Dragoon PvP Guide [WIP]

[Flowroro]

Hi guys, my name is Flow.

I'm currently working on both a Written and Video Guide explaining Dragoon mechanics & with much thought centered around Feast 4v4. This is more of a general guide for people new to Dragoon & will explain fundamentals.

So what is the Dragoon Class?



Dragoon is a Polearm wielder that heavily focuses on single target damage. They lack in CC but make up for it by having the best mobility kit, allowing them to swoop in & get out in the nick of time.
With some semi-burst abilities & high consistency, Dragoon debatably is one of if not the strongest Melee DPS Job in Stormblood

Key Differences from PvE vs PVP




No Positional's to worry about in PvP
Gaze stacks are built from using instead of ONLY Mirage Dive
can only be casted once during Life of the Dragon
You cannot cast into and vice-versa

[Flowroro]

Core abilities

500 + 1000 + 1250 + 1250(+10%) = 4125 Potency Combo
Chaos Thrust is the most important part of this GCD combo due to applying the 10% Damage Taken Debuff alongside 200 Potency DoT for 18 Seconds (1200 Potency)
It is very important for you to lead with this combo first.


750 + 1250 + 1750 + 1250 = 5000 Potency Combo
Your highest GCD combo. In my opinion the combo that should be casted second following Wheeling Thrust SHOULD you decide to stay on the same player. This combo will seem awkward to cast when swapping targets constantly but regardless must be finished to extend your Blood of the Dragon and apply another Gaze Stack
Best part is this combo ends up being 5500 with the Chaos Thrust debuff making it an amazing barrier breaker


A 500 Potency Ranged Attack that can do up to 4x the DAMAGE depending on the targets HP. This is a great finisher that pairs up really well with Jump.
Remember that this skill is considered a GLOBAL COOLDOWN. So you cannot pair this with another GCD skill.


One of your main resources that should be kept up as much as possible. It improves the damage of Spineshatter Dive & Jump by 50% and allows you to build up for your main burst combos.
Remember that your keybind for BoTD changes to Geirskogul so unlike in PVE you cannot use this ability to re-extend the duration of your Blood of the Dragon.
A cool trick you can do to maximize the time on this skill is to use it following the 3rd GCD of any of your combos. Either or


1250(+50% with BotD) = 1875 Potency*
A Ranged Attack (15 Yalms) that resets your position after the cast.
This is NOT a gap closer and should NOT be used while you are in pursuit of a target from a distance.
This ability costs 400 TP(Very expensive) and should NOT be used if you dont have Blood of the Dragon up. You want to maximize your damage and use it to obtain gaze stacks.
A common combo with this ability lets it get paired up with Piercing Talon to make a double poke finisher.


A 15 Yalm gap closer or disengager that removed HEAVY and BIND. Extremely handy in chasing people down.


10% Damage boost to you and your teammates. Since the duration is only 10 seconds with a 2 minute cooldown, its best to be weaved into your main burst combo. Especially with Geirskogul and Nastrond.

500(+50% with BoTD) = 750 Potency
A 15 second CD Gap closer with 0 cost and builds gaze stacks. Use this to follow up jumps if you lose track of target to continue your GCD combo.
You can also use this as a pseudo gap-closer against people who decide to hide behind walls. This makes you bug out and gap close a couple of yalms so you may not need to actually put the skill on cooldown



A 1000 Potency debuff that lowers Casters damage by 20% and applies a 20% healing debuff. This should be weaved between your GCD combo or held for your burst to maintain pressure.


2000 Potency on First enemy, 1500 on Second, 1000 on Third and 250 on everyone else.
Your signature ability (aka Blue Cannon). Though the skill has a 15 yalm range, its preferred to not use this skill at max range as you want to hit as many targets as possible. Try to shoot it at relatively short range.
Much like PvE, you can throw a buff and "double-weave" between GCDs. Meaning throwing in Battle Litany before shooting is definitely a valid option.


3000 Potency on First enemy, 2250 on second, 1500 on Third 750 on everyone else.
The same rules apply much like Geirskogul, personally for me I reserve my Battle Litany for Nastrond.


8000 Potency Flat on target.
Your limit breaker obviously! Preferred to use on High Medal targets and healers. Ideally should be followed up after your main burst "combos"

[Flowroro]

Combos aka Tricks of the Trade

The most important thing(s) about PvPing as Dragoon is:

• Building Gaze Stacks,
• Keeping Blood of the Dragon up and
• Applying Chaos Thrust on your intended target.

All of your combos revolve around these 3 concepts.

Execution Combos (Intended for low HP Target)
>
1250(+50%) = 1875 + 2000 = 3875 Potency Execute
With Chaos Debuff = 2062.5 + 2200 = 4262 Potency

Burst Battle Litany Combos
> > > > >
1250 + 2000(+20%) + 1250(+20%) + 1250(+70%) + Talon(Variable depending on targets HP)
= 7275 Potency (Not including Talon or DoT Damage)
= 8475 Potency if used instead

(Pressuring Fang & Claw Combos) (Chaos Thrust Debuff included)
> > > > >
1750(+10%) + 3000(+20%) + 1250(+20%) + 1250(+70%) + Talon
= 9150 Potency + Talon

Quicker Burst Combos (No Litany)
> > > >


Remember that these are only some examples. It's important to adapt to the situation and gauge how much damage you can do in a set amount of time.
Questions to ask yourself?
Is Battle Litany up? How about Skewer? Do I have a tank to help me lock them down? How is my TP? I should probably sprint here to stick on the target?

[Flowroro]

Additional Actions

Competitive Additional Actions

There is a variety of Additional Actions/PvP Role skills to choose from, the important thing to ask yourself is "which one gets the job done?"

Competitive/General

Safeguard - Normally a 90 second CD, (72 with Recast Reduction).
Great for engaging, great for trying to end a target while being focused. Gives you courage with all the damage reduction. Whats not to love? Best in slot most likely


Bolt - Normally a 45 Second CD (36 with Recast Reduction)
One of your more offensive additional actions. Since Ranged DPS/Mages love to run bolt, this in a sense give you "sticking power" allowing you to stay on them and apply pressure.
My personal 2nd slot as this allows more offensive gameplay and an alternative get in/get out.


Recuperate - 60 Second CD(48 with Recast Reduction)
A 25% self heal. This spell is more of a learning curve action as it allows you to learn your class much better when starting off. HIGHLY recommended for new players of any class.
IMO healers should be healing you, your job is to make it easier on them through avoiding/reducing damage.

Viable/Situational

Purify - 45 Second CD (36 with Recast Reduction)
An instant cleanse on either you or your teammates. This is more of a "pre-made party" ability as it allows coordination for your teammates in 4v4. Since premade queue doesnt exist atm, this can be helpful as you get to know the PvP Community.
I would never consider running this in anything other than 4v4.


Enliven - 90 Second CD (72 with Recast Reduction)
This is more of a 1 shot bang action. It gives you another 500TP in a window where your intended target NEEDS to die. Lets you jump 1 more time basically. 1500TP total = 3 jumps and 1 Piercing Talon which can be 6k + Talon Potency.
Not bad but this is more for cheese.

Not Viable aka poo

Concentrate- Normally a 45 Second CD (36 with Recast Reduction)
Lets you resist 1 DEBUFF in a relatively long CD. Don't be deceived by the 10 second duration. Most people are not gonna be careful about blowing their crowd control ability on you but it won't really matter in the longrun.

PvP Traits
Your passives. Whats gonna be the kicker that helps you win?
NOTE- I dont mention Max HP as a Passive since we got buffed more HP

Competitive/General [/I]

Bonus recast reduction on all GLOBAL COOLDOWN SKILLS.
Now you might be wondering to yourself "Flow why would i run something so minor?"
This 5% reduction makes each GCD skill in your combos go from 2.3s to 2.18s
That is .12 of a second per skill. Times 4 for your full combo is .48. Your saving yourself almost one whole second to continue attacking. Think about how long you stay on a target for. This passive is the main reason you hit 200k + Damage in Feast and 300k+ in Frontlines.


More damage, your a DPS cmon


One of THE BEST Passives IMO. This lets you reduce your additional actions aka PvP role skills cooldowns by at least 10 seconds minimum. There are plenty of times where I've managed to get bolt up at the right time. This promotes very engaging gameplay.

Viable/Situational

TP Regen. Like Recuperate, this is more of a learning curve trait to approach the Dragoon Class. Once you start getting really into Dragoon you'll learn how to manage your TP without tossing Jumps and Talons out constantly through spam.


Resistance Duration is still under testing for DPS. The only reason I am even considering this is due to the changes to Astrologian and their root buff. With the meta slowly changing (and tests needed to be done) There is a chance to see full crowd control team compositions in Feast 4v4. I wouldnt run this in any mode past 4v4.

[Koltik]

Flo please check discord thanks.

[Junyoung]

Very detailed guide, thanks!

[Maxwell]

I higly recommend carrying some icarus wings and considering enliven as an additional action to compensate for the high TP cost of jump and piercing talon.

[Flowroro]

EDIT: This written guide is close to completion. If you guys have any feedback please let me know

[Vejjiegirl]

Thank you so much for the guide!

[KfLeX]

I never really tried dragoon in pvp but if I do I'll keep this guide in mind.