your attack. It simply scales better. What turns the favor towards Shoha though is the fact that has an attack bonus as one of its' attributes, which means, you can have lower attack and still deal maximum damage. This in turn makes Shoha stronger on hard and really defensive content.
Same with tachi: Kaiten. When you have capped attack and WS at 100% it is the best weaponskill you can use as SAM, it even beats Fudo (only with a level 99 Amanomurakumo) but since Kaiten doesn't become stronger the more TP you have -unlike Fudo- it looses when you cannot WS at 100% precisely or when you use things like Hagakure giving a TP bonus.

Despite all this, you are right, Stardiver is an amazing Weaponskill especially against weak content and due to the unique properties of SAM it can even deal better damage with it than a DRG, the real Polearm wielders, despite them having access to much better Polearms than SAM has. With the addition of Seekers of Adoulin though, this has lost the truth it once hold. You simply cannot keep up with a 240+ damage polearm by wielding a 112 damage Naginata type Polearm.

Other than that you also should take the skill ratings of the job into account. SAM has a much higher rating in Great Katana than Polearm which means, that there will always be a certain advantage to using a GK (skill 424 versus 388) which is a hefty boost in accuracy and attack. So unless the monsters you are fighting truely are weak Stardiver for you will never beat your Shoha no matter if it has several more hits.

And now a little hint to the OP as well... now with Skirmish 2 gear... please don't jump on the bandwagon and fight in all red... That gear is mostly junk for SAM unless you want to tank. The only armor piece I use are the Otronif hands and it always saddens me when I see others full timing it... and upon asking them why they do so, they answer: cause it is the best now...

(there are so many ... cause it really makes me sad and speechless sometimes)

Sincerely, Leylia