Tips for starting a new SAM

[Jebidiah]

I just started SAM and i need some tips on how to play it, what food to buy, what to sub and what is most important gear wise.







-Jebidiah lvl 12 Sam/war

 

[Cityhunter]

Good to see more and more SAM's sadly i am only lvl 33 sam
sorry i cant really help im only just begening to learn all teh kewl stuff SAM'S can do. i know you need ACC and lots'o DEX

 

[Songi_]

I'm at level 11 and I use sole sushi. Love the stuff. It's a little pricy, though.

 

[Kelsilv]

Hit stuff until it falls down.

 

[Marajade]

I'm at level 11 and I use sole sushi. Love the stuff. It's a little pricy, though.

its prolly safe to assume he doesnt have 30k~ish a stack to blow on food.

Gear: at lvl 12, baisicly normal armor is fine, there isnt anything special you should have. Just remember to update your weapon every time you can.

Go for +acc gear when you can, since the more you hit, the more TP you gain. Yes acc is expencive, but its worth it.


Food: At lvl 12, Use some Jerky. Its cheep, lasts 30 mins, and gives about the same attack bonus at that lvl. But it has a low boost cap, so around lvl 17-18, switch to meatkabobs.

Sub: WAR. There really isnt any other sub for SAM till 60, when some people might consider ranger. but thats way off in the future, and you can take SAM/WAR to 75 no problem.


How to play: Learn the Skillchain chart. Other than that, just whack at the mob till it stops moveing. You'll also probably have to setup the SATA at lvl 30 with a thief, Then you provoke first, and let the THF put hate on the tank.

 

[Xelos]

I'm at level 11 and I use sole sushi. Love the stuff. It's a little pricy, though.

its prolly safe to assume he doesnt have 30k~ish a stack to blow on food.

Gear: at lvl 12, baisicly normal armor is fine, there isnt anything special you should have. Just remember to update your weapon every time you can.

Go for +acc gear when you can, since the more you hit, the more TP you gain. Yes acc is expencive, but its worth it.


Food: At lvl 12, Use some Jerky. Its cheep, lasts 30 mins, and gives about the same attack bonus at that lvl. But it has a low boost cap, so around lvl 17-18, switch to meatkabobs.

Sub: WAR. There really isnt any other sub for SAM till 60, when some people might consider ranger. but thats way off in the future, and you can take SAM/WAR to 75 no problem.


How to play: Learn the Skillchain chart. Other than that, just whack at the mob till it stops moveing. You'll also probably have to setup the SATA at lvl 30 with a thief, Then you provoke first, and let the THF put hate on the tank.

Bravo Marajade! Very good post and very terse.

 

[Fyrus]

Also remember to use Warding Circle every time its up.




...




Gotta entertain yourself while seeking somehow

 

[Rommie]

A few little pointers.

Tachi: Hobaku is an excellent stunner that will deal with those nasty gob bombs and similar "slow" AoE attacks. As you will probably be gaining TP faster than the rest of the guys in the party, don't doubt about "wasting" your 100 TP on a Hobaku against a bomb. Your whm will save lots of cure mp

Third Eye is your friend too. It's a single image Utsusemi, but it has 100% effectiveness. Most SAM's i've seen just spam it whenever is ready, which sort of works, but isn't really the most effective way to use it. It's excellent for voking a mob off while a nin tank recasts, to avoid any unnecesary hits during "close" pulls and to dodge those nasty single target mob WS (think Screwdriver). That last use requires pretty godly timing (since the WSs are instant you have to sort of "feel" the attack coming) so practice makes best.

And like they said before, learn your skillchains. Have a full diagram handy too for every other weapon in the game. A Samurai that isn't their party's authority on Skillchains is Too Weak

Food-wise, you want kabobs for a good price/effect ratio. And equipment wise, it kind of depends on your race. You really want a balance of strength (for DoT) and dexterity/accuracy (for consistent hits and TP gain). Therefore, while my mithra needs more str stuff, an elf should probably go more towards dex/acc. At the end of the day, most SAMs should have similar stats with your eq offsetting your race weaknesses.

Finally, you will hear a lot of people telling you SAM is worthless, gimp, useless in the end-game, etc. etc.

Ignore them and just have fun SAM is a ton of fun to play and a good SAM will help any party.

/salute and welcome to The Way

 

[Seawolf]

Food: At lvl 12, Use some Jerky. Its cheep, lasts 30 mins, and gives about the same attack bonus at that lvl. But it has a low boost cap, so around lvl 17-18, switch to meatkabobs.

I would use Roast Mutton (700gil - 3 hour) until level ~25 where your base attack is 112 then switch to:
- Dhalmel Steak until ~40
- Wild Steak until ~45
- Meat mithkabob until ~60

 

[Jebidiah]

thx guys

 

[Phear]

Finally, you will hear a lot of people telling you SAM is worthless, gimp, useless in the end-game, etc. etc.

Ignore them and just have fun SAM is a ton of fun to play and a good SAM will help any party.

please dont flame me lol.. but im just wondering what is sam usefull for besides exping.... and anything else for that matter because sam is completly party based i recently switched to drk after realizing how usless sams are in end game solo ect.... but apperently you think its useful.. please explain lol

(sp? on whole thing lol)

 

[Rommie]

Being a lvl 37 now, my knowledge of the end-game is mostly through second hand information. I would have some ideas about how SAM can be useful and in any case I tend to hate those "the only way to do this is XXX" people because more often than not they are just repeating what they heard elsewhere without thinking too much about it.

But my point isn't really that. My point is just that FF is a game. It's not some kind of career you grind until you can get your house/car/whatever at level 75 and be happy ever after.

If something is fun, then *by all means* do it. That's all I really meant.

Yes, a DRK will outdamage a SAM. Yes, a RNG can shoot the gods at the endgame while melees won't hit jack. Yes, a PLD will tank much better than a SAM.

So ?

You don't have to be the best at everything to enjoy something, putting that kind of pressure on yourself is a sure way to miss some (or even all) of the fun in the game

 

[xKronox]

Being a lvl 37 now, my knowledge of the end-game is mostly through second hand information. I would have some ideas about how SAM can be useful and in any case I tend to hate those "the only way to do this is XXX" people because more often than not they are just repeating what they heard elsewhere without thinking too much about it.

But my point isn't really that. My point is just that FF is a game. It's not some kind of career you grind until you can get your house/car/whatever at level 75 and be happy ever after.

If something is fun, then *by all means* do it. That's all I really meant.

Yes, a DRK will outdamage a SAM. Yes, a RNG can shoot the gods at the endgame while melees won't hit jack. Yes, a PLD will tank much better than a SAM.

So ?

You don't have to be the best at everything to enjoy something, putting that kind of pressure on yourself is a sure way to miss some (or even all) of the fun in the game

When fighting God's SJ ranger For spamming Sidewinder.

Or SJ NIN and start spamming Spirits.

Sam's do cause great amount of damage. And are very skillful for HNM's.

 

[Touge]

Don't level SAM. We have a horrible curse that prevents us from hitting all the time. We are good for nothing and I have no clue how I got to the level I am today.

Tips:
-Know your Renkei Chart.
-You can just take Kabobs down at the lower levels then as you get higher in levels spend all you money on Sole Sushi.
-You may see Samurai with Ochiudo's kote @ 34, but you don't need it. I made it to 60 fine without it.
-At 59 if you choose to level that high farm your little heart out for Haubergeon it because it works like a charm.
-WAR sub is fine. At 60 at least have THF availible to sub, then at about 65+ have RNG availible to sub.

Enjoy!

 

[Sethala]

My handy subjob chart, for what subs to use when. Note that these are for exping only; quests and farming will be different (for example, you probably want THF sub all the time when farming, regardless of level).

1-10: Whatever you want. You'll solo a lot for these levels. I recommend having WHM sub for soloing if it's not still at level 1, as being able to Cure yourself to avoid downtime is very helpful.
10-30: WAR gives Provoke, THF gives Steal, MNK gives Boost. WAR also gives more STR, THF gives DEX, and MNK gives VIT. Pick whichever suits your style.
30-50: WAR gets Berserk and THF gets Sneak Attack. Both are better than the MNK's Boost, as it's usually not a good idea to Boost mid-fight (or so I've heard), unless you're tanking (tip: SAM/MNK makes a pretty crappy tank). Anyway, both abilities will help you out, and it's debatable which is better, although most prefer WAR. Again, pick according to your playing style.
50-60: WAR gets Double Attack, which is enough to give it a good edge against THF. Meanwhile, THF gives nothing noteworthy.
60-75: THF gives Trick Attack, which lets it stand up against WAR's Double Attack. Note that Trick Attack on a THF sub is only hate transfer, not extra damage. THF sub is mainly used for personal hate control, so your high-damage abilities and WSs don't kill you.

I've also heard that /RNG works good because of certain ranged WSs that you can learn; I don't know which ones are very effective and when, however.

So, a quick look:
1-10: Anything
10-30: WAR, THF, or MNK
30-50: WAR or THF
50-60: WAR
60-75: WAR or THF
??-??: RNG

Note: I'm not a SAM at all, however my main is a DRK, and both jobs are heavy melee jobs and share many similarities, especially when it comes to subjob choices (although DRK/RNG doesn't work that well).

 

[OniTatsujin]

Finally, you will hear a lot of people telling you SAM is worthless, gimp, useless in the end-game, etc. etc.

Ignore them and just have fun SAM is a ton of fun to play and a good SAM will help any party.

how usless sams are in end game solo ect.... .. quote]
Sounds to me like you can't solo anything. Pathetic. I can solo Decent Challenge Tigers at lvl30 as THF Fun, and Enjoyable to do.