Samurai endgame question..

[Nishida]

I finally decided to stick with a job long enough to take it to endgame, and now I'm debating on what I need to do. Right now I have BLU65, and SAM54. I plan on taking SAM to 75 first and doing all my endgame stuff with SAM first. That being said..I'm wondering which endgame activities will I need to focus on first and foremost and which can I worry about later?

Right now I'm ZM5, COP5-2. I'm obviously further ahead in COP (Was leveling BLU after all..), but now I'm kinda wondering if sky would be better to attain before sea. Also..what of Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Einherjar, etc? I don't even know what some of these are. >.>;

{{Help me out!}}

[FailureMidgard]

Sky is good (Byakko's Haidate for TP, Shura Legs and Helm for WS, Bushinomimi from quest).
Salvage is good (Usu Legs as a substitute if you can't get Byakkos and also the 2nd best WS legs in the game atm...Usu Feet are the best in the game...head is good, hands are good for polearm, full set is very solid for set bonus).
Rajas ring is good (and worth trying your hardest to finish CoP for on it's own). Justice Torque is good, but very much overrated. Sea WS Gorgets are very good.
Limbus has 1 situational item (AF+1 gloves) only really.
Dynamis has 1 item for Meditate bonus (Relic hands).
Einherjar has 1 item that is a very small upgrade to a NQ Sniper Ring.


In the end, what you should prioritize is partly based on what shells you can get and like being a part of, though I would aim for:
Either Sky or Salvage for sure (Salvage drops can be semi replacements for Sky ones). And even so, you want to finish ZM and try to get a group for Divine Might for the earring. Both is good too, though it may be hard to find a decent salvage group with an undergeared Sam as your only 75...
Finish CoP missions for Rajas (really need Rajas for a decent hit-build), try to get some friends or whatever to help you farm organs for gorgets.

Do whatever you want after that! I'd go for it all in the end ;p

[eva00r]

Get your ass to 75, with 8/8 Great Katana, 5/5 Store TP and 5/5 Overwhelm merits at least. Then, sell your moogle for Hagun, grab Rajas Ring from CoP and Bushinomimi from Divine Might. From there, you're good to do any end game events.

[Seph13]

After you hit 75 focus on finishing off ZM's or at least getting them up to sky access(mission 14 active), then focus on finishing CoP for full sea access. Also once you hit 70+ on SAM you can start looking for a city dynamis linkshell to work on gaining northland access. Since you have chosen SAM as main it would be a great idea to have war, thf, and nin at 37, because those will be your most used subs. After you hit 75 you should work on merits, overwhelm is a big help, as for the rest you should pick them according to your playstyle. As for playing SAM, you will figure out alot of stuff on your own just by playing it alot. However, I will give you three easy tips for playing at 75, that any SAM, no matter their playstyle, should follow.

1. Know your skillchains.
2. Gear Change! use different sets for WS and TP.
3. farm like crazy and invest in Hagun, you will not be disappointed.

This is just a little bit of helpful info that you can follow, and you will figure out alot more while playing SAM against many different mobs. I hope this is what you were looking for and I wish you well on being a future endgame SAM.

[_chuchu]

Full access to sky and sea, merits, and storyline earrings/ring can go a long way with many shells. Don't know if you enjoy playing other mage jobs, but higher caliber linkshells are hungry for BRDs, WHMs, BLMs, COR, SCH etc than they are DD, but who knows

[Pendulum]

Your first goal should be to reach 75 really; no point trying to run if you can't walk. Make sure you can attain goals like a Haubergeon, Hagun etc.

Finishing CoP is a much bigger achievement than zilart and gives you Rajas Ring which is a pretty huge piece for sam especially because it goes so far in helping you get a 6-hit TP set which will boost your damage at any event considerably (but having said that, finishing zilart nets you a bushinomimi for sam).

Getting sky access isn't too hard, extremely easy if you're 75 and have a couple of friends to work through missions with, I went from ZM5 to ZM14 in a day as part of a group of 3.

I'm kinda wondering if sky would be better to attain before sea.

Sky is generally easier I'd say and more people have access to it so it's more popular than sea.

Also..what of Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Einherjar, etc? I don't even know what some of these are. >.>;

Dynamis you need to have completed mission 5-2 for your home town and then enter xarcabard for a cutscene. Limbus requires access to Sea (beat CoP 7-5). Salvage and Einherjar require you to beat Aht Urhgan mission 15

If I were you I'd concentrate on level 75 first

[Nishida]

Sweet, thanks for all the help and suggestions guys! I am pretty sure I knew sky would be top priority with sea being a close second. I really do want rajas and bushinomimi so I will try to get CoP done asap, but I suppose I should get to work on ZM since I'm a little behind on that. Ya..getting to 75 is going to be a pain because I've been on this game since 2004. Well..for like 2-3 month periods at a time..I quit a hell of a lot and changed jobs constantly. I'm trying to stay on the game for a long period now and sticking to one job. So far so good.

[Lagunasa]

Sky is good (Byakko's Haidate for TP, Shura Legs and Helm for WS, Bushinomimi from quest).
Salvage is good (Usu Legs as a substitute if you can't get Byakkos and also the 2nd best WS legs in the game atm...Usu Feet are the best in the game...head is good, hands are good for polearm, full set is very solid for set bonus).
Rajas ring is good (and worth trying your hardest to finish CoP for on it's own). Justice Torque is good, but very much overrated. Sea WS Gorgets are very good.
Limbus has 1 situational item (AF+1 gloves) only really.
Dynamis has 1 item for Meditate bonus (Relic hands).
Einherjar has 1 item that is a very small upgrade to a NQ Sniper Ring.


In the end, what you should prioritize is partly based on what shells you can get and like being a part of, though I would aim for:
Either Sky or Salvage for sure (Salvage drops can be semi replacements for Sky ones). And even so, you want to finish ZM and try to get a group for Divine Might for the earring. Both is good too, though it may be hard to find a decent salvage group with an undergeared Sam as your only 75...
Finish CoP missions for Rajas (really need Rajas for a decent hit-build), try to get some friends or whatever to help you farm organs for gorgets.

Do whatever you want after that! I'd go for it all in the end ;p

Very well put, I hate it when Sams (or any DD) try to do too much at once and fail at it. Like Hagun sams that TP in domaru!!? I guess im just gonna reiterate finish CoP, gear yourself for YGK greatness and in the end have fun, playing smart and being a pwntastic DD comes from practice but don't try to do soo much shit that you lose your common sense along the way.