DRG/BLU vs DRG/RDM vs DRG/WHM

[Martel]

Ah. I hadn't thought of doing a multi-step SC.

But honestly, that's still waste of time. I am absolutely certain you would get more overall damage from just using 2 Drakesbanes than you will pushing for this impractical SC setup. Impulse and wheeling both, are pretty terrible damage.

Now, if you have a setup that'll let you do that with drakesx2, knock yourself out. Hmm, did a bit of research. Best you could get would be a Fusion SC via, Drakes>claw cyclone(or screwdriver)>Drakes. A 3 step fusion could get up to 75% of the closing WS's damage. You know, that's actually better than I was expecting...

But there's still this one issue...

How does your wyvern have so much TP? To get 100% TP return from spirit link the wyvern would need to have 200% TP. Are you not healing breathing at all? If so, why not just use a DD sub? The occasional restoring breath should keep you up easily if the mobs are that weak.

I'm also kinda curious how the use of a 3 min recast JA is supposed to get you a light SC once ever 1.5 mins. Using spirit link for one SC and jump to get TP for the other? Although you didn't mention jumps.. And even with spirit/soul jump, going from 0~100% tp in two jumps, /blu will almost certainly require one, or both of those jumps to double attack.. OAT polearm? Still kinda iffy.

If you really want the most damage output, and need solo capability, go /whm, caste dia II and keep haste up. You'll get far more damage out of haste then you will trying to cobble together impractical skill chains. That and not limiting your WS rate by JA timers or your wyverns TP.

[Shakuzen]

I must apologise for my original comment: It does indeed seem that this Renkei will be outdamaged by the one you've stated above, and /BLU will probably not compare very well to /SAM. I must however state:

The 1.5 minutes was a mistake; 2 minutes is what I meant. (I switched some merits to accomodate spirit link's recast for abyssea at level 80 in an attempt to keep my wyvern alive in a worm party; it is the recast that I have available in dynamis.)

I have managed to get my wyvern's TP up to 190 solo, which is enough. 1 hit and I can WS; which is still in time for my renkei. It is not a simple feat, I usually hit the lower end of orange HP; that is why I said that it's not for inexperienced DRGs as they may not be able to recover from such low HP easily. But this is on xp mobs (greater colibri).

As for Dynamis, my wyvern is frequently at 300% as I have no need for HB unless the tank dies while super jump is down.
(Which does tend to happen occasionally)


As stated: I have not yet attempted this manoeuvre on any HNM. However I will be attempting your Drakesbane Fusion one when servers come back up. (Perhaps with defence food and -PDT gear for when my wyvern is storing TP, and perhaps I will let it take a few hits with super jump, I don't know yet.)

[Alderin]

/BLU is loads of fun. Quite a strong sub as well for DRG as well.

/WHM isnt really necersary as your wyvern covers you when it comes to healing.

/RDM is handy for buffs / survivability..

My vote is /BLU all the way.. Solo'd more mobs then I even thought I could have dreamed of as a Dragoon. When you hit 90 however, you can solo with /SAM to a certain degree as you can trigger healing breath without a spell.

[Martel]

The 1.5 minutes was a mistake; 2 minutes is what I meant. (I switched some merits to accomodate spirit link's recast for abyssea at level 80 in an attempt to keep my wyvern alive in a worm party; it is the recast that I have available in dynamis.)

Even fully merited, Spirit link recast will cap at 2:30

I have managed to get my wyvern's TP up to 190 solo, which is enough. 1 hit and I can WS; which is still in time for my renkei. It is not a simple feat, I usually hit the lower end of orange HP; that is why I said that it's not for inexperienced DRGs as they may not be able to recover from such low HP easily. But this is on xp mobs (greater colibri).

I wouldn't recommend trying that on any serious solo. It'll get you killed pretty quick. And.. People still exp on Greater Colibri? Try soloing the sand sweeper Dominion OPs in abyssea Altepa. Its easy, and really good exp.

As for Dynamis, my wyvern is frequently at 300% as I have no need for HB unless the tank dies while super jump is down.
(Which does tend to happen occasionally)

You... Do dynamis /mage? Is there a healer present? I'd hope so, because relying on healing breath in an AoE spammed event like dynamis seems pretty risky. If there is a healer... why not come with a DD sub?

As stated: I have not yet attempted this manoeuvre on any HNM. However I will be attempting your Drakesbane Fusion one when servers come back up. (Perhaps with defence food and -PDT gear for when my wyvern is storing TP, and perhaps I will let it take a few hits with super jump, I don't know yet.)

If you have to slow your DMG output(by holding TP or changing from haste to PDT gear while you wait on wyvern TP) then even trying to SC like this is a waste of time. Even more so on anything higher lvl, as you see increased chances of a resisted SC.

[Lancil]

As a Skillchain fanatic I am always looking to make a skillchain to maximize my damage(or just for plain fun). Just a thought about the sub mage for a moment. I've been in situations where I started out soloing and more people have joined in and its perfectly reasonable to continue to sub mage if you still do not have the support to /melee. You could very well Drakesbane, do both spirt/soul jump sonic thrust, spirtlink (for 100tp) and Drakesbane again to create fusion. Try that next time, your damge will be much greater as it is the best 3 step a drg can solo (excluding anything w/ camlanns) without wasting your second weaponskill.

I do have to say I'm going to try CA skillchain sometime, just cause its fun >.>
And if you don't want to make fusion. Close it with impulse next time for darkness... cause it'll be fun....

[Lancil]

Hmm...Just realized there might be just a little store tp issue there. In order for that to work you'll probably need a conserver tp or one of your jumps to double attack.

[Ultima]

Just figure i'd throw this out there as well. /blu imo is the best out of the 3. also shakuzen makes a valid point with the self light. extremely easy if you play drg and know what your doing. CA Impulse Drive power attack drakesbane will close the light. and mertel it is not without its uses. i've done 5k lights while closing with a 4-5k drakes. then repeated it as soon as spirit link was up.
also impulse drive cracks 1.2k in abyssea usually. also Camlanns torment will open/ close with drakesbane and with itself.

[Kits]

i LOVED DRG/BLU, solo like a champ. Find a way to get a refresh and you'll go without stopping. Get your AF gear, and when your HP is down to a 1/3 use footkick (5mp) and your dragon will heal your ass in the yellow/green. Cure III at the cost of 5 mp. a simple/low refresh will keep you going forever

[Anethia]

Drg/blu is my personal favorite. Fast, low cost spells + str and dex stat boosts and some decent defensive spells impo trumps anything /whm or /rdm offers.

[Laciante]

Personally I like playing /RDM, just for the slight extra breathing room in safety (MP, protective spells, etc.) and the fact I get to cast multiple spells makes it a little more fun.
But I agree, that from an efficiency standpoint, /BLU is vastly superior