Been gone for 2 years...

[Lithiani]

What do I need to know?

I'm assuming there have been several changes over the last 2 years, so I'm obviously out of date.

My main was SAM, with decent gear (mostly Dynamis or Crafted), Hagun, Hauby, PCharm and so on.

Horribly unspecific topic I realise, but tell me what I should know.

[happydude]

merit overwhelm

[Araelus]

merit overwhelm

Yeah, this is true.

Not much of the game or the mechanics have changed, but I have a horrible sense of just how much time has passed. Remember that you're like a time traveler in this kind of situation since the rest of us were around while things were altered. (cf. The Callahan Chronicles)

Big changes I can think of offhand were the alterations to sea drop rates (100% virtues, 0% torques), the mass banning of Salvage dupers, and if you left before November 2007 there was finally a change to 2hand-weapons (p.Dif got messy for a while, 4 STR = 3 att / 4 DEX = 3 acc now), the game's certainly been adjusted to make Samurai stronger, but you won't have a different playstyle.

Except for Sekkanoki. New JA, it's a mini-Meikyo every 5 minutes, forces next WS to only use 100TP (Hagun's TP bonus doesn't apply to it though). Great for that 5/5 Meditate timer every other Meditate use.

We got a new quested WS in Tachi: Rana which is a 3-hit TP=accuracy but with low STR35% modifiers. Saving grace is that Rana→Gekko produces Darkness.

They added "Campaign" which is PC vs. Beastmen battles with some NPCs thrown in. It's fun with Soboro and the new Dancer job on sub, since you can use TP for healing and debuffs and you get a weak endrain effect.

Not much to write home about, I suppose. I still think the game's fun. The latest mission/quest plot combo with WotG really feels more like an offline RPG at times, with a very involving plot if you remember all the goofy NPCs.

Welcome back.

[Lithiani]

I was already aware of Overwhelm. I don't currently have the most recent expansion (do S-E allow you to buy via POL yot?), so I'm guessing that the new jobs and that new WS are unavailable to me.

I only just had sea... are Torques totally unavailable now then?

I've seen some people commenting about off-hand items? What's that about?

Are the same 3 subs viable still for most mainline SAM purposes? (WAR THF and RNG are all 37+)

I see a lot of people talking about 6 hit and 5 hit Store TP setups, and Store TP in general. Info?

[happydude]

hes joking about 0% droprate on torques, they just still suck on droprates

[Lithiani]

Oh right... that's the problem atm... no context with the game to let me know what is and is not reasonable (for a given S-E value of reasonable :D)

[Araelus]

Oh right... that's the problem atm... no context with the game to let me know what is and is not reasonable (for a given S-E value of reasonable :D)

In retrospect the joke was in poor taste. >_< Sorry. But virtues are 100% drop now, though other drops were not adjusted. Ullikummi force pops from ...an item that the Aura Statues drop... but Despot now pops claimed to whomever killed the Groundskeeper that popped him (if you care about sky).

In terms of Samurai subjobs, while Dancer (WotG job) is amazing for some solo work and for Campaign, /DRG as weird as it sounds is very viable.

rukenshin: SAM/DRG - Underestimated?

The Store TP effect (remember that Rajas Ring) increases TP return, of course. A "6-hit" build means you WS and then have five more hits to get back to at least 100% TP. So from 0% TP you hit six times and can WS. It is statistically the most efficient thing a Samurai can do to increase damage output, so long as you make sure to have the accuracy to hit all those swings. Then after you get to a solid 6-hit you can stack on all the extra Haste you can afford.

Store TP merits (category 2) add up to +10 to the trait. With 5/5 Store TP merits a lv75 Samurai has +35 Store TP. +45 Store TP is required for a 450delay GKT to 6-hit. Rajas is +5, Brutal is +1, and then the rest comes from gear. Usukane Sune-ate is going to be the best TP gear to finish your 6-hit but lacking this you can use Hachiman Sune-ate or Kote depending on what you have in your hand/feet slot.

Now, if you have the GKT that drops from Absolute Virtue (who was killed after the !! oh you may not have heard about the 18-hour Pandy Warden fight and all the drama Square had to deal with?) *ahem* If you have a 480 delay GKT you can set yourself up to get 20%TP per swing, and thus have a 5-hit build. But the only 480delay GKT that's better than Hagun is anyway is the Futsuno Mitama (AV).

[Gadritan]

/drg was a viable SJ before he ever quit. I think it was more viable back then though really given one of the best advantages was 5% more haste and TP from jumps. Now with 6-hit set ups, sek, all that stuff, it's kind of lost it's usefulness. I'm not a sam so please don't kill me if I'm wrong.

/drg was my fav SJ for war back before I got rid, so I'm familiar with some of the benefits from it. Of course that was back when rid was still > 2h. After updates I said fk war and just lvled drk and drg. Haven't looked back since.

One day I'll get off my ass and finish my sam. With a few exceptions they're the best endgame DD today, so you should have a smooth transition coming back and be pleasantly surprised at your sams dmg.

Edit: Not sure if you were around for when salvage was introduced, but you should absolutely look into some of the Usukane armor. ZNMs offer some decent gear as well, though sometimes they can be a headache.

[Lithiani]

DRG is levelled as well. Apart from once using it to claim Ulli, I don't recall ever finding it as much fun or as powerful as the others. Polearm is capped though.

Salvage was about I think, but I never did any.

I'm glad Ulli is force pop now. I've heard RMT are less of an isue now than they used to be.

Also, is it me or is KI far worse than it used to be?

[FailureMidgard]

In retrospect the joke was in poor taste. >_< Sorry. But virtues are 100% drop now, though other drops were not adjusted. Ullikummi force pops from ...an item that the Aura Statues drop... but Despot now pops claimed to whomever killed the Groundskeeper that popped him (if you care about sky).

In terms of Samurai subjobs, while Dancer (WotG job) is amazing for some solo work and for Campaign, /DRG as weird as it sounds is very viable.

rukenshin: SAM/DRG - Underestimated?

The Store TP effect (remember that Rajas Ring) increases TP return, of course. A "6-hit" build means you WS and then have five more hits to get back to at least 100% TP. So from 0% TP you hit six times and can WS. It is statistically the most efficient thing a Samurai can do to increase damage output, so long as you make sure to have the accuracy to hit all those swings. Then after you get to a solid 6-hit you can stack on all the extra Haste you can afford.

Store TP merits (category 2) add up to +10 to the trait. With 5/5 Store TP merits a lv75 Samurai has +35 Store TP. +45 Store TP is required for a 450delay GKT to 6-hit. Rajas is +5, Brutal is +1, and then the rest comes from gear. Usukane Sune-ate is going to be the best TP gear to finish your 6-hit but lacking this you can use Hachiman Sune-ate or Kote depending on what you have in your hand/feet slot.

Now, if you have the GKT that drops from Absolute Virtue (who was killed after the !! oh you may not have heard about the 18-hour Pandy Warden fight and all the drama Square had to deal with?) *ahem* If you have a 480 delay GKT you can set yourself up to get 20%TP per swing, and thus have a 5-hit build. But the only 480delay GKT that's better than Hagun is anyway is the Futsuno Mitama (AV).

+45 is not enough STP for 6-hit, you need +46 on all hits, or more on TP and less on WS/etc. Just wanted to clarify this before the OP went walking around with 45 STP and wondering why it wasn't working.

As for SJs....war, drg, rng, dnc, nin, thf all have some use here or there.

[Gadritan]

I'm glad Ulli is force pop now. I've heard RMT are less of an isue now than they used to be.

Also, is it me or is KI far worse than it used to be?

Yeah. RMT mostly spend their time on small shit like fishing. They're not out and about camping NMs like they used too. Granted that varies from server to server, but it's pretty dead over here.

And I hadn't been to KI in probably 6months before you mentioned it and I remembered it exist. Yeah, it seems like it's worse, lol.

[Araelus]

+45 is not enough STP for 6-hit, you need +46 on all hits, or more on TP and less on WS/etc. Just wanted to clarify this before the OP went walking around with 45 STP and wondering why it wasn't working.

As for SJs....war, drg, rng, dnc, nin, thf all have some use here or there.

Thanks for catching the -1 problem. Something is really goofy wrong with my TP calculator. I have +48 and never thought twice about it. Whoops!

[Lithiani]

I think I could do a 6-hit setup before I quit, but I'm not sure.

Is the general practice still to WS in STR gear? Are select pieces of Hachiman still the best option on that?

[Araelus]

Recent testing proves Y/G/K all ignore part of a mob's defense (Gekko is the best) and thus STR is still key. Also 1-hit WS gain an inherent accuracy bonus... thus STR is still key.

Hachiman is not the best (if it was ever?) Don't use DOMARUUUUU or people here will say DOMARUUUUU (you get the idea).

Shura/Gorget/Brutal/Bushi
Osode(or Haub+1 depending on who you trust)
Alky/Rajas/Flame
Forager's/Warwolf/Shura/Rutter

is a WS setup that doesn't use any Hachiman.

Now Hachiryu Haidate (4th tier ZNM +10STR legs) is great, and then there's assorted Usukane gear (Salvage).

[FailureMidgard]

Recent testing proves Y/G/K all ignore part of a mob's defense (Gekko is the best) and thus STR is still key. Also 1-hit WS gain an inherent accuracy bonus... thus STR is still key.

Hachiman is not the best (if it was ever?) Don't use DOMARUUUUU or people here will say DOMARUUUUU (you get the idea).

Shura/Gorget/Brutal/Bushi
Osode(or Haub+1 depending on who you trust)
Alky/Rajas/Flame
Forager's/Warwolf/Shura/Rutter

is a WS setup that doesn't use any Hachiman.

Now Hachiryu Haidate (4th tier ZNM +10STR legs) is great, and then there's assorted Usukane gear (Salvage).

Umm, you're off here.

First off, with said recent results, Domaru is a "good" WS piece, specifically if you are at 46 or less STP in TP gear (Hachi Feet), you have to keep some STP on for your WS. You're best bet if you don't own an Osode, is Domaru+Rutters. And, furthermore, if you don't own an Osode, the 8 str on Domaru > 6 str on Haub+1, when the rest of the stats do nothing...

[Lithiani]

I think my Hauby is only NQ. I do have Bushi tho.

I have a massive selection of GKTs. But from what I read, Hagun is still the best short of killing AV or finishing a relic.

I'll post a list of what gear I have once the game finally finishes updating *facepalm* I'd forgotten how long this took

[Illek♫]

I don't currently have the most recent expansion (do S-E allow you to buy via POL yot?), so I'm guessing that the new jobs and that new WS are unavailable to me.

The new WS come from Nyzul Isle through the ToAU assault system. How many WS points you need varies depending on what floor you are. I believe it's 14k+ if you're on floor 1/100. The number halves every 20 floors. The weapons have a chance of dropping from any NM altough on HNM floors (20,40,60,80,100) 1 weapon will always drop. Also on floor 100 a weapon will drop for the job that ports the pt up.

Ignore all that if you already know.

Hagun is still the best short of killing AV or finishing a relic

There are also the new Mythic weapons, altough only a few are (if any?) actually worth the effort to get them.

[Araelus]

I've seen some people commenting about off-hand items? What's that about?

Grips go in the sub-slot when you have a two-handed weapon. Pole Grip gives Double Attack +2% and I can't think of anything better (the -3% delay strap messes up TP return) but I'm in 2005 mode today so I expect FailureMidgard can tell you what I got wrong. Again. >_<;

[Ultimagi]

Weapon Delay -3% is good if it doesn't increase your number of hits to reach 100% TP.

[Lithiani]

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far, you've been very helpful.

The new WS come from Nyzul Isle through the ToAU assault system. How many WS points you need varies depending on what floor you are. I believe it's 14k+ if you're on floor 1/100. The number halves every 20 floors. The weapons have a chance of dropping from any NM altough on HNM floors (20,40,60,80,100) 1 weapon will always drop. Also on floor 100 a weapon will drop for the job that ports the pt up.

Ignore all that if you already know.



There are also the new Mythic weapons, altough only a few are (if any?) actually worth the effort to get them.

Right, Assault was freshly implemented when I quit, AFAICR, so I guess I left at just the wrong moment.

That's for a later date though. Get competent at PTing first, do fun stuff later...

Grips go in the sub-slot when you have a two-handed weapon. Pole Grip gives Double Attack +2% and I can't think of anything better (the -3% delay strap messes up TP return) but I'm in 2005 mode today so I expect FailureMidgard can tell you what I got wrong. Again. >_<;

Right, this is the sort of thing I need to know.

Are these crafted? Quested? AHable? How much do they cost (roughly, obviously)?