Samurai Guide (Levels 1~60) Ver. 0.1 ^^
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:10 am
First of all, I'd like to say hello to you all, The kitties of the world. Heheh.
This is a Samurai guide specifically for levels 1~60, as that is where I'm at right now.
Basics: As a samurai, you like TP. Unfortunately, with just physical attacking, later on in the game, other melees will start to out-TP you, such as Ninjas or Monks, respectively. This is what Meditate is for. Samurai may also seem frustrating at first, but the job really picks up at level 30.
Level 1~10
Food: Rarab Meatball, Grilled Hare.
Area: Ronfaure (East and West), Ghelsba Outpost, Sarutabaruta (East and West), Giddeus, Gustaberg (North and South), and the Zeruhn Mines.
Armor: The usual level 1~10 armor: Bronze armor, Leather armor, and finally the Scale mail set.
Weapons: Mumeito 1~8, Tachi 8~10
Strategy: Nothing special, just kill stuff, the old fashioned way.
Level 10~20
Food for level 20: Dhalmel Steak, if nothing else, just get some Kabobs.
At level 10, you should be using the Scale mail set, and should get ready to head for the dunes.
Before I continue, a quick tutorial on macros, for all ye who are unwary.
Macros are a great tool for partying, and soloing. You name it, there's a macro for it.
The macros you will be wanting for the dunes (assuming you have said equipment)
Alt+1 (Not needed, but a good help. This macro will be replaced by ACC gear later on.)
/equip ring1 "Stamina Ring"
/equip ring2 "Stamina Ring"
These will be your hate rings. As soon as you steal hate, or if they have you tank, switch to these immediately.
Alt+2
/equip ring1 "Courage Ring"
/equip ring2 "Courage Ring"
These are your Damage Dealing rings. At this level, if you can't hit, I might trade one for a Balance Ring. I didn't use them, myself, but if you have the extra cash, it's always worth it.
Alt+3 (or 0. This is at preference to the player)
/equip ring1 "Bone Ring"
/equip ring2 "Bone Ring"
/ra <t>
/wait 7
/equip ring1 "Courage Ring"
/equip ring2 "Courage Ring"
This macro is so that you can actually hit something with your bow once in a while, and it auto-switches back to your STR rings when you're about to fight. (Give or take a few seconds on the /wait.)
You may have sub-job macros, but they're not needed, and only if they make you tank will you need a Provoke macro. In that case, and you're lucky enough to have one...
Alt+9
/equip waist "Dash Sash"
/ja "Provoke" <bt>
/wait 2
/equip waist "Warrior's Belt"
Weapons for level 10~20:
Lv. 10 Katayama Ichimonji, Rare/EX. one of the best katanas for levels 10~20. If you're bored, go camp Carnero in South Gustaberg and try to get this Katana. I recommend camping it with a higher level job. I tried this as a level 10 Red Mage and got my butt handed to me on a silver platter. ^^;
Lv. 12 Uchigatana, It's okay, but I'd rather have a Katayama Ichimonji at this level. It has less DMG, but less delay. You WILL get less TP per hit with this Katana, not a good thing for SAMs.
Lv. 16 Nodachi or Nodachi +1, This Katana will get you into the 20's easily. Nothing special, But better than Katayama and Uchigatana.
Armor: Scale Set -> Bone set -> Lizard Set. Power Gi for Weaponskills. Rings: Courage Ring(x2), Balance Ring(x1), Stamina Ring(x2, optional), Brave Belt.
Possible Party areas: Valkurm Dunes (10~20), Maze of Shakrami (10~14), Korroloka Tunnel (14~18), Qufim Island (18~25)
Level 20~30
Now that your fur is safe and sound outside of the dunes, You get more options.
Food: Dhalmel Steak or Mithkabobs.
Weapons for level 20~30:
Lv. 20: Gunromaru. Nothing special. It's a normal Katana, so TP rate will be good, decent damage, and mid-range Delay. It's a bit of a hassle to get, since it drops off BCNM20. May be costly. I personally skipped this one.
Lv. 23: Okanehira. Cheap, yet effective. Nothing special about this one, only that it's better than Gunromaru.
Lv. 26: Kanesada. Another of the SAM/NIN Great Katanas. I would suggest avoiding this one. It's not a very good weapon at your level due to the loss of TP per swing.
Lv. 27: Kotetsu. Final Katana for 20~30. Nothing special about this one. Just a Katana with some pretty good DMG.
Armor: Beetle set -> Chainmail set -> Centurion Mail set. Though optional, the Mercenary set is better than the chainmail or Centurion set for SAM. Beetle Earrings x2, Beetle Rings x2. You may want to change your Ranged Attack macro for these rings if you're a decent archer. Shikaree ring or Archer's Ring at level 30 if you can get your hands on one. ( 1/1 on Stroper Chyme. :3 ), For Mithra or Tarutaru, RSE Shoes are really nice. On a Tarutaru, RSE is a necessity. Spike Necklace, Republic Subligar.
Party Areas: Qufim Island(20~25), Yuhtunga Jungle(24~28, some places 30~32), Yhoator Jungle(27~32)
Strategies: Hang on until you get Meditate. Other than that, just kill the stuff you or your puller pulls.
Lv. 30~40
Strategy: Now that you've got Meditate, It's time to go into a few meditating strategies. If you're Skillchaining, It's a good thing to keep Meditate on reserve, build as much TP from melee as possible, and meditate when you need to skillchain. If your party doesn't really care for a skillchain, or they have one with you not in it(Not likely), you can do the TP-spam method, where you meditate as much as possible.
There are two subjobs which I consider the most useful at this level.
/WAR: Most Damage per swing, highest possible Weaponskill damage with luck.
/THF: Decent Damage per swing, Highest CONSTANT weaponskill damage, and my personal favorite, as it allows you to stack as much STR gear as you want without any problems, something us Cats desperately need as Samurai.
You can sub other things, but these two are the most common and most useful to me at this level.
Food: Rice Dumplings, Dhalmel Steak(till 35 at best.), Mithkabobs.
Weapons:
Lv. 34: Homura, Homura+1, and Koen. These Katanas are really good. They have additional effect: Fire, and have good damages. Their TP per swing is normal.
Lv. 36: Ashura, Does not gain as much TP per swing, but is an okay Katana if you MUST have a new one. I find it somewhat unsatisfying. Nothing special.
Lv. 37: Hosodachi, Hosodachi+1. Good Katana, Nothing special, best Katana for 30~40 with the exception of the level 40 Rare Katana. May be expensive as it takes 64 Goldsmithing, 57 Alchemy, and 40 Leather to make safely. Nothing special
Lv. 40: Kagehide, Get ONLY if you MUST have a new katana at level 40. Your AF Weapon is much better than this. Nothing special.
Armor: Centurion gear -> Silver Mail -> Royal Squire's Mail. 2x Puissance Rings, Venerer's Ring, Tilt Belt(Really cheap, on Odin at least.) If you're rich, you might also get a pair of Ochiudo's Kote. Giga's Bracelets or Ogyogos Bracelets are also very useful.
Areas of Experience -> Yuhtunga or Yhoator Jungle(30~32), Sea Serpent Grotto(optional)(30~33), Eastern Altepa Desert or Garlaige Citadel(32~35), Crawler's Nest(34~55-ish) Sniper's Rings if you can afford them.
Best weaponskills at this level: Tachi: Enpi and Tachi: Kagero.
Tachi: Enpi, Your Distortion Maker, Black Mages love you.
Tachi: Kagero, The reason monks love you if you're willing to use it. I've also hit for 400+ constantly when subbing THF on this weaponskill. Black Mages still love you, even more in some cases.
Lv. 40~50
Food: Rice Dumplings, Mithkabobs.
Armor: Sword Belt, Brigandine Armor, Life Belt, Enkelados' Bracelets, Vanguard Belt
Weapons:
Lv. 40:Kagehide, Bleh. Forget this one and wait until the AF weapon. It's not worth it.
Lv. 42:Magoroku, Samurai get a very good AF weapon, miraculously. I kept this one way until level 51, myself.
Lv. 44: Mikazuki, Mikazuki+1. They're Good Katanas. Nothing special about them.
Lv. 48: Odenta, Good Katana, nothing special.
Lv. 50: Koryukagemitsu. It's a Great Katana if you can afford the price tag. +1 STR, +2 Accuracy. Chances are if you have this one you'll use it until 59~61.
Party Areas: Quicksand Caves, Crawler's Nest, and Western Altepa Desert. Levels I'm not so sure about, so I'll update a bit later and have it show the levels.
Lv. 50~60
Food: Mithkabobs(30~75), Sole Sushi(60+, not worth it before.)
Strategy: Not much to it, the hardest things will be the Genkai ( Limit Breaks, which, by the way, a HNM shell named Limit Break on Odin took on Absolute Virtue, and got him down to 52%... at the time of posting, that's a world record. :3 ) Just keep using your strategies from before, and you'll do fine.
Gear That you might want to get:
Royal Knight Chainmail, Victory Ring(x2, I wish.), Pallas Bracelets(I still wish.), All Artifact pieces, only nearly useless piece is the AF boots, Some Spike Earrings, Royal Knight's Mantle(the +2STR one.), Haubergeon( ;_; ), That's about all I can think of.
Weapons:
Lv. 51: Kiku-Ichimonji, S'okay. I had one of these until level 54. Nothing special about it.
Lv. 54: Jindachi(+1), Nothing special about it, but it's a really good Katana, served me well so far. :3
Lv. 55: Dotanuki, Ignore this Katana. Not worth it by this level, at all.
Lv. 56: Raikiri, It's alright, Jindachi's just about as good, but decent none-the-less.
Lv. 59: Daihannya, This is one that I want, if not for EXP, then for Ballista. It's really good, but WAY too expensive for me. If you can, get this one.
Leveling areas: Crawler's nest(till 55.), King Ranperre's Tomb (Till... 57~58), Boyahda Tree (55~56), Cape Terrigan, (58~60)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's just about all I've got. Any questions just PM me, I'll be updating it sporadically, but this is basically how I got to 60, myself, give or take a few things.
This is a Samurai guide specifically for levels 1~60, as that is where I'm at right now.
Basics: As a samurai, you like TP. Unfortunately, with just physical attacking, later on in the game, other melees will start to out-TP you, such as Ninjas or Monks, respectively. This is what Meditate is for. Samurai may also seem frustrating at first, but the job really picks up at level 30.
Level 1~10
Food: Rarab Meatball, Grilled Hare.
Area: Ronfaure (East and West), Ghelsba Outpost, Sarutabaruta (East and West), Giddeus, Gustaberg (North and South), and the Zeruhn Mines.
Armor: The usual level 1~10 armor: Bronze armor, Leather armor, and finally the Scale mail set.
Weapons: Mumeito 1~8, Tachi 8~10
Strategy: Nothing special, just kill stuff, the old fashioned way.
Level 10~20
Food for level 20: Dhalmel Steak, if nothing else, just get some Kabobs.
At level 10, you should be using the Scale mail set, and should get ready to head for the dunes.
Before I continue, a quick tutorial on macros, for all ye who are unwary.
Macros are a great tool for partying, and soloing. You name it, there's a macro for it.
The macros you will be wanting for the dunes (assuming you have said equipment)
Alt+1 (Not needed, but a good help. This macro will be replaced by ACC gear later on.)
/equip ring1 "Stamina Ring"
/equip ring2 "Stamina Ring"
These will be your hate rings. As soon as you steal hate, or if they have you tank, switch to these immediately.
Alt+2
/equip ring1 "Courage Ring"
/equip ring2 "Courage Ring"
These are your Damage Dealing rings. At this level, if you can't hit, I might trade one for a Balance Ring. I didn't use them, myself, but if you have the extra cash, it's always worth it.
Alt+3 (or 0. This is at preference to the player)
/equip ring1 "Bone Ring"
/equip ring2 "Bone Ring"
/ra <t>
/wait 7
/equip ring1 "Courage Ring"
/equip ring2 "Courage Ring"
This macro is so that you can actually hit something with your bow once in a while, and it auto-switches back to your STR rings when you're about to fight. (Give or take a few seconds on the /wait.)
You may have sub-job macros, but they're not needed, and only if they make you tank will you need a Provoke macro. In that case, and you're lucky enough to have one...
Alt+9
/equip waist "Dash Sash"
/ja "Provoke" <bt>
/wait 2
/equip waist "Warrior's Belt"
Weapons for level 10~20:
Lv. 10 Katayama Ichimonji, Rare/EX. one of the best katanas for levels 10~20. If you're bored, go camp Carnero in South Gustaberg and try to get this Katana. I recommend camping it with a higher level job. I tried this as a level 10 Red Mage and got my butt handed to me on a silver platter. ^^;
Lv. 12 Uchigatana, It's okay, but I'd rather have a Katayama Ichimonji at this level. It has less DMG, but less delay. You WILL get less TP per hit with this Katana, not a good thing for SAMs.
Lv. 16 Nodachi or Nodachi +1, This Katana will get you into the 20's easily. Nothing special, But better than Katayama and Uchigatana.
Armor: Scale Set -> Bone set -> Lizard Set. Power Gi for Weaponskills. Rings: Courage Ring(x2), Balance Ring(x1), Stamina Ring(x2, optional), Brave Belt.
Possible Party areas: Valkurm Dunes (10~20), Maze of Shakrami (10~14), Korroloka Tunnel (14~18), Qufim Island (18~25)
Level 20~30
Now that your fur is safe and sound outside of the dunes, You get more options.
Food: Dhalmel Steak or Mithkabobs.
Weapons for level 20~30:
Lv. 20: Gunromaru. Nothing special. It's a normal Katana, so TP rate will be good, decent damage, and mid-range Delay. It's a bit of a hassle to get, since it drops off BCNM20. May be costly. I personally skipped this one.
Lv. 23: Okanehira. Cheap, yet effective. Nothing special about this one, only that it's better than Gunromaru.
Lv. 26: Kanesada. Another of the SAM/NIN Great Katanas. I would suggest avoiding this one. It's not a very good weapon at your level due to the loss of TP per swing.
Lv. 27: Kotetsu. Final Katana for 20~30. Nothing special about this one. Just a Katana with some pretty good DMG.
Armor: Beetle set -> Chainmail set -> Centurion Mail set. Though optional, the Mercenary set is better than the chainmail or Centurion set for SAM. Beetle Earrings x2, Beetle Rings x2. You may want to change your Ranged Attack macro for these rings if you're a decent archer. Shikaree ring or Archer's Ring at level 30 if you can get your hands on one. ( 1/1 on Stroper Chyme. :3 ), For Mithra or Tarutaru, RSE Shoes are really nice. On a Tarutaru, RSE is a necessity. Spike Necklace, Republic Subligar.
Party Areas: Qufim Island(20~25), Yuhtunga Jungle(24~28, some places 30~32), Yhoator Jungle(27~32)
Strategies: Hang on until you get Meditate. Other than that, just kill the stuff you or your puller pulls.
Lv. 30~40
Strategy: Now that you've got Meditate, It's time to go into a few meditating strategies. If you're Skillchaining, It's a good thing to keep Meditate on reserve, build as much TP from melee as possible, and meditate when you need to skillchain. If your party doesn't really care for a skillchain, or they have one with you not in it(Not likely), you can do the TP-spam method, where you meditate as much as possible.
There are two subjobs which I consider the most useful at this level.
/WAR: Most Damage per swing, highest possible Weaponskill damage with luck.
/THF: Decent Damage per swing, Highest CONSTANT weaponskill damage, and my personal favorite, as it allows you to stack as much STR gear as you want without any problems, something us Cats desperately need as Samurai.
You can sub other things, but these two are the most common and most useful to me at this level.
Food: Rice Dumplings, Dhalmel Steak(till 35 at best.), Mithkabobs.
Weapons:
Lv. 34: Homura, Homura+1, and Koen. These Katanas are really good. They have additional effect: Fire, and have good damages. Their TP per swing is normal.
Lv. 36: Ashura, Does not gain as much TP per swing, but is an okay Katana if you MUST have a new one. I find it somewhat unsatisfying. Nothing special.
Lv. 37: Hosodachi, Hosodachi+1. Good Katana, Nothing special, best Katana for 30~40 with the exception of the level 40 Rare Katana. May be expensive as it takes 64 Goldsmithing, 57 Alchemy, and 40 Leather to make safely. Nothing special
Lv. 40: Kagehide, Get ONLY if you MUST have a new katana at level 40. Your AF Weapon is much better than this. Nothing special.
Armor: Centurion gear -> Silver Mail -> Royal Squire's Mail. 2x Puissance Rings, Venerer's Ring, Tilt Belt(Really cheap, on Odin at least.) If you're rich, you might also get a pair of Ochiudo's Kote. Giga's Bracelets or Ogyogos Bracelets are also very useful.
Areas of Experience -> Yuhtunga or Yhoator Jungle(30~32), Sea Serpent Grotto(optional)(30~33), Eastern Altepa Desert or Garlaige Citadel(32~35), Crawler's Nest(34~55-ish) Sniper's Rings if you can afford them.
Best weaponskills at this level: Tachi: Enpi and Tachi: Kagero.
Tachi: Enpi, Your Distortion Maker, Black Mages love you.
Tachi: Kagero, The reason monks love you if you're willing to use it. I've also hit for 400+ constantly when subbing THF on this weaponskill. Black Mages still love you, even more in some cases.
Lv. 40~50
Food: Rice Dumplings, Mithkabobs.
Armor: Sword Belt, Brigandine Armor, Life Belt, Enkelados' Bracelets, Vanguard Belt
Weapons:
Lv. 40:Kagehide, Bleh. Forget this one and wait until the AF weapon. It's not worth it.
Lv. 42:Magoroku, Samurai get a very good AF weapon, miraculously. I kept this one way until level 51, myself.
Lv. 44: Mikazuki, Mikazuki+1. They're Good Katanas. Nothing special about them.
Lv. 48: Odenta, Good Katana, nothing special.
Lv. 50: Koryukagemitsu. It's a Great Katana if you can afford the price tag. +1 STR, +2 Accuracy. Chances are if you have this one you'll use it until 59~61.
Party Areas: Quicksand Caves, Crawler's Nest, and Western Altepa Desert. Levels I'm not so sure about, so I'll update a bit later and have it show the levels.
Lv. 50~60
Food: Mithkabobs(30~75), Sole Sushi(60+, not worth it before.)
Strategy: Not much to it, the hardest things will be the Genkai ( Limit Breaks, which, by the way, a HNM shell named Limit Break on Odin took on Absolute Virtue, and got him down to 52%... at the time of posting, that's a world record. :3 ) Just keep using your strategies from before, and you'll do fine.
Gear That you might want to get:
Royal Knight Chainmail, Victory Ring(x2, I wish.), Pallas Bracelets(I still wish.), All Artifact pieces, only nearly useless piece is the AF boots, Some Spike Earrings, Royal Knight's Mantle(the +2STR one.), Haubergeon( ;_; ), That's about all I can think of.
Weapons:
Lv. 51: Kiku-Ichimonji, S'okay. I had one of these until level 54. Nothing special about it.
Lv. 54: Jindachi(+1), Nothing special about it, but it's a really good Katana, served me well so far. :3
Lv. 55: Dotanuki, Ignore this Katana. Not worth it by this level, at all.
Lv. 56: Raikiri, It's alright, Jindachi's just about as good, but decent none-the-less.
Lv. 59: Daihannya, This is one that I want, if not for EXP, then for Ballista. It's really good, but WAY too expensive for me. If you can, get this one.
Leveling areas: Crawler's nest(till 55.), King Ranperre's Tomb (Till... 57~58), Boyahda Tree (55~56), Cape Terrigan, (58~60)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's just about all I've got. Any questions just PM me, I'll be updating it sporadically, but this is basically how I got to 60, myself, give or take a few things.