How to Dragoon per Second: A DPS Paradigm

[iLyrica-sama]

Thanks for reposting this awesome and informative guide!

So I had a question (not sure if this was asked already or not; I will delete this post if so), but how would we set up this rotation on a hotbar for those on PC playing with a controller (an XB1 controller specifically for myself)? Thanks in advance!

[raela]

Thanks for reposting this awesome and informative guide!

So I had a question (not sure if this was asked already or not; I will delete this post if so), but how would we set up this rotation on a hotbar for those on PC playing with a controller (an XB1 controller specifically for myself)? Thanks in advance!

That is 100% personal preference. There have been multiple posts on people's own set ups recently (check the thread listings for the DPS forum), but in the end, play around and see what makes sense to you.

[SunnyHirose]

I wish I had the time or desire to look up those parses now so I could try and figure out why it is that our raid dps was so low when we tried to swap how we coordinate everything, since everything you've been saying definitely sounds correct. I mean, I can't argue that it's entirely possible this is a primary reason I can't seem to get my numbers up over 1250 on the fight, barring the silly excuse of using the 205 spear.

DRG isn't really tooled to win the A3 add phase under normal circumstances and with current gear levels... too much walking around trying to hit melting adds, and Disembowel / DoTs just not worth, so there goes a very, very big part of your DPS. I have trouble getting above 1200 for various reasons, but one is simply because we're not feeding me (we're usually more interested in just clearing; heck, I've had us hold Jagd dolls until the 3rd stack because it's easy and prevents Exhaust accidents, but this drops DPS so much).

[Sleigh]

DRG isn't really tooled to win the A3 add phase under normal circumstances and with current gear levels... too much walking around trying to hit melting adds, and Disembowel / DoTs just not worth, so there goes a very, very big part of your DPS. I have trouble getting above 1200 for various reasons, but one is simply because we're not feeding me (we're usually more interested in just clearing; heck, I've had us hold Jagd dolls until the 3rd stack because it's easy and prevents Exhaust accidents, but this drops DPS so much).

It's worth noting that having healers stop DPS entirely the last wave, and MCH/BRD barely attacking, can lead to the most boss DPS. BLM and all melee (including tanks) really get a lot out of being prepped for Pepsiman's return with their buffs and where they are in their rotation. BRD/MCH too to a lesser degree but they're extremely easy to have what they need prepped.

[JackFross]

Thanks for reposting this awesome and informative guide!

So I had a question (not sure if this was asked already or not; I will delete this post if so), but how would we set up this rotation on a hotbar for those on PC playing with a controller (an XB1 controller specifically for myself)? Thanks in advance!

There's several options listed here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-setup-for-DRG

If you wanna convert those longer listed setups to 360 controllers, follow this handy guide:
O = B
▲= Y
◘ = X
X = A

Major recommendations:
1. Get used to extended bars. Do not use them to keep some always-used skills like mounts and such. It's way more efficient and much faster to use the extended bars (RT>LT and LT>RT being two distinct bars) to hold your extra skills, rather than tapping RB to cycle. This is more just a general rule of thumb.
2. Try and keep the majority of your attacking skills in places you can hit while moving - particularly the ones with positional requirements. For me, that tends to be the face buttons (ABXY) and down on the d-pad.
3. Get used to extended bars. Seriously. I swear by them, and have yet to meet someone who uses R1/RB cycling for their main skills while maintaining high dps. It's clunky and awkward comparatively.
4. Don't be afraid to hide less-used skills on a hard-to-reach hotbar (via R1/RB cycling) such as Piercing Talon, Feint, Doom Spike, and Ring of Thorns.
5. Match skills across jobs! Keep your primary skills for each job in the same basic place. It makes it really easy to swap from one to another without needing to remember how things are set up. For example, where I have the Full Thrust combo is also where I have Fire 1-3-4 and Thunder 3 on Black Mage, and Syphon Strike combos for Dark Knight, and it's where I have Cure 1-2/Regen/Tetra and Physick/Adlo/Lustrate/Embrace on WHM and SCH.

[Sennema]

really good points but I have to shorten for character requirements

Agreed on all points, although I'm hesitant to use separate bars for Rt>lt, Lt>rt although I'm sure it would make life easier, I just tend to go RT first every time and haven't bothered to train myself to go LT first ever. I use R1 cycling but only use the right side of hotbar 2. That said, sometimes things don't go off (When B4B doesn't trigger on an opener, rage ensues). Maybe I'd have better success if I just took the time to train myself into a new habit... Must investigate.

I find R1 cycling seems to work ok for me as DRG, and even as DRK, but scholar it gives me problems (Although I should get rid of the pet hotbar maybe and move some skills) and also as I approach 50 BLM I'm quickly finding my hotbar is getting sloppy.

[JackFross]

Yeah, I trained myself when it came out to use it, and I beat a lot of the issues by having my most common alt-bar skills (Heavy Thrust and Leg Sweep) in the same place on both sides (Y and down, respectively) so I can use them regardless which one I open up.

And I know this isn't the thread for it, so under a cut:

You really shouldn't use the Pet Hotbar on any pet classes. The only skills you need off it are their main skills; the place/obey/etc can be relegated somewhere hidden, while Embrace/Whispering/Covenant/Illum/Wind should be on your main bars (I use tricky stuff that swaps those skills depending on which pet I summon).

And BLM is the easiest - so many of your skills become useless as you level up that you end up with an extremely small array of buttons that you actually *need* on your bar. There's so few that I even put Freeze on for maximum fun.

[JackFross]

--OPENER
http://ffxivrotations.com/2q4
Follow the opener with HT-TTT4, etc. This opener does about 700 more damage than the standard opener with A4S stats. I found it because I originally developed a rotation simulator.

Hope that's helpful!

I've been considering using this opener in A4S. As it stands normally, my last combo before Quarantine is a Full Thrust combo, which leaves the Bard with a pretty substantial dead time (approximately 16-17 seconds) of Disembowel if I get sucked up. I'm hoping Relia still stalks this thread to reply to this question, but anyone with knowledge of it would be helpful - would it be worth it? For context, this opener is technically better than the standard potion opener. I'd be trying to theorycraft a no-potion opener myself, since I like using my potion on leg 3 due to being a scrub, but yeah. An extra 5 gcds before that last Disembowel application would cut the time from 16-17 down to 3-4.

Would it be worthwhile to make a change like this?


//EDIT: After fiddling a bit in excel, I came up with this:
http://ffxivrotations.com/2q9 - optimal H-IDC4-P-IDC4 with no Potion
http://ffxivrotations.com/2qa - optimal H-IDC4-P-TTT4 with no Potion

numbers say the former would be +4-ish pps over the latter, but I dunno if I totally trust the numbers.

[Nominous]

(hi!)

The Rotation isn't just the opening burst. Well, sort of is. The opener, I've realised, allows you to perfectly execute a "string", where all of your oCDs flow near perfectly for optimal DPS. Things like, instead of doing IR -> BOTD, BOTD -> IR is used. BFB and IR are "held" a GCD to remove clipping and placed in positions which benefit other GCDs. Delays before Internal Release and Blood for Blood are calculated, so I can fit in as many oCDs as possible.

What's this new opener? Where is everything placed? Or is there a video, perhaps? It sounds like it's a bit more... forgiving when it comes to double weaving.

[JackFross]

What's this new opener? Where is everything placed? Or is there a video, perhaps? It sounds like it's a bit more... forgiving when it comes to double weaving.

It's not really new. It's the same as the one in the opening post, just with BotD and IR having their order swapped.
http://ffxivrotations.com/2qy - This is what he uses in the video.

Through my own theorycrafting a bit after that was mentioned, I found that this is technically higher opening burst.
http://ffxivrotations.com/2qz

The difference is minor/negligible. Important to note is that, with a 2.4 gcd, your Internal Release will pick up the gsk after Vorpal if you do gsk>life in the normal rotation (that is, IR>BotD) but it won't pick it up if you do life>gsk. The reason for Dervy's change is likely to shift Life Surge that second or so sooner to make things smoother in the long run while still maintaining IR buff on the gsk, since gsk is a flexible cooldown. He's doing insane levels of optimization to pull off an ideal rotation for maximum dps. That shift has absolutely no impact on the dps of the opener, but it has effects down the road.