Bushido - The Way Of The Samurai (A Guide) V. 2.0

YESSS totally forgot about that.

doji has more acc and macc as well for oddy. masa 0 acc bonus on it.
koga has acc/macc too.
There's some evady ***in higher floors of oddy C.
maybe they will add oddy D soon hehehahaha.

Ok so I retired SAM during the early Delve2 days, and decided I want to unretire it now that we have more inventory space.
Lotsa noob questions for those kind enough to give me an insight


1. Weapon
I already know that Aeonic is good if u're soloing/multistepping, but is it an acceptable alternative for those not willing to get a Masamune? (spoiler: I'm not). How far behind Masa is it in terms of DPS%? Does the 10% bonus on R15 turn Shoha into your default WS or should you still be spamming Fudo when not aiming for specific SCs/setups?

2. x-hit builds
Are these still a thing in the current day or given the amount of STP we get from traits, gifts and stuff makes it not as relevant as it used to be? Should I be aiming for a specific STP value from gear, with Dojikiri?

3. Hasso enhancing gear
I guess the only one we should care about are the Relic hands, ignoring AF feet and Empy legs, right? (well, at least until Empy+3 are released)

4. WSD pieces
Relic Body and AF Legs are better than N15 Nyame, whereas N25 Nyame will be better and N20 is probably close enough.
I guess though that N15 Nyame, while inferior, should still be considered a viable option for those slots, even if inferior?

5. Meditate
I guess AF head, Relic hands and Ambu cape still relevant for this, correct?

6. Meikyo Shisui
Worth it to force equip Relic feet on WS during Meikyo Shisui? Or not?

7. Odyssey Gear
Anything particularly noteworthy? I guess Mpaca head, what else?

8. Noteworthy JSE
Aside from AF head and Relic hands, anything unskippable because of its utility?
Relic Head if you care for Ranged Attack builds maybe?

9. Noteworthy non JSE items
Thrud Earring from domain invasion comes to mind.
Then of course Neck+2 which I assume is unskippable as well.
Anything else?

10. JSE capes
Aside from those needed for defensive scenarios, which capes are necessary?
STR+30, Acc/Att+20, WSD+10 for WSs
DEX+30, Acc/Att+20, DA or STP+10 for TP
What else?
I guess you might want one for different weapons, like one for Stardiver? Whereas for Impulse Drive you would use the cape mentioned above.

11. Neck and Waist
On the main WSs used which I assume are gonna be Fudo + Shoha (let's leave hybrids aside for the moment) and Stardiver + Impulse Drive for polearm.
Fotia vs Neck+2
Fotia vs Sailfi R15
I assume this has been discussed aplenty already, what was the outcome of the discussion?


Thanks a lot in advance!

I honestly prefer koga, especially in high end stuff. Neck +2/sailfi typically win for ws. Adoulin cape for zanshin builds.

Honestly, all of your questions are answered in Bippins guide on BG Wiki, I'm not being lazy, it's just generally a well updated and pretty accurate guide, he has even added R25 information on it:

https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Samurai_Guide

Adoulin cape you mean the Reive one augmented with Refractive Crystals?

Takaha mantle, aiming for STP+3 and Zanshin+5?
Are Zanshin-focused builds even worth it?
I get you get lotsa boons from Zanshin that converts into something similar to DA during Hasso and gives LOADS of TP and also has more Crit if you equip Empy head (soon +3 might make it worth it).

Aside from the cool variation this represents though, it doesn't seem to me like it's a vital thing to be aiming to or focusing on?
Or am I underestimating the potential of this build?

8. I still use af+3 body in my dt sets. Relic feet for when you sp1. Empy hands bis for ws with sekkanoki. I honestly have never used adoulin Jse cape. You lose way too much for that zanshin imo. Zanshin is definitely worth it.

9. Ryuo +1 feet for that sexy zanhasso double attack. Tatenashi body, legs for glass cannon zanshin builds.

Edit: the thing about zanshin procs is that with the merits spent, a zanshin hit gives roughly x3 the tp of a normal hit. With capped zanshin, you can proc zanhasso 25% of the time when you don’t get other forms of multi attack.

1. doji is fine; still use fudo even at r15

2. eh. tp overflow makes x-hits kind of a thing of the past

3. yes, just af hands

4. i'd still make them anyway. the STP on them is nice

5. ya

6. eh

7. most of the mpaca set is nice for hybrid. sam has to wear some ***gear without it. body is especially nice with the stp augment once you rank it up

8. not particularly

9. neck +2, niqmaddu ring, stp earrings, sailfi +1, ryuo hands +1 for impulse, ryuo feet +1 for zanhasso tp, possibly tatenashi +1 stuff for TP? i like kendatsuba more cause it doesn't turn me into literal paper

10. STR/AccAtk/WSD, DEX/AccAtk/STP/PDT-10, maybe STR/AccAtk/DA for stardiver but impulse drive is kind of a lot better with how much WSD you can stack these days

11. neck +2 and sailfi r15 all the way

Loving all this because I recently started building my SAM as well, though I am going for Masa personally. Super helpful to know what to focus!

Zanhasso gives 3x TP, so that mixed with TA is generally the way to go assuming 5/5 ikki merits which you should always have, capped out JP you're looking at 75~% under hasso, 80 with ryuo feet, which is all you really want to use over TA options

I will link BG guide as others have said you may find it helpful and I will try to answer each question.
https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Samurai_Guide

1.Doji would be your best GKT to use if you didn't want make Masa for some reason. Fudo will still normally be a better physical WS to use over Shoha.

2.Yes and No, will depend on what type of set you need for the situation. Are you using a DT or Hybrid engage set or a full damage set? Normally like to have all my DT sets at least with a 5hit(Even w/o SAM roll). TP overflow working so well with GKT WS have made this not as needed as others have said.

3.AF hands right now are the best to get Hasso+ from, Empy+3 may change this.

4. Will depend on Weaponskill. Relic Body/AF legs are better then Nyame R15 for most weaponskills. Would look at guide for more details about WS sets.
5. Yes meditate gear is still relevant

6. Yes relic feet are worth using

7. Full Nyame/Mpaca set have a use on SAM. Coiste Bodhar, Schere earring and Beithir ring all have a use as well.

8. https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Samurai_Guide#Job-Specific_Armor:_AF.2FRelic.2FEmpyrean (Just updated a few notes here) I find a ton of Relic/Empy/AF great and worth making.

9. Kendatsuba set, Tatenashi set Moonshade earring, Ryuo +1 feetx2 Niqmaddu Ring, ,Osash,Epaminondas's Ring, Utu grip Not sure what you wanted here? Tons of gear is good.

10.Just like any job there is tons of stuff you can do with JSE capes.
Engaged STP and DA
STR WSD (WS)
STR DA (WS)
AGI WSD R-ATT/RACC
STR WSD R-ATT/RACC
AGI RACC 10 STP
DEX ACC/att CRit
AGI Racc CRIT
Def +50 20MEVA
Full 45MEVA
Enmity
Regen
Fast cast
Counter
Just to name a few

11. Shoha/Fudo/Impulse Drive Even NQ JSE neck(Assuming ranked) will beat fotia, same goes for Sailfi R15 over fotia belt.
Stardiver has fTP transferred across all hits so Fotia belt is best and JSE neck only beats Fotia gorget if attack is capped.

Thanks everyone for the stream of incredibly useful information!


And Bippin I think I failed at contextualizing my situation.
You're talking about the ultimate end goal for a career Samurai, which is perfectly fine, I will get there eventually.
But you gotta start from somewhere man, I can't snap my fingers and instantly obtain all the items I need. Gotta start from somewhere bit by bit and need to prioritize the most important stuff, which is exactly the stance behind my initial post ;-)

Lotsa gear I can already re-use from my MNK and NIN (like Kenda+1 for instance, all Omen accessories and so on), but I don't see me getting augments on Odyssey stuff anytime soon, my static is currently on break and once we start back we'll focus on getting Nyame 15>20 of course.



As for Tatenashi R15 I'm a bit skeptic. I only have the basic set, spending >40m for this isn't exactly inviting. Especially when the set is so ***on the defensive side honestly.

Ryuo+1 was listed once by other people (I assume path C?) and twice by you, which augments did you mean and what for?
I'm not a huge fan of this set either tbf, but at least it's cheap and fast to obtain. Looks cool for TPing I suppose, but Kendatsuba Sune-ate +1 is still there looking at me with its sorrowful eyes lol



Merits-wise do you guys go with 5/5 Meditate and 5/5 STP on Group1 I suppose, what for Group2? 5/5 Overwhelm 5/5 Ikishoten?
For some reason I have 4/5 Ikishoten and 1/5 Blade Bash. Guess I used Blade Bash for something at the time? /shrug

if tate us too dangerous a set mpaca/kende work just fine, tate is just the highest dps pieces in the body/leg slot with the TA/STP/Zanshin combo. guide has the augs listed for everything(path c)

t2 merits are typically 5/5 ikki/overwhelm, but its fine to dip 1 for bash if you want a small utility tool, same for shiki though wouldnt take either above 1 merit

Not sure I understand what info you wanted? I can't really prioritize stuff for you without the contextual of what you have now and what is easy for you to get.

You mean going from NQ to HQ? cause to augment it should be cheap or even free.

I have a path C and a path A. Normally use them for engaged sets again can see them in guide. Only really use Kendatsuba Sune-ate +1 these days for Ranged stuff or crit builds or Subtle blow sets. Rare for me to use MEVA set and no DT.
Personally I have 5/5 STP 5/5 Zanshin. Meditate works as well
1/5 Blade Bash(I like the stun but not needed) 4/5 Ikishoten 5/5 Overwhelm

A question about Kasuga Sune-ate +1
Is it enough to equip them during the activation of Sengikori? Or not?

Most Empy items need to be worn when you do the thing that they augment. Tough to say. Add a separate/new term to WS's when used, but they're so weak compared to Nyame I'm not sure how much benefit they actually provide.

Niche use case I guess if you have a sam closing grav/darkness so magic burst damage gets a bonus, but the recast is so long I don't see that being viable really.

Edit: did I just discover a new Ongo strat!!?? Just kidding.

Guessing you know this, but Shining One is also way up there. - definitely a top 3 SAM weapon (with Masa R15 and Doji R15), you'll want it for piercing weak mobs anyway, and it can (I think usually does) outperform Doji in neutral scenarios if not SCing and/or if you lack RP on Doji. I think Ejin's great 2019 video comparing all the SAM weapon choices is still a pretty accurate take.


Yes on the body/legs for physical WS. But worth noting that for hybrid WS, Nyame B > all thanks to the combo of MAB and WSD.


5/5 Mpaca are useful pieces. I tend to go 4/5 Mpaca and AF+3 hands for a PDT/hybrid TP build, and a Tatenashi build for a more glass cannon TP set.

In addition to the obvious PDT-, Mpaca's Killer+ and Counter are also nice defensive additions, set has extremely high MDB, strong DEF, decent Meva. Works great on anything that hits pretty hard with mostly physical damage... like most Odyssey Sheol mobs. Also does a good job mitigating magical damage thanks to the MDB/DEF (despite lower Meva than Kendatsuba, and therefore less resists). I get a ton of use out of that set, since I do a lot of segment farming on SAM with no tank.

Mpaca was honestly a SAM game changer for me, before Odyssey gear I often felt SAM was just too at risk and Kendatsuba Meva alone just didn't cut it. Especially glaring in comparison to every other DD getting great DT- options from Malignance or Hjarrandi+Sulevia: SAM was the only melee job left out from those sets besides RUN, which has lots of other DT options.

For Odyssey accessories, I assume you're also using Coiste Bodhar and Schere Earring.


I wouldn't necessarily call it unskippable these days, but AF body is still a very nice hybrid piece (DT-8%, STP+9, Acc+57 and 15 more with set bonus with hands). Relic feet for Meikyo.

(and of course AF+3 hands for TP, AF+3 legs/Relic+3 body for WS - but I know you're talking about additional utility/JA pieces here)


These are the big 2, and you can totally get away with just those two (and this is coming from someone who has 7-8 capes for jobs like NIN RNG PUP, I'm no minimalist lol). Anything else for SAM is a lot more niche and can absolutely wait.

One minor adjustment, I prefer to go DEX+20 Acc+30 on any of my TP capes.


You're probably focusing more on damage with this comment, but I'll toss out there that Tachi: Ageha is my second most used WS on SAM behind Fudo. Don't forget that 25% DT-!

Tnx Capu. Yeah have Shining One already of course.
Don't have Coiste and Schere yet. Do plan to get them but can't afford to aug them yet so I put them on low priority, so to say.

Thanks for all the useful insight!

Both are already either BiS or on par without any RP at all. There's no reason to wait.

To consider your other jobs... IIRC, you also play MNK somewhat regularly. Even at R0, Coiste and Schere are also great for MNK. Same deal for Mpaca set, great for MNK hybrid TP gear (even at R0) for the exact same reasons I praised it for SAM - if I might face tank mobs on MNK, I generally default to 4~5 pieces of Mpaca for MNK depending on whether or not Impetus is up (and using Bhikku body). To me, it's an even more important set for SAM, since MNK has another great hybrid alternative in Malignance. But still good for multiple jobs for you.

I get a lot less use out of Mpaca on NIN, because I'm usually less concerned about mitigating physical damage through gear (and handle that more through Utsusemi). So, I use more Kendatsuba +1 on NIN. I also get less out of Mpaca on PUP, but when I melee on PUP I use Kenkonken and STP build, so YMMV.

Need to be on for the WS

I do have 5/5 Mpaca in my Mog House lol.

Never used it on MNK because it's a bit... redundant. It's a valid alternative, with different pros and cons, to my current options.
Similar to Kenda+1 (Crit/TA/Acc) but it also has PDT, Att and more MDB.
...but no Meva.

Malignance has DT (not PDT!), STP, PDL, Lotsa acc and lotsa Meva.
If I'm in a situation where I want some defensive stats on MNK I could mix & Match Mpaca but ultimately it's not gonna be a huge difference compared to the options I have.
I could say the same on NIN but worse than for MNK because of the lack of Racc on Mpaca.


Different story for SAM because, like you said, it doesn't have access to Malignance or many other defensive sets with good stats. So yeah, Mpaca is hot for SAM for those situations.


I was talking just about that sort of situation where you want defensive stats. Mpaca has many other uses of course but in this post I was focusing only on the defensive aspects.

IDK, I think Mpaca is quite a bit better than Kendatsuba for defensive purposes. Meva is nice to have, but that's the one big defensive thing Ken+1 has going for it, and not a whole lot else aside from good HP similar to Mpaca. Meva helps avoid some debuffs (not insignificant!), and improve resist rates on damaging magical attacks... but all it takes is one unresisted nuke to still rock you.

Mpaca, on the other hand, has:
- Significantly better DEF
- A lot of PDT-
- A ton of MDB (BiS? I think so?), which is a huge deal when it comes to actually reducing magic damage taken - while you still take damage, it's always a consistent reduction instead of Meva's crapshoot of sometimes you get a resist, and sometimes you don't. I'd rather eat nukes/damaging magical moves in Mpaca than Kendatsuba.
- Killer effect is underrated at intimidating mobs and totally cancelling out a significant amount of normal attacks/spells
- Very high evasion (equal to Nyame, better than Ken+1)
- Mpaca Doublet's Counter +10 is a pretty nice perk
- And the Meva on Mpaca isn't BAD. While it's not as high as Ken+1 or Nyame, it's still better than most gear options like SAM/MNK Abjuration gear, JSE armors, Ambuscade armor, Unity armor (including Tatenashi), Reisenjima sets, etc.

IMO, Mpaca's overall defensive stats are significantly better than Kendatsuba+1, in exchange for only marginally worse offense. It's certainly less of an offensive drop-off than swapping into Nyame (which, as a TP set without path A augments, is basically turtle gear with good acc/atk), or Malignance for jobs like MNK who use that (better than turtle gear due to STP, but still won't hold up offensively to the level of an Mpaca or Ken+1).

Mpaca doesn't even need augments to be good - the Atk+1 per augment level is nice, but doesn't really change things relative to other options. The most significant augment would be body getting STP, but even then it's still good pre-augment or at low RP levels.

I don't really use Kendatsuba +1 as SAM or MNK TP gear any more, it has pretty much been relegated to a NIN offensive-focused set for me or a couple pieces in Subtle Blow sets. For SAM, it's usually either:
1) Tatenashi/Zanshin focused sets for all out offense: Flamma +2 head, Tatenashi body (which I lack, so Mpaca there for me), AF+3 hands, Tatenashi legs, Tatenashi or Ryuo+1 feet.
2) Mpaca 4/5 and AF+3 hands for a big defensive boost while retaining a lot of offense (usually my default set these days), or
3) Swap into Nyame pieces for straight up DT/Meva - more of an oshit set.

Like I said earlier, I really think Mpaca armor was a game changer for SAM due to making the job SO much less fragile while doing damage. SAM was really hurting for that prior to Odyssey, in comparison to every other melee.

Question for Blade: Bash, since I don't see it mentioned in Bippin's guide.

Does it follow the same rules as Violent Flourish on DNC? Which are sorta the same for Sudden Lunge spell on BLU.
That means physical acc to land the hit, magical acc for the stun effect.

Is it the same for Blade Bash?
Or does it need just physical acc? Or none at all because it's "special" and always lands regardless of your acc?

No physical acc is needed for it to land.
MACC for the stun/plague effect I am not aware but I just throw on MACC set cause why not.

It's the same as shield bash/weapon bash, though the stun is weaker iirc, can't miss but the stun/plague can resist

Allright, makes sense, thanks guys!

I feel like this might be the best place to ask.
A long time ago a friend helped me get the last 2 Malignance Pieces I needed by doing the superbuffed SAM VD Lilith strat.
Now I would love to return the favour to another friend, but how does exactely this strat work out?
I know it requires 4 jobs because there were 2 free slots in his setup.

SAM/WAR
GEO
BRD
COR

I think this was it, anything in addition to that is just icing on the cake.
So, let's go with the questions, hoping someone knows how it works.


Which Multistep SCs?
I assume he was killing Lilith with a Multistep Light for first form, then a Multistep Darkness for second form?
But which WSs and how many steps?

When to use SP1 and SP2?
Both on Form 2?

Buffs used?
I guess it's something like
BRD: SV/CC HM, 1x Mad, 1x Minne, 2x Minu
COR: SAM roll, Chaos roll
GEO: Indi-Attunement, Geo-Frailty, entrust... Vex? Barrier?
In theory no big heals should be necessary but BRD and GEO can provide those if need be.

TP set used?
I'm not sure but I think My friend was using 4/5 Kendatsuba+1 and Wakido Kote +3?
The other slots were probably -DT gear?
-10% PDT cape
-10% DT Defending Ring
-5% DT Ring2
-3% DT Staunch+1
-4% PDT Flume Belt +1
-3% DT Odnowa+1
Not sure what else I can put in here but I assume Sam Neck+2 is not worth to be lost for Loricate+1.

I guess I could use 4/5 Nyame B R15 in place of Kendatsuba+1. Nyame wasn't available when my friend did this.
This would make capping DT easy while also having even higher Meva, all at the cost of a small DPS loss compared to Kendatsuba+1



Thanks for your time!

On both forms.


Fury, Str


4 step light (Fudo>Kasha>Shoha>Fudo)
2 step darkness (Rana>Fudo)

Thanks Simon.
I'm a but puzzled on the SPs answer.
Both forms? Surely you don't mean relying on the COR's wildcard mid-fight? And neither JAs are gonna last long enough for both forms, will they?
It's 30secs for Meikyo and 45 for Yaegasumi °-°