The basics are really easy : 3 combos, 2 positionals and your kenki gauge to manage. It's probably one of the easiest class to get into, with RDM.

When it come to min/max thought, it's probably as hard as DRG/MNK when you try to optimise your damage on a boss. NIN is still more difficult to handle for HL plays.

If people think that SAMs are retarded, it's because 90% of the samurais you will see in game have absolutely no clue how the job works (to the point where you wonder if they actually read the damn skills) and got a really bad DPS, thus gaining a bad reputation with the community (and the meta-only idiots).