Samurai FAQ
Guide Info
Last Updated: 18 Aug, 2024
Patch Applicable: 7.05

Is X better than Y for me?

  • For weapons: item level (iLvl)/weapon damage (WD) wins, regardless of substats.
  • For armor: iLvl usually wins, unless 5 materia slots.
  • For same-iLvl pieces: substat itemization can be in your favor or not depending on the rest of your gear and stat tiering.

When in doubt, use the Gear Planner - only here can you get an accurate answer for your setup!

Samurai has positionals?!

Samurai has two positionals:

➜ Gekko from the rear/back.

➜ Kasha from the flank/side.

• Each one when successfully landed grants a 50 potency bonus to the base combo potency. Given the overall usage of ~7 positionals every 60s, this equates to a 350 potency gain every minute.

• Remember to use your True North buff when you encounter mechanics that make you unable to properly execute your positionals.

Executing positionals correctly is an essential part of any melee DPS job!

Positionals

Is my ping too high to play Samurai?

High ping is bad, but not unplayable if you know how to work around it. Choose a slower GCD range and/or stick to single weaves if you notice consistent GCD clipping after double/iai-weaving.

When is Higanbana worth using?

It takes ~45s (depending on server ticks) for Higanbana to outdamage Midare which is the point for Higanbana to be 100% worth doing. Depending on your killtime or if it grants you an extra usage of Shoha it may be worthwhile to use Higanbana even if it would not tick for 45s or more.

Why is there a Hissatsu: Gyoten in the opener?

Hissatsu: Gyoten is the same potency per kenki as Hissatsu: Shiten. If we didn’t use it in the opener, we would leave the sequence with 10 remaining kenki, which could’ve been used inside of our pot window to squeeze out as much damage as we can.

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    Authors
    Balance SAM Staff
  • 28 Oct, 2021
    Created page
    3 Aug, 2022
    Updated for 6.18
    24 Oct, 2023
    Updated for 6.5
    17 Jan, 2024
    Updated for 6.55