old player looking for advise on "top 3" now

[Charismatic]

Let's not mention the fact that high jump also lowers enmity...

High Jump is never going to save your ass if you are the top DD in your party.

From my recent parses, I am inclined to believe that a decently geared DRG can equal any of the other DD's except for maybe SAM. A DRK that casts spells in a party will quickly fall behind everyone else. Monk is now far more equipment dependent than in the past, while two-handers are less gear dependent than they used to be.

If I had to pick I would say that WAR, SAM and DRG are the top 3 DD's right now, but things are far more close than they used to be, and a smart player can increase their parse share in many different ways.

This is only true if the other DDs in your party aren't nearly as good.

[Koyangi]

I thought WAR/SAM 5DA 3zerg2agg(or 5zerg?) merits was the best if geared to the max in haste and a 6hit setup.

Bravura WAR being compared to an Amano SAM and Apoc DRK, WAR would be on top, so I'd assume the same for all 3 non-relic'd.

[Maxxthepenguin]

my ridill stays firmly in my grasp and is only exceeded by another ridill or a relic. I like the crit

I am grooming Khelek to give you your comeuppance as WAR/SAM

Be prepared.

[ringthree]

Let's not mention the fact that high jump also lowers enmity...

High Jump is never going to save your ass if you are the top DD in your party.

From my recent parses, I am inclined to believe that a decently geared DRG can equal any of the other DD's except for maybe SAM. A DRK that casts spells in a party will quickly fall behind everyone else. Monk is now far more equipment dependent than in the past, while two-handers are less gear dependent than they used to be.

If I had to pick I would say that WAR, SAM and DRG are the top 3 DD's right now, but things are far more close than they used to be, and a smart player can increase their parse share in many different ways.

This is only true if the other DDs in your party aren't nearly as good.

You mean the High Jump part? It just doesn't shed much hate and it still does damage. That is all besides the fact that you should be using High Jump whenever it is up to gain TP anyway.

[ringthree]

I thought WAR/SAM 5DA 3zerg2agg(or 5zerg?) merits was the best if geared to the max in haste and a 6hit setup.

Bravura WAR being compared to an Amano SAM and Apoc DRK, WAR would be on top, so I'd assume the same for all 3 non-relic'd.

It's definitely not universally true, and it is far less clear cut now than it used to be.

Also wanted to mention that BRD songs can also have a major influence on the parse results of a party.

[TybudX]

I thought WAR/SAM 5DA 3zerg2agg(or 5zerg?) merits was the best if geared to the max in haste and a 6hit setup.

Unless that extra DA hit is your relic crit proc, I don't see why you would take 5DA over 4DA 3/3 Berserk/Aggressor. There's still arguments to be made for 5/5 Berserk/Aggressor, even for GAxe, though I'd guess that the benefits from that set up dwindle towards the top end of gear (24% haste, relic, well merited BRD... come on, it's gear, too). I'm not sure how strong the evasion down effect on Bravura is, though, or how often it goes off, but if it's potent enough, I'd for sure go 5DA/5Berserk, wear Askar Body, and never, ever take off /SAM. I'd have to search the AH for a really good WHM, though...

[Koyangi]

I thought WAR/SAM 5DA 3zerg2agg(or 5zerg?) merits was the best if geared to the max in haste and a 6hit setup.

Unless that extra DA hit is your relic crit proc, I don't see why you would take 5DA over 4DA 3/3 Berserk/Aggressor. There's still arguments to be made for 5/5 Berserk/Aggressor, even for GAxe, though I'd guess that the benefits from that set up dwindle towards the top end of gear (24% haste, relic, well merited BRD... come on, it's gear, too). I'm not sure how strong the evasion down effect on Bravura is, though, or how often it goes off, but if it's potent enough, I'd for sure go 5DA/5Berserk, wear Askar Body, and never, ever take off /SAM. I'd have to search the AH for a really good WHM, though...

with strap, earring, and askar body, isn't it like DA = 24%? You'd statistically get to 6hits in 4.5 rounds on average, let alone your WS DAing pretty much 1/4th of the time.

[Khrno]

Bravura WAR being compared to an Amano SAM and Apoc DRK, WAR would be on top, so I'd assume the same for all 3 non-relic'd.

Wut?

Got a Parser to prove it? Cata allowing the DRK to use SE freely gives them a very high edge on Att buffs (ie. Hasso + SE up all time, as in all time by timers if you know what I mean).

[TybudX]

with strap, earring, and askar body, isn't it like DA = 24%? You'd statistically get to 6hits in 4.5 rounds on average, let alone your WS DAing pretty much 1/4th of the time.

That's what I'm saying... unless you have a relic to power up that Askar body, it's not worth taking 5DA merits. Anything less than the optimal conditions is going to be better off with 4DA, 3/3 Berserk/Aggressor, or 5/5 Berserk/Aggressor. You can't support the accuracy needed to make that kind of build worthwhile without either using accuracy food, or gearing more accuracy, both of which are poor choices when compared to the standard builds.

edit - I fail at quotes

[Charismatic]

Let's not mention the fact that high jump also lowers enmity...

High Jump is never going to save your ass if you are the top DD in your party.

From my recent parses, I am inclined to believe that a decently geared DRG can equal any of the other DD's except for maybe SAM. A DRK that casts spells in a party will quickly fall behind everyone else. Monk is now far more equipment dependent than in the past, while two-handers are less gear dependent than they used to be.

If I had to pick I would say that WAR, SAM and DRG are the top 3 DD's right now, but things are far more close than they used to be, and a smart player can increase their parse share in many different ways.

This is only true if the other DDs in your party aren't nearly as good.

You mean the High Jump part? It just doesn't shed much hate and it still does damage. That is all besides the fact that you should be using High Jump whenever it is up to gain TP anyway.

Losing 1/3 of the enmity you've built up isn't a lot?
Could have fooled me.

And yes, you'll be using it whenever it's up, that doesn't stop it from shedding hate now does it?

[ringthree]

Let's not mention the fact that high jump also lowers enmity...

High Jump is never going to save your ass if you are the top DD in your party.

From my recent parses, I am inclined to believe that a decently geared DRG can equal any of the other DD's except for maybe SAM. A DRK that casts spells in a party will quickly fall behind everyone else. Monk is now far more equipment dependent than in the past, while two-handers are less gear dependent than they used to be.

If I had to pick I would say that WAR, SAM and DRG are the top 3 DD's right now, but things are far more close than they used to be, and a smart player can increase their parse share in many different ways.

This is only true if the other DDs in your party aren't nearly as good.

You mean the High Jump part? It just doesn't shed much hate and it still does damage. That is all besides the fact that you should be using High Jump whenever it is up to gain TP anyway.

Losing 1/3 of the enmity you've built up isn't a lot?
Could have fooled me.

And yes, you'll be using it whenever it's up, that doesn't stop it from shedding hate now does it?

Have you ever tried it? LOL

[Charismatic]

Yes, and when I use High Jump after WS I don't normally keep hate unless the other DDs suck... which was my point.

I don't usually use HJ when it comes up and I'm only 1 hit away from WS for precisely that reason.

[azagarth]

wow lot of debate..... thought it would be easier to find an answer.

seeing as all seem kinda equal though, which do you think is better to just take up 1-74 for sake of parties, as it seems at 75 its more your rep than the job... be nice to blast through the low lvs and capp my merits lol.

[Mrdude]

If you're very skilled, warrior will be the best choice from 1-74, because of the lack of tanks, atleast, I assume your server is somewhat like mine.

[Rydir]

Imo, in a merit party on colibri with a war/sam, drk/sam, sam/war, and/or drg/sam. The War would still come in last because they would be expected to voke off the bard and would get hit with foe lullaby and be asleep for first 50% of every mob because of an incompetent rdm not curing them.

If that wasn't the case i think they all are relatively rounded now. War and Drk seem to have better DOT, and Sam weaponskills more often to even it out.

To me a DD is a DD, as long as they are decently geared. I personally like getting one of each DD with 295+ skill in the weapon they are using, a couple bards and clear house on the mamools on top floor of Bhaflau Thickets bird camp when bird camp is not open. Can only get chain 25-28 usually before you are waiting on repops, but higher base exp from mamool evens it out. 20-22k exp/hr still isnt bad.

[FailureMidgard]

Imo, in a merit party on colibri with a war/sam, drk/sam, sam/war, and/or drg/sam. The War would still come in last because they would be expected to voke off the bard and would get hit with foe lullaby and be asleep for first 50% of every mob because of an incompetent rdm not curing them.

If that wasn't the case i think they all are relatively rounded now. War and Drk seem to have better DOT, and Sam weaponskills more often to even it out.

To me a DD is a DD, as long as they are decently geared. I personally like getting one of each DD with 295+ skill in the weapon they are using, a couple bards and clear house on the mamools on top floor of Bhaflau Thickets bird camp when bird camp is not open. Can only get chain 25-28 usually before you are waiting on repops, but higher base exp from mamool evens it out. 20-22k exp/hr still isnt bad.

If you end up waiting on repops, tell your DD to put on some -attk gear until you kill slow enough to keep chain, and things are repopping as they die. It will be more exp/hr that way.

[shaddix]

i hate that camp without a corsair

[azagarth]

i think i decided on sam, while war might be top atm i think sam will just fit me more, plus being a pup i can share gear. war/sam and sam/war seem so similar, i know war/nin well and im sure /sam will be just as fun but why not just go sam then ;D, plus my friend showed me soboro /dnc and i was very interested lol....

only problem is im jumping on the band wagon job... being a pup i hate that its one reason my mains pup now lol. but oh well, time to go farm up for okote, pcc, fumas and the rest ill need before 40;;

[Plow]

wow lot of debate..... thought it would be easier to find an answer.

seeing as all seem kinda equal though, which do you think is better to just take up 1-74 for sake of parties, as it seems at 75 its more your rep than the job... be nice to blast through the low lvs and capp my merits lol.

hint: this is a good thing and you should probably realize that the end goal is for all of them to be good, and allow you to play whatever you actually want to play, rather than what's going to get you an extra couple merits a month

[RKenshin]

Relic weapons aside, I feel that WAR/SAM is on top of the DD list by a considerable amount. But it's close to impossible to use it to its full potential in any normal situations.

After that I think it'd have to be SAM followed by DRK and DRG. DRK is slightly above DRG, but it's rather close. MNK is also up there, and decked out it'll bury any of the above jobs if they're simply average or less, but also has the highest survivability at the same time in more situations when played correctly.

MNK is the simplest and easiest balance of damage and offensive, the others take much more effort to balance. But done right can achieve damage that will surpass all other DDs while still maintaining manageable defense.

So in the end your top 3 comes down to what you want more in your DD, without going further into more specifics. There isn't really a top 3 overall IMO, all of the jobs excel in certain points and are surpassed in others.