Studying The Blade- The SAM DPS Guide

[Janhyua]

How much crit and direct hit do I need to get the 4k result? I am having a hard time to even get 3.5k on Lakshim actual fight

[Raelcun]

Why does everyone seem to want to start with a shifu opener?

Opening with Yukikaze and then into buffed Higanbane after Jinpu applies a max damage higanbane faster and still stays most of a GCD ahead in the longrun over a shifu opener with http://ffxivrotations.com/sjm . Using an extra GCD to generate a sen for Higanbane with a Kasha combo just delays the entire rotation seemingly unnecessarily.

I also don't understand the insistence on using Hagakure and Meikyo very early for a faster Guren seeing as Guren should be lower priority than Kaiten on your two biggest hits. If you open with Yukikaze Higanbane into Kaiten Midare => Meikyo => Kaiten Midare, you can do another full Kaiten Midare combo before having to apply Higanbane again. Additionally, if you math out the kenki required for this opener, assuming no missed positionals, you can still throw out a Guren in the potion duration if you use it before the first Midare. After the third Midare you can still Hagakure for kenki as Higanbane will fall off otherwise.

The only upside I can see to using Meikyo and Hagakure early is more early shintens and a guren for early burst, but it seems to unnecessarily nerf the rotation that comes afterwards as it gets a rather significant drop in potency/sec if you math it out beyond the first 20-40 seconds.

[Allyrion]

Why does everyone seem to want to start with a shifu opener?

Opening with Yukikaze and then into buffed Higanbane after Jinpu applies a max damage higanbane faster and still stays most of a GCD ahead in the longrun over a shifu opener with http://ffxivrotations.com/sjm . Using an extra GCD to generate a sen for Higanbane with a Kasha combo just delays the entire rotation seemingly unnecessarily.

I also don't understand the insistence on using Hagakure and Meikyo very early for a faster Guren seeing as Guren should be lower priority than Kaiten on your two biggest hits. If you open with Yukikaze Higanbane into Kaiten Midare => Meikyo => Kaiten Midare, you can do another full Kaiten Midare combo before having to apply Higanbane again. Additionally, if you math out the kenki required for this opener, assuming no missed positionals, you can still throw out a Guren in the potion duration if you use it before the first Midare. After the third Midare you can still Hagakure for kenki as Higanbane will fall off otherwise.

The only upside I can see to using Meikyo and Hagakure early is more early shintens and a guren for early burst, but it seems to unnecessarily nerf the rotation that comes afterwards as it gets a rather significant drop in potency/sec if you math it out beyond the first 20-40 seconds.

I'm sure someone can give a deeper analysis of your opener, but it seems like you're delaying Guren fairly significantly. I'm not sure if it's worth it, but that link didn't show up to when you would actually use Guren to see.

Since Hissatsu: Guren is worth 16 potency per Kenki while Kaiten: Midare Setsugekka is worth 13.5, Guren takes priority over Midare. It actually seems like your rotation sacrifices sustained Kenki damage for burst with Midare in the opener.

Midare is always to first to get delayed since even though it 0.5 potency per Kenki more than Hissatsu: Shinten, it requires a GCD so it's worth less. Once Hagakure is up, Kaiten: Midare Setsugekka is basically spending 80 Kenki for 1080 potency. Counting the GCD it takes, Midare gets pushed down in priority to basically everything else that uses Sen or Kenki.

I believe the Shifu early usage is based on keeping the higher damage abilities within the burst window of external raid cds like Battle Litany or Trick Attack. That point is probably more debatable (using Yukikaze first), but supposed Shifu's buff is simply the most valuable for sustained damage.

I haven't mathed that part out to make too much of an argument for it. But I have seen multiple reports showing Shifu taking priority while delaying results in a dps loss even if there's no other slashing debuff source. Shifu's buff is strong, no doubt. By the time you finish your Gekko, it will have basically given you a free gcd.

[Nominous]

Why does everyone seem to want to start with a shifu opener?

Check out the videos on the front page.

There is a video that shows how they react with raid buffs going up as your rotation is performed. There IS a yukikaze opener that's shown. But... For one, you're likely to have a source of slashing debuff SOMEWHERE in your party (whether it be another SAM, NIN, or WAR), so applying it that early won't help you. In the unlikely case that you ARE the only source of slashing...https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...otation_guide/.

Check that out. CTRL+F: Igshar.

Unfortunately it seems they don't make an appearance on these forums often. I'm gonna shoot him a message one day soon here, see if he can't chime in on this thread to help with certain aspects I'm terrible at explaining, or showing work for.

[DarioGlenn]

The start with shifu is simple because it gives you skill speed + auto attack speed.Were not for the auto attack buff, yukikaze + jinpu first would give you more damage until you get all 3 together (yuki + jinpu + shifu).

The hagakure is 20 free sen for a shinten or kaiten since you re gonna use meikyo afterwards and , as a dps, you want to burn all of your off cooldowns asap to make it reset timer so you can use again since the fight has time limit.

If you open with yukikaze + higanbana you wont have enough sen for Kaiten + higanbana, forcing you to use in midare (which gives you a HUGE increase in dots, especially crits).

[Enjuden]

The start with shifu is simple because it gives you skill speed + auto attack speed.Were not for the auto attack buff, yukikaze + jinpu first would give you more damage until you get all 3 together (yuki + jinpu + shifu).

The hagakure is 20 free sen for a shinten or kaiten since you re gonna use meikyo afterwards and , as a dps, you want to burn all of your off cooldowns asap to make it reset timer so you can use again since the fight has time limit.

If you open with yukikaze + higanbana you wont have enough sen for Kaiten + higanbana, forcing you to use in midare (which gives you a HUGE increase in dots, especially crits).

Skill speed does not increase the amount of auto attacks you do anymore. It is only for gcd reduction.

[DarioGlenn]

Skill speed does not increase the amount of auto attacks you do anymore. It is only for gcd reduction.

Indeed my friend, but Shifu increases your auto attack rate as well as your skill speed. The auto attack speed is not because the skill speed, but it gives you both separately ways.

[Neri]

What about open with Enpi when you are running toward the boss after the tank? That would give you extra Kenki?

[ItaruKarin]

So I was just in a Susano ex party with another SAM, and his damage came as a bit of shock to me. I'm used to doing around 4200DPS with little to no melds and full blue gear + Susano weapon, but he just blew everything out of the water, reaching 4800 overall and 5100+ on specific phases like the sword.

I was a bit shocked, so I examined him and his rotation. Turns out the only major differences were his melds (Tier 6 crit on pretty much everything, which is a lot), but mostly a difference in the rotation, when he used Hagakure... Well, pretty much never outside of his opener. Not on 1, 2 or 3 sens, as far as I could see he just kept the Sen for more Midare (He actually used Midare more often than Shinten, which was another thing that surprised me.).

Sooo... Am I wrong in still using Hagakure pretty much on CD (Except when I need to refresh higanbana) to spam Shinten at 35 Kenki? Or is it just the tier 6 melds justifying that huge difference?...

(I tried a SSS parse with both rotation, and came around 20secs left on Susano EX for both rotation, with 1 or 2sec left on the no-Hagakure rotation, so maybe the difference, if there is any, only appears on longer fights?)