New Samurai player

[To_Find_The_Way]

Hi, I am discovering the Samurai. Do you have some advices? I feel he deals tons of dmg on single target. Is it better to apply the 10% bonus damage first or is it better to get the cool down reduction instead? I feel it s only a little difference to fill the LB faster

[Equitable_Remedy]

WeskAlber on YouTube makes excellent guides going through the move set of each class and building openers every 10 levels up to level 80. "FFXIV: Shadowbringers Samurai 50 to 80 Leveling Skills Guide"

Highly recommend!

[To_Find_The_Way]

Thanks a lot!

[Garet]

Hi, I am discovering the Samurai. Do you have some advices? I feel he deals tons of dmg on single target. Is it better to apply the 10% bonus damage first or is it better to get the cool down reduction instead? I feel it s only a little difference to fill the LB faster

I think they are interchangeable. so it really it depends on whether you want to start at the rear or flank. they both basically add 10% damage. 10% weaponskill CD reduction is technically a 10% damage buff also. I personally went with the 10% buff first since I try to make my skills on my hotkeys coincide with what genki it activates to i do not get confused haha

[Beddict]

From The Balance Discord:

Why shouldn't I start with Jinpu as my first buff?

By opening with Jinpu first you gain 130p via GCDs, however, by doing Jinpu instead of Shifu first you have a 45% chance to lose a GCD in the long run, which would already result in a DPS loss if you lose a Hakaze.
Tested with the 2.14 GCD tier:

2.46 - 2.14 = 0.32
0.32 x 3 = 0.96
0.96 / 2.14 = 0.45

Addendum: This calculation doesn't factor in auto attacks which would be further in favor of Shifu first via a similar calculation.
Jinpu first also delays your opener burst by a second, endangering your burst hitting raid buffs.

➜ Jinpu first is only a reasonable option in very specific scenarios, for example a re-opener with 3 Sen & 100 Kenki where you measure up one or two lost GCDs (2.88s or 1.92s lost depending on which 3 Sen & 100 Kenki opener you do) and one or two lost auto attacks versus 442 gained potency via GCDs, 106 gained potency via oGCDs, ~50 gained potency via auto attacks and being 2 Higanbana ticks ahead. Even in an extreme case like this one it is in favor of Shifu first if the lost GCD turns out to be a Midare. If you end up losing 2 GCDs then Shifu first is likely to have been the correct choice regardless.

So yeah, go for Shifu first, it's more important to start attacking faster to keep aligned with raid buffs.