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Samurai (SAM)

Melee DPS -- Stormblood

Role

Melee DPS

Difficulty

Medium (2/3)

Primary Stat

Strength

Weapon

Katana

PvE Rating

★★★★★

PvP Rating

★★★★★

Description

A selfish DPS with no party buffs but the highest personal damage among melee jobs. SAM masters the way of the blade with devastating iaijutsu strikes.

Playstyle

Pure damage dealer. Build Sen through combos, unleash powerful iaijutsu. No party buffs means every point of personal DPS matters. Satisfying, weighty attacks.

Strengths

  • +Highest personal DPS among all melee jobs
  • +Satisfying and visually spectacular iaijutsu attacks
  • +Relatively straightforward rotation despite high damage output
  • +Good self-mitigation with Third Eye for survivability

Weaknesses

  • -No party buffs makes SAM less desired in optimized groups
  • -Missing positionals or dying is more punishing without buff contribution
  • -Higanbana DoT application requires fight-length knowledge
  • -Self-healing is minimal compared to tank or healer self-sustain

Key Mechanics

  • 1Sen gauge (Setsu, Getsu, Ka)
  • 2Midare Setsugekka iaijutsu
  • 3Kenki gauge for oGCD damage
  • 4Tsubame-gaeshi repeat iaijutsu
  • 5Meikyo Shisui instant Sen

Rotation Overview

Build 3 Sen (Setsu, Getsu, Ka) through combo paths. Use Midare Setsugekka for massive single-target damage. Tsubame-gaeshi repeats the last iaijutsu. Meikyo Shisui grants instant Sen. Spend Kenki on Shinten/Senei.

Utility

Third Eye -- damage reduction on hitFeint -- target damage downTengentsu -- mitigation + heal on hitGyoten/Yaten -- gap closer/backstepMerciful Eyes -- self heal after Third Eye

Tips & Strategy

  • 1Meikyo Shisui before burst lets you skip combo steps for instant Midare.
  • 2Tsubame-gaeshi should always copy Midare Setsugekka for maximum damage.
  • 3Third Eye before every tankbuster/raidwide gives free Kenki -- use it often.
  • 4Higanbana DoT is a DPS gain on fights longer than ~60 seconds.
  • 5Kenki management is key -- do not overcap or underspend between bursts.