Materia for samurai

[SoniqSync]

I'm a new player and my question is.. what is the best materia for samurai (ilvl 312+) atm?

[KatenKyokotsu]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-SAM-DPS-Guide
This guide over here has most of the information you need. Just take a look.

[Thaeros]

disregard that link. it doesnt have any information on melds

[Ryaz]

Not a savage player myself (yet), but try to max what my character does.

For the most part, you want to hit a skill speed tier that you're comfortable with. Most people hit 1185, 1350ish or 1555. I stick around 1350 myself as I feel things align a little better that way and gives me some more wiggle room for dealing with mechanics.

After that, preferred order (gear allowing) is Direct Hit > Determination > Crit. The reasoning is that most of our damage comes from something like shinten off global cooldown, so higher skill speed means more kenki and more direct hit means more consistently high damage from shinten. Crit doesn't help as much because it doesn't hit as often.

The other side is a low skill speed, very high crit build which can pump out some big damage numbers, but usually relies on a Bard and DRG to really help it shine.

I prefer the former because I dislike attacking too slowly.

Thankfully, quickarm materia is cheap. Heavens Eye not so much.

[Okamimaru]

Being a selfish dps I went with crit followed by DH and DET... as much raw power as I can... big numbers especially when you get party buffs...

[XValenusX]

As I main MNK and love a slower play style I go with SkS to taste (which is usually just what ever my mnk has at the time), Crit 》DH 》DET.