Summoner is a job that is highly respected in all the Final Fantasy games.
Being able to use the summons and the strongest ones is often considered a
final destination. In Final Fantasy XI the summon job created a huge amount of
chaos when it was first released. Everyone was under the pretense that it
would be the most powerful job. Little did we know Square-Enix had zip and
zilch in store for us.
1.5: Summoner Job Quest
-----------------------
You must already have another level 30 job to open this job. Opening this job
only gives you control of Carbuncle.
First, get a [ Carbuncle's Ruby ] RARE EX item by killing leech type monsters.
It's a rare drop and this can take hours with or without a Thief's Treasure
Hunter abilities.
Locations with leeches:
Zeruhn Mines, Dangruf Wadi, Valkurm Dunes, Ordelle's Caves, Korroloka Tunnel,
Buburimu Peninsula, Maze of Shakhrami, Jugner Forest, Pashhow Marshlands,
Rolanberry Fields, Qufim Island, Oztroja Castle, Bostanieu Oubliette,
Toraimarai Canal, Serpent Grotto, Sanctuary of Zi'tah
Once you have the item, bring it with you to the [ House of the Hero ] at
Windurst Walls, an event should take place at the door.
Now you must take the item to 'experience' 7 different weather types in Vana
d'iel. An event will occur by zone changing into an OPEN area, not a dungeon
nor a city. Light and Dark weather is not included because you are getting
the colors of the rainbow.
Valid locations of getting the weather for this quest:
[ Fire ]
Valkurm Dunes, Rolanberry Fields, Meriphataud Mountains, East/West Altepa,
Cape Terrigan, Yuhtanga Forest, Yhoator Forest
[ Earth ]
Valkurm Dunes, Konschtat Highlands, Battalia Downs, Tahrongi Canyon,
Meriphataud Mountains, Sauromogue Champaign, East/West Altepa
[ Thunder ]
Konschtat Highlands, Jugner Forest, Pashhow Marshlands, Sauromogue Champaign
[ Wind ]
La Theine Plateau, Buburimu Peninsula, Tahrongi Canyon, Cape Terrigan
[ Water ]
La Theine Plateau, Jugner Forest, Pashhow Marshlands, Rolanberry Fields,
Buburimu Peninsula, Yuhtanga Forest, Yhoator Forest
[ Ice ]
Battalia Downs, Beaucedine Glacier, Xarcabard
[ Clear Weather ]
Anywhere with the weather being normal
You may also want to know the weather before travelling to these places. To do
so you can check NPC weather forecasters at various cities. They will give you
a general idea for the next few (Vana d'iel) days, for certain areas nearby.
Low Jueno (F-11) Shashan-Mishan
Upper Jueno (G-6) Appollonia
Port Jueno (K- Leffquen
Selbina (H-9) Wachiwi
Mhaura (H-9) Pekuku
Rabao (F- Amaja-Kumaja
Kazham (G-7) Tcinono
Norg (H-9) Shidzue
Windurst Woods (K-12) Mushuhi-Metahi
Windurst Waters (F- Furan-Furin
Windurst Port (L-6) Eya Bhithroh
Bastok Markets (H-10) Svana
Bastok Mines (I-9) Mariadok
Bastok Port (J-11) Fo Mocorho
South San d'Oria (J- Maleme
Once you have experienced the 6 weathers listed above, go to (G-6) at La
Theine Plateau and trade the ruby to the monument there. Now you may open the
job at your Mog House.
2.0: The Job
============
2.1: Ability List of the Summoner
---------------------------------
A Summoner is not like a Beastmaster. They can only tell their pet to attack
(Assault), tell their pet to return to them (Retreat), use an ability once
in a while (Blood Pact), and have their pet disappear (Release).
Summoned pets can die and be re-summoned anytime. Granted the Summoner is not
being attacked and has enough MP to keep going. Hate gained by an Avatar is
the same as hate for any other pet or party member. It is not shared with the
Summoner.
When told to attack a monster, the summoned pet will do so until it dies or
the monster dies, or it is told to stop. Then the summoned pet will go back to
you, or auto attack any other monster that is attacking you.
If you zone change while the summon pet is still out, it reappear the next
time you zone change into an area where you can battle.
[ Skills ]
Summoner Job has level-able skills with:
Dagger (Skill Rank E, not good to use as Summoner)
1h Club (Skill Rank C+, not very good either)
2h Staff (Skill Rank B their best weapon, more proficient than WHM
with it, but still weak)
Evasion (Skill Rank E, just like all other back line magicians)
Summoning Magic (Skill Rank A-, only SMN job can level up this skill)
*12/16/03 Update: 2h Staff B- became B, 1h Club E became C+
I suggest leveling up your weapons and evasion by some other job, as SMN will
not be able to. To level up Summon Magic skill, simply summon and make your
pet disappear repeatedly.
[ Level 1 ] Astral Flow
2hour ability, which is a status that lasts 3 minutes long.
*12/16/03 Update: SP properties changed
Once activated you can access your summon's true ability. Elemental Spirits
do not have Astral Flows. Keeping Summon out during this status costs 0MP.
How to use:
Have summon out and already attacking monster. If not attacking monster, it
will miss. Have the ability menu available (this menu is available every 30-60
seconds depending on what ability you did last), activate Astral Flow and
choose the last option. The 2hour for each summon has a specific name.
Property:
Cost is level x2 MP. If you have no more MP, the summon can/will disappear
during the charge time of the ability or you cannot select it. Also, if you
had any more MP it all goes to 0MP after the ability is done. In other words,
have way more than your lvx2 MP so you can get the summon out, get it in
position, then activate the abilities.
In fact, this is the whole basis of playing Summoner `right` now. Have your MP
ready, take out Summon, get in position, use ability and then make the Summon
dissapear. The only difference with your 2hour is that the summon will
disappear whether or not you told it to.
You must use the element strong to the element you are fighting, or it can and
will be resisted. In fact, you should always do this with ALL magic, so
memorize the order.
Strong -> Weak
Use this element -> on this element
Thunder -> Water -> Fire -> Ice -> Wind -> Earth -> Thunder
[ Level 10 ] MPmax UP
A bonus given to your MP maximum.
[ Level 15 ] Clear Mind
Increasingly faster MP regeneration the longer you sit.
Sitting MP Healing+3 (15)
*10/21/03 Update: Clear Mind has been added for SMN, Clear Mind is stronger
[ Level 20 ] Resist Slow
Little resistance to 'Slow' status. No use really but primary weapon is a 2h
staff which is slow to begin with. Slow also affects summon/spell casting, it
takes 1.5x longer to recast the same spell even after the countdown shows 0.
[ Level 25 ] Auto Refresh
MP recover at all times. 3seconds/1mp.
[ Level 30 ] Clear Mind
Hidden boost. Sitting MP Healing+6 (1
[ Level 30 ] MPmax UP
Hidden boost. A bonus given to your MP maximum.
[ Level 40 ] Resist Slow
Hidden boost. Little resistance to 'Slow' status.
[ Level 45 ] Clear Mind
Hidden boost. Sitting MP Healing+9(21), every next recovery+1(2)
[ Level 50 ] MPmax UP
Hidden boost. A bonus given to your MP maximum.
[ Level 60 ] Resist Slow
Hidden boost. Little resistance to 'Slow' status.
[ Level 60 ] Clear Mind
Hidden boost. Sitting MP Healing+12(24), every next recovery+1(2)
[ Level 70 ] MPmax UP
Hidden boost. A bonus given to your MP maximum.
[ Level 70 ] Clear Mind
Hidden boost. Sitting MP Healing+12(27), every next recovery+2(3)
[ Notes on Status and Damage ]
From tests it seems your own stats and level versus the monster affects summon
strength. Boosting MP amount is most important. INT MND CHR doesn't affect
summon monster's magic damage. Summoning Magic Skill, seems to affect only the
magic power of your Summon's magic abilities.
All summon monsters have a huge range for damage amount (as in you can do 6
damage or 1000) based on your level and the monster you are fighting.
Important note is that there is NO DAMAGE CAP in the damage equation for
Summoned Avatars.
[ MP Drain Rate ]
Depending on your level and the summon used, your MP will be drained whenever
the summon is out. It also costs MP to actually summon. Carbuncle costs the
least amount of drain, while the elemental spirits cost the most.
This is the general drain rate difference (not including auto refresh):
MP drain at level 1~ for Avatars is about 3mp/3seconds
MP drain for elements at level 1~ is 9mp/3seconds
MP drain for carbuncle at 1~ is 1mp/3seconds
MP drain at level 60~ for Avatars is about 9mp/3seconds
MP drain for elements at level 60~ is 15mp/3seconds
MP drain for carbuncle at 60~ is 7mp/3seconds
[ Status Ranks ]
Race, Job and Sub Job combined affect your final stats.
These are the rankings of the Summon Job, possible sub and Races.
SMN WHM RDM
HP G E D
MP A C D
STR F D D
DEX E F D
VIT F D E
AGI D E E
INT B E C
MND B A C
CHR B C D
GAL ELV HUM MIT TAR
HP A C D D G
MP G E D D A
STR C B D E F
DEX D E D A D
VIT A C D E E
AGI E F D B C
INT E F D D A
MND D B D E E
CHR F D D F D
2.2: Acquiring Elemental Spirit Summons
---------------------------------------
These summons have no ability menu and will cast magic of their element at
random. You can use them starting at level one (as with all summons) if you
'eat' a Scroll, much like other magic. They cost more MP to summon and drain
more than the Avatars & Carbuncle. However the calling time is much more
faster. They also can cast ancient magic on the enemy, but it's very slow.
Most people simply use these for skill up.
Air Spirit - Dropped by SMN type Yagudo in Oztroja Castle, Sauromogue
Champaign
Ice Spirit - Dropped by SMN type Demons in Castle Zvhal Baileys
Fire Spirit - Dropped in level 40 or 50 BCNM battles
Water Spirit - Dropped by SMN type Tonberries in Temple of Uggalepih
Light Spirit - Dropped by NM Tonberry in Temple of Uggalepih, BCNM30(God
coin), BCNM50
Dark Spirit - Dropped by NM type Demons in Castle Zvhal Baileys
Earth Spirit - Bought from shop at Norg
Thunder Spirit - not in game yet
*12/16/03 Update: Earth Spirit has been added to the game.
2.3: Aquiring Avatar Summons
----------------------------
(Zilart Expansion Required)
In order to accept the quests for each Avatar you need to have fame in the
city which is offering it. This is not the same fame as finishing one-time
quests. It involves fame from doing repeatable quests as well. You must do
one-time quests of a location and many repeatables in order to accept the
Summon Avatar quest. There are 9 Ranks of fame levels, to know if you are
Rank 9, the NPC mentions "the Goddess". Rank 9 isn't required for the Avatar
quests, though. Also, all party members must have accepted the quest and
have the Tuning Fork in order to enter the battle.
*10/21/03 Update: you can only defeat each Avatar once a (realtime) day now
[ Fame Check NPCs ]
South San d'Oria (K-6) Namonutice
*San d'Oria fame is grouped with Selbina & Rabao fame
Bastok Port (E-6) Flaco
Windurst Waters (F-10) Zabirego-Hajigo
Kazham (I-11) Ney Hiparujah
*Windurst fame is grouped with Mhaura & Kazham fame
Low Jueno (H- Mendi
Rabao (G-9) Waylea
*is grouped with San d'Oria & Selbina fame
Norg (H- Vaultimand
*includes Tensyodo related quests in all cities
To accept Fenrir's quest you must have all previous summons defeated and
the key item from defeating them (do not return to their offering NPC),
when speaking to Leepe-Hoppe you will recieve the key item to enter
Full Moon Fountain BC.
[ Avatar Quest List ]
Quest Name Avatar Cloister Area Offering NPC NPC Location
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trial of Wind Garuda Cape Terrigan Agado-Pugado Rabao
Trial of Earth Titan Quicksand Caves Juroro Bastok Port
Trial of Thunder Ramuh Boyahda Tree Ripapa Mhaura
Trial of Water Leviathan Den of Rancor Edal-Tahdal Norg
Trial of Fire Ifrit Ifrit's Cauldron Ronta-Onta Kazham
Trial of Ice Shiva Fei Yin Gulmama North San d'Oria
Moonlit Path Fenrir Toraimarai Canal Leepe-Hoppe Windurst Waters
[ Getting to the Cloister Areas ]
Use the maps found at Lonely Vana d'iel for how:
http://www58.tok2.com/home/lonelyff/
This is the type of MGS needed to get through without battling.
Kuftal Tunnels (to get to Terrigan) - Sneak
Cape Terrigan - Sneak and Invisible
Quicksand Caves - Sneak
Boyahda Tree - Sneak
Temple of Uggalepih (to get to Rancor) - Invisible
*Entering Rancor requires a party member with the Paintbrush
Den of Rancor - Sneak and Invisible
Ifrit's Cauldron - Silent Oils and Prism Powders (magic sensitive)
Fei Yin - Sneak, Sneak and Invisible at basement level (some magic sensitive)
Toraimarai Canal - Sneak
[ Recommended Battle Strategy ]
When you reach the Cloister, cast all prepatory spells, eat foods, etc.
Once everyone is ready, members in the party then click onto the Protocrystal
and enter a BCNM, a short cut scene will happen to everyone until they are
able to move around inside. You then must defeat the 'Prime' Avatar.
In this BCNM only 6 party members are allowed, it can be `escaped` by exiting
through the Protocrystal. One party can be in there at a time, and if everyone
is dead, they will be removed automatically from the BCNM after the time
limit. The time limit is 30 minutes.
For each battle I suggest this lineup:
If party is level 65+
PLD/WAR (damage tank)
RDM/BLM or RDM/WHM (can stay at front line and recast Ba-Spells, Refresh)
WHM/BLM or WHM/SMN (main cure tank, recast Ba-Spells at rear line)
BLM/WHM (main attacker and support healing)
BLM/WHM (main attacker and support healing)
BRD/WHM (main job is keep Carol up)
If the party is level 70+, any (common sense) strategy will work.
The point is for keeping up the Ba-Spells, MP and Carol up. Only Magic strong
to the Avatar will damage it, therefore the 2 BLM make defeating it quick and
painless.
At around 50% HP, the Avatar will use its 2hour ability. Depending on whether
Ba and Carol has been up, it can either obliterate your front line of the
party or you will survive. Recently, the Ba-Spell equation power has been
changed, making Prime Avatar battles much easier. Before, Ba-Spells will give
you +20 resistance to that element. Now the Strengthen Magic Skill level could
boost Ba-Spells to around +90 at level 70. All Avatars are similar, except
Shiva which casts SleepGa - so have everyone eating "poison status" items in
order to stay awake.
Upon defeating the Avatar, another cut scene will occur and everyone will
automatically leave the Protocrystal battle field. After this, you can go back
to the Quest offer NPC and get either: ability to use the Avatar, RaEx
equipment or RaEx items.
Fenrir is an exception, it is 10 levels stronger than the others, and has an
attack which removes all enhancing magic, including foods. There is no Ba
spell for Dark defense either, but there is a Carol.
2.4: Optional Avatar Item List
------------------------------
*The plus and minus for elements mean resistance
*Conserve MP is a BLM passive ability which randomly lessens the cost of
magic spells during cast
*Spirit Magic Skill is only for BLM, DRK and RDM
*Each Avatar now has an optional quest item, explained under Evoker Ring
[ Ifrit Prime ]
-Ifrit Blade (1h sword) D36 Delay236 STR+3 Atk+10 Added Effect:Fire Damage
Lv65~WAR THF DRK BST RNG SAM
-Fire Belt (Belt) Defense6 Water-20 Ice+20 FireDay:STR+3 Lv65~ All Jobs
-Fire Ring (Ring) Defense2 FireDay:HP-15% Atk+15 RngAtk+15 Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Titan Prime ]
-Titan Cudgel (1h club) D22 Delay278 VIT+3 Added Effect:Earth Damage
Lv65~All Jobs
-Earth Belt (Belt) Defense6 Wind-20 Thunder+20 EarthDay:VIT+3 Lv65~ All Jobs
-Earth Ring (Ring) Defense2 EarthDay:HP-15% Defense+15 Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Leviathan Prime ]
-Leviathan Rod (1h club) D22 Delay288 MND+3 Added Effect:Water Damage
Lv65~WHM BLM SMN
-Water Belt (Belt) Defense6 Fire+20 Thunder-20 WaterDay:MND+3 Lv65~ All Jobs
-Water Ring (Ring) Defense2 WaterDay:MP-15% Conserve MP+15 Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Garuda Prime ]
-Garuda Dagger (Dagger) D19 Delay183 AGI+3 Atk+7 Added Effect:Silence
Lv65~WAR BLM RDM THF PLD DRK BST BRD RNG SAM NIN DRG SMN
-Wind Belt (Belt) Defense6 Earth+20 Ice-20 WindDay:AGI+3 Lv65~ All Jobs
-Wind Ring (Ring) Defense2 WindDay:HP-15% Evade+15 Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Shiva Prime ]
-Shiva Claw (Hand to Hand) D+11 Delay60 INT+3 Aim+8 Added Effect:Paralysis
Lv65~WAR MNK RDM THF DRK BST NIN
-Ice Belt (Belt) Defense6 Wind+20 Fire-20 IceDay:INT+3 Lv65~ All Jobs
-Ice Ring (Ring) Defense2 IceDay:MP-15% Spirit Magic Skill+15 Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Ramuh Prime ]
-Ramuh Staff (2h Staff) D29 Delay366 DEX+3 Added Effect:Thunder Damage
Lv65~WAR MNK WHM BLM RDM BST BRD SMN
-Lightning Belt (Belt) Defense6 Water+20 Earth-20 ThunderDay
EX+3
Lv65~ All Jobs
-Lightning Ring (Ring) Defense2 ThunderDay:HP-15% Aim+15 RngAim+15
Lv65~ All Jobs
[ Fenrir Prime ]
-Fenrir Torque (Neck) Day:MP+30 Night:Enmity-3
Lv70~ All Jobs
-Fenrir Pierce (Ear) Day:Atk+10 Night:RngAtk+10
Lv70~ All Jobs
-Fenrir Cape (Back) Day
efense+10 Night:Enmity+3
Lv70~ All Jobs
-Fenrir Stone (Throw) D30 Delay276 Day
efense+10 Night:Enmity+3
Lv70~ All Jobs
2.5: Ability List of the Summons
--------------------------------
At level 1 all Avatars (including Carbuncle) have an Astral Flow ability.
These are all wide range attacks! Keep that in mind when using them, as
it will aggro monsters in a crowded area.
Carbuncle: Shearing Light - all enemies in range get light damage
Ifrit: Inferno - all enemies in range get fire damage
Titan: Earth Fury - all enemies in range get earth damage
Garuda: Aerial Blast - all enemies in range get wind damage
Shiva: Diamond Dust - all enemies in range get ice damage
Leviathan: Tidal Wave - all enemies in range get water damage
Ramuh: Judgement Bolt - all enemies in range get thunder damage
Fenrir: Howling Moon - all enemies in range get dark damage
*MP cost in brackets
*many have additional effects but rarely will register nor last long
[ Lv 1 ]
Carbuncle: Healing Ruby (6) - (8+Levelx2) hp recover on target
Shiva: Axe Kick (10) - physical attack
Garuda: Claw (7) - physical attack
Titan: Rock Throw (10) - ranged attack, slow status
Ramuh: Shock Strike (6) - physical attack, stun status
Leviathan: Baracuda Dive ( - physical attack
Ifrit: Punch (9) - physical attack
Fenrir: Moonlit Charge (17) - physical attack, dark status
[ Lv 5 ]
Carbuncle: Poison Nail (11) - attack, poison status
[ Lv10 ]
All Avatars except Fenrir at this level get 'version 2 black magic' (24)
of their respective element. The magic is easily resisted ex: Thunder2.
[ Lv11 ]
Fenrir: Crescent Fang (19) - physical attack, paralysis status
[ Lv19 ]
Ramuh: Thunder Spark (3 all enemies in range get thunder damage attack,
paralysis status
[ Lv21 ]
Titan: Rock Buster (39) ranged physical attack, bind status
[ Lv23 ]
Ifrit: Burning Strike (4 fire damage attack
[ Lv24 ]
Carbuncle: Shining Ruby (44) lasts 3mins. Party in range gets protect/shell
defense +10%
Fenrir: Lunar Cry (41) enemy evade and accuracy down
[ Lv25 ]
Garuda: Aerial Armor (92) lasts 15minutes or until worn off. Members in range
get Blink (Blink - 3 times will randomly evade physical or magical attacks)
Carbuncle: Auto Regen (no MP) this is not listed anywhere but it seems if you
watch Carbuncle's HP bar closely, he regens a little HP every 3 seconds.
[ Lv26 ]
Leviathan: Tail Whip (49) physical attack, heavy status
[ Lv28 ]
Shiva: Frost Armor (63) lasts 1min30s. Party members in range get Ice Spike
status (Ice Spike - ice damage + paralysis effect counter to monster's attack)
[ Lv30 ]
Ifrit: Double Punch (56) two attacks
[ Lv31 ]
Ramuh: Rolling Thunder (52) lasts 1min. Party members in range get EnThunder
status (En Thunder - every physical attack does extra thunder damage)
[ Lv32 ]
Fenrir: Lunar Roar (27) enemies in range loose two enhancing effects
[ Lv33 ]
Leviathan: Slowga (4 All enemies in range get Slow status
[ Lv35 ]
Titan: Megalith Throw (62) Physical attack where Titan throws huge rock, slow
status
[ Lv36 ]
Garuda: Whispering Wind (119) Party members in range are cured about 100+HP.
[ Lv38 ]
Ifrit: Crimson Roar (84) Lasts a short time, party members in range get a
status like War Cry (War Cry - attack power +15% for very short time)
[ Lv40 ]
Shiva: SleepGa (54) Sleep on all enemies in range.
[ Lv42 ]
Ramuh: Lightning Armor (91) for 2mins party members in range get Shockspike
(Shockspike - lightning damage + stun status counter to monster's attack)
[ Lv43 ]
Fenrir: Ecliptic Growl (46) for 3mins party members is range get a
stat bonus of STR,DEX,VIT+1 and AGI,INT,MND,CHR+7
[ Lv44 ]
Carbuncle: Glittering Ruby (62) party members in range get a random status +10
for short time, and it slowly goes back down to normal, ex: +9 +8 +7. Similar
to Ab-spells of DRK job.
[ Lv46 ]
Titan: Earthen Ward (92) lasts about 15mins, party members in range get
Stoneskin status (Stoneskin - character will absorb about (50+Levelx2) damage
until it wears off)
*10/21/03 Update: cannot overlap recast this spell anymore, to get the new
stoneskin spell on, party members must click it off
[ Lv48 ]
Garuda: HasteGa (129) party members in range get Haste status, lasts shorter
than actual Haste spell.
[ Lv47 ]
Leviathan: Spring Water (changed to 99) party members in range get (47+Levelx3)
HP & statuses cured (Esuna type).
Status recovery: Blind, Silence, Petrified, Paralysed, Sickness, Poison, Sleep
Does not cure Erase-needing and Curse ex: DexDown, Heavy, Choke, Bio, Terror,
Bind, specific kinds of Slow
[ Lv50 ]
Shiva: Double Slap (96) 2 physical attacks
[ Lv55 ]
Carbuncle: Meteorite (108) small light damage attack
Fenrir: Ecliptic Howl (57) for 3mins party members in range get a bonus
on accuracy up and evade up.
[ Lv60 ]
All summons get 'version 4 magic' (118). Damage is often resisted.
[ Lv65 ]
Carbuncle: Ruby Light 2 (166) Party members in range (28+Levelx4) HP recover
Fenrir: Eclipse Bite (109) 3 attacks
[ Lv70 ]
Garuda: Predator Claw (164) 3 physical attacks
Shiva: Rush (164) 5 physical attacks
Titan: Mountain Crash (164) physical attack, Bind status
Ramuh: Chaos Strike (164) 3 physical attacks, Stun status
Leviathan: Spinning Dive (164) physical attack
Ifrit: Flame Crash (164) physical attack
3.0 Advanced Information
========================
3.1 Job Properties and Subjobs
------------------------------
This is all my opinion after playing more than 60 levels of the job. However,
I lead just about all my parties, allowing myself the freedom to avoid
becoming a brainless curetank. I was able to cast and use abilities at my own
discretion. That included experimenting.
Currently the SMN job is highly flawed. There are also many bugs involving
all summons. People would still see a summon onscreen although you recalled
them. If someone unequips an item or moves while you do a party strengthen
ability, you loose the MP, the summon will freeze, the summon wont even do the
ability! The timer will reset and say "you can't do anything for another
minute". Really frustrating.
As well, if a monster moves as your summon does any ability (astral flow,
magic, ranged attacks included) it too will get the "out of range, this
ability could not go" message. Your MP is lost, nothing happens and your
ability menu is gone, too.
Auto attack also is a problem. If the Summoner is attacked, the summoned pet
will automatically engage and attack the enemy. This is problematic as you can
only tell your pet to 'dissapear' or 'come back' only once every few seconds.
In a BCNM or multiple enemy battle where monsters are continually put to
sleep, the summoned pet often wakes up an enemy by attacking it before you
have the chance to reach for a macro. Another reason why the pet should not be
left 'out'.
A SMN is simply a messy cure tank all the way. The only known uses for this
job are at level 70. Used mainly as defense in HNM and BCNM battles.
There is also little skill or active thinking involved in playing as Summoner.
One can do an ability then go AFK to get coffee while their MP regens. No
timing is required either, the only timing I've encountered was sticking a
party Ba- spell or Cure between the time I got a Beast out and waiting for
the beast to get in position. On that note, Beasts can not Magic Burst.
[ Party Forming ]
The ideal rear guard (the 3 mages in a party) for a Summoner past level 40
involves having a RDM and a BRD.
Why no WHM? Well, you and the WHM will be curing, overlapping and confused.
There's nobody Magic Bursting or adding to the kind of damage only magic
can do. This simply makes battles take too long.
Why RDM? RDM can help cure, help MB and at later levels refresh everyone,
then convert and keep going at the same pace as SMN's MP which can also keep
going for a long time.
Why no BLM? Two people taking really long to get MP back is just the worst
possible situation. Both have spells/abilities costing lots of MP.
Why BRD? Why not? By this time in the game you will have noticed how powerful
a Bard can make your party. Bards can also adapt to the monsters weaknesses,
sleep linked monsters (Sleepel does not work on undead but Lullaby does) and
not just give Ballad.
Even with Ballad1, Ballad2, Refresh, Autorefresh piled up, having your summon
out during battle is still completely wasteful. After all that complicated
party forming, I still did not feel like an actual Summoner.
[ Subjob ]
For the current level cap, the best subjob is WHM and no other. Also, the only
job useful with SMN as a subjob is WHM Lv50~. People wonder if they can have
two pets by subbing DRG or BST, but it will not work as you will get the "you
already have a pet" error.
Why WHM subjob:
1. Cure bad statuses, RDM sub cannot cure statuses
2. 2h staff skills which are available only to WHM/PLD/MNK when main or sub
3. Party spells you can use without significant loss in power or effectiveness
What did people think SMN/RDM gets?
1. If skill maxed beforehand, useless dagger skills
2. Slight increase in cure cast speed since its the only thing you can use.
Summons cannot have their "speed up" by RDM sub, nor would they need to be.
3. Less MP more HP (ick)
4. Offensive spells you will never use since the power, spells and skill is
half of your level.
5. People believe a SMN can convert and refresh in the future cap levels.
Turns out level 75 is the last cap rise (Refresh and Convert impossible).
Summons do not use their weapons in battle normally due to lack of skill, STR
and DEX. They belong in the traditional "back row". So really, RDM's Enchant
is useless when you miss and won't do damage, it's useless enough on most RDM
main, and equally useless on Ramuh's party enthunder ability. Summoner also
has the weakest defense out of all jobs (even less than BLM), so they should
never be near a monster.
[ Why cure tanking is so bad ]
SMN job does not include "Recovery Magic Skill", the skill is only as good as
your subjob's and then it is halved. Your cures do not do much, so in turn you
cure even more than a WHM or RDM do, generating hate and dangerous problems.
Even AF does not have hate minus for summoner, it has hate minus for the
summoned pet! Avatar hate is the same for any party member hate. It is
separate. When you call back your Avatar, the hate generated to it is gone as
though that Avatar member 'died'. Same for if the Avatar actually died. It
does not affect your hate or other party members hate.
It makes no sense because we want our summons to take hits. Summons can also
be hit by statuses and cannot be cured aside from being recalled/died and
called out again. Sleep however is another story, if you fall asleep, your
summon is too. If you wake up, your summon wakes up.
3.2 Playing by Level
--------------------
This is more of my old forum posts from back when I was playing. Chances are
your leader would request otherwise.
1-10: Use your summons as purely attackers
10-24: Attacker and occasionally ver2 magic/abilities
24: Play with the barely useful Carbuncle pro/shell
25+: Garuda party Blink, most used ability for a long while
28: Shiva Icespike, para is barely effective and it's just for show
31: Ramuh's Enthunder, lasts even shorter than Ice Spike but fun
36: Garuda's cure, not even useful since you will already have CureGa, which
is faster and less mp.
38: Ifrit Warcry, used before renkei, for the MP it costs why bother?
40: Shiva SleepGa, I'm expecting this to be for BCNM40
Sleepga does not work well on totetote++ when linked while leveling
42: Ramuh Shockspike, feels the same as IceSpike, for show
44: Carbuncle's "random status up by 10" fun but the stats go back down too
soon anyway
46: Titan (after 40 levels of not using him) has party Stoneskin
There is a cut on the max amount of damage you can take, it is weaker
than 'real' Stoneskin.
47: Leviathan (after 20 levels of ignoring) has party Cure/Esuna
48: Garuda (after all that Blink) has HasteGa, cut down in the amount of time
it lasts. By this time only 1 or 2 party members ever need haste anyway.
After this summoner gets nothing new that's really of use until 70. People
will rotate between Blink, Stoneskin, Hastega and rarely using Leviathan's
cure/esuna (which is a very slow ability).
50: Shiva's Double Slap, in case you already haven't noticed that Shiva is so
weak physically, this can do lots of damage if she hits BOTH times.
55: Carbuncle's petit meteo, slightly weaker than the version 4 magics
60: Version4 spells, instead of using party strengthening only, using version4
to finish off monster becomes your main goal. BRD's threnody is required
for it to not be resisted on strong enemies. Your damage can vary to above
the cap, depending on level.
70: The summon's new physical attacks are the best damage you can do. Great on
tote or weaker leveled monsters. Will easily miss on totetote++, HNM, boss
type, and monsters which have defense against physical attacks.
Summoners with Fenrir should take care when using the Dispel type ability,
as it is an area effect. The accuracy and evade boosting ability is the
main use for Fenrir.
[ Blink and Healing ]
Blink is so important because not only do monsters miss attacks, their magic
can miss too, until it wears off. This means way less healing. As for the
party healing abilities, since it takes time to get the summon out and in
position, the inability to use this job for reacting to instant situations
makes it all the more flawed and MP costly.
[ How to Fish Monsters with your Pet ]
Something extremely useful for SMN or people with SMN subjob. When leveling in
an area where monsters link, or it's too dangerous for a fighter to go fish,
you can use pet to get a monster.
If you make your pet disappear too soon, the monster may give up. This is why
you either need to let the pet take/give a few beatings and build more hate
towards your party.
Example A:
Monster is in an area filled with Ghosts. Summon Carbuncle, cast Sneak on
yourself, go to the monster, make Carbuncle attack it, then run back to camp
spot. Your Sneak will not be cancelled. Either call back Carbuncle or let it
die to the monster. The monster will automatically come to your party. Places
needing Invisible will not work. Telling your pet to do things cancels
Invisible status.
Example B:
There are 4 Spiders you want to fight near each other and will link. Make your
pet attack one until it dies. Do not panic when the other 3 spiders attack it.
When your pet dies, the other 3 spiders will stop while the originally
attacked monster will come to your party.
[ What to eat as a Summoner ]
There's only two cheap things you really need. Chocolate and Juice. Bubble
Chocos are easy to make or buy in dozens, and they increase your "while
sitting MP recovering rate". High quality of the Bubble Choco is the Heart
Choco.
The other thing you need is lots and lots of juice if there is no RDM in the
party. It's easy to make Pine Juices using 2x Kazham Pines + Water crystal.
Since juice cannot be stacked, carry the pines in dozens and crystals in
dozens with you to the party.
Stats of useful foods for SMN:
Bubble Choco - sitting MP recover+1 (30min)
Heart Choco - sitting MP recover+4 (30min)
Mushroom Kabob - MP+10 STR-1 MND+3 sitting MP recover+2 (30min)
Witch Kabob - MP+15 MND+4 sitting MP recover+3 (60min)
Mushroom Stew - MP+20 STR-4 MND+6 sitting MP recover+4 (60min)
Pamama Tart - MP+10 HP+10 DEX-1 sitting MP recover+2 (60min)
Marron Glace - MP+15 AGI+1 INT+4 sitting MP recover+1 (30min)
Wizard Cookie - MP+12 sitting MP recover+1 (30min)
Coin Cookie - MP+20 sitting MP recover+1 (30min)
Choco Drink - sitting MP recover+3 (60min)
Royal Jelly - sitting MP recover+3 (60min)
Apple Juice - 1MP/3sec (120sec)
Orange Juice - 1MP/3sec (90sec)
Grape Juice - 2MP/3sec (90sec)
Tomato Juice - 1MP/3sec (180sec)
Pine Juice - 1MP/3sec (240sec)
Melon Juice - 2MP/3sec (135sec)
[ What to wear as a Summoner ]
Most people stick to all MP boosting equip possible. Aside from that, RSE
equipment (if MP boosting) will do great until the level for AF equipment, but
will be very low defense.
Your main weapon should be a staff with an MP boosting quality to it. Most of
them look like the shape of a crook, the traditional Summoner's weapon. When
fighting something solo, use a Pole type of weapon. They have stronger attack,
no MP boosting and look like they are wrapped with white at the middle.
SMN job can wear shields, but like BLM they have no skill whatsoever. Their
subjob's shield skill is applied.
Another thing, cloaks with "Refresh" added to them will work with your "Auto
Refresh". So yes, you will get the refresh from your equipment item, combined
with your job's refresh. Instead of 1MP/3sec, it will become 2MP/3sec.
[ Special SMN Equip ]
There are also some (good) summoner specific equipment being released but most
of it is far more rare or expensive to get. For now you can oogle at them.
*MP cost means the MP cost to keep the summon out.
*Attribute Magic means the power of that summon beast's magic.
*HealingMP means the MP you recover while sitting down.
Conjurer Ring (Rare) from Comet Orb 50BCNM
Lv50~ Potential (not always): SMN MPcost-1
Summoning Torque (Rare) Moon Orb BCNM (used at Leviathan's Protocrystal)
Lv65~ Lightning+5 Summon Magic Skill+7
Conjurer Pierce (Rare) from Clotho or Lachesis BCNM
Lv70~ Potential (not always): Damage-20%
Astral Signa dropped by Tzee Xicu the Manifest (Yagudo Avatar, Rare HNM pop)
Lv70~ D32 Delay366 HP+18 MP+18 SMN MPcost-2
Carbuncle Mittens
-----------------
Rare+Ex Defense5 MP+14 Lv20~
Hidden Power: Carbuncle MPcost-4 (-3 depending on level)
A "???" randomly appears every two hours in Temple of Uggalepih. Touching it
will give you a 'Tonberry's Offering'. Trade it to a "???" in a room at the
top of the temple which needs a 'High Priest Key' to open. Crimson-Toothed
Pawberry will pop. The drop is 100% and takes 9+ Lv65~ members or 6 Lv75~
members to defeat. The "???" for the NM appears every 15 minutes.
Evoker Ring
-----------
Rare+Ex Lv71~ MP+25 Summoning Magic Skill+10 Summon MPcost-1
Just like preparing for the Fenrir quest, defeat all the other Avatars
including Fenrir. However, after winning choose to recieve the quest
items. Trade them to Mamaurabin in Norg and recieve the ring. Each of the
item names are related to previous FF games.
Summon Cost Reduction 2h Staff List
-----------------------------------
Light Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 STR+1 DEX+1 VIT+1 AGI+1 INT+1 MND+1 CHR+1 Dark+15 Cure Magic+10%
Added Effect: Light Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Carbuncle/Light MPcost-2
Apollo Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 STR+2 DEX+2 VIT+2 AGI+2 INT+2 MND+2 CHR+2 Dark+20 Cure Magic+10%
Added Effect: Light Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Carbuncle/Light MPcost-3
Dark Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 STR+1 DEX+1 VIT+1 AGI+1 INT+1 MND+1 CHR+1 Light+15 HealingMP+10
Added Effect: Dark Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Fenrir/Dark MPcost-2
Pluto Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 STR+2 DEX+2 VIT+2 AGI+2 INT+2 MND+2 CHR+2 Light+20 HealingMP+10
Added Effect: Dark Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Fenrir/Dark MPcost-3
Fire Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 STR+4 Ice+15 Atk+10 RngAtk+10
Added Effect: Fire Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Ifrit/Fire MPcost-2
Vulcan Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 STR+5 Ice+20 Atk+10 RngAtk+10
Added Effect: Fire Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Ifrit/Fire MPcost-3
Ice Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 INT+4 Wind+15 Spirit Magic Skill+10
Added Effect: Ice Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Shiva/Ice MPcost-2
Aquilo Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 INT+5 Wind+20 Spirit Magic Skill+10
Added Effect: Ice Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Shiva/Ice MPcost-3
Wind Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 AGI+4 Earth+15 Evade+10
Added Effect: Wind Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Garuda/Wind MPcost-2
Auster Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 AGI+5 Earth+20 Evade+10
Added Effect: Wind Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Garuda/Wind MPcost-3
Earth Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 VIT+4 Thunder+15 Physical Damage-20%
Added Effect: Earth Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Titan/Earth MPcost-2
Terra Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 VIT+5 Thunder+20 Physical Damage-20%
Added Effect: Earth Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Titan/Earth MPcost-3
Thunder Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 DEX+4 Water+15 Critical Hit+15
Added Effect: Thunder Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Ramuh/Thunder MPcost-2
Jupiter Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 DEX+5 Water+20 Critical Hit+15
Added Effect: Thunder Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Ramuh/Thunder MPcost-3
Water Staff Lv51~
D30 Delay366 MND+4 Fire+15 Holy Magic Skill+10
Added Effect: Water Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+15% Leviathan/Water MPcost-2
Neptune Staff Lv51~
D35 Delay356 MND+5 Fire+20 Holy Magic Skill+10
Added Effect: Water Damage
Hidden: Attribute Magic+20% Leviathan/Water MPcost-3
[ Weapon Skills ]
You probably won't be using these in battle, but when soloing you might.
Summoner gets these weaponskills, at these job and weapon levels, if you have
it leveled up.
Dagger WS JobLv WSLv Ex Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wasp Sting 4 10 Poison
Gust Slash 16 40 Wind Damage
Shadowstitch 28 70 Bind
Viper Bite 40 100 Y Poison, 2 Attacks
Cyclone 50 125 Y Wind Damage, Area Attack
Energy Steal 56 150 Drain MP from certain monsters
Energy Drain 63 175 Y Drain MP from certain monsters
Evisceration ? 240 5 Attacks (requires quest)
*need to sub THF/RDM/BRD/RNG/NIN for the Exclusive Dagger skills.
1h Club WS JobLv WSLv Ex Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shine Strike 4 10 Light Damage
Seraph Strike 16 40 Y Light Damage
Brainshaker 28 70 Stun
Starlight 40 100 10%of MP:1MP/TP (little MP recover)
Moonlight 50 125 Y PT members in area: little MP recover
Skull Breaker 56 150 INT Down
True Strike 63 175 Critical Hit, TP: aim
Black Halo 75 240 2 Attacks (requires quest)
*need to sub WAR/WHM/PLD/DRK/SAM for the Exclusive 1h Club skills.
2h staff WS JobLv WSLv Ex Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heavy Swing 3 10 Very weak
Rock Crusher 14 40 Earth Damage
Earth Crusher 24 70 Y Earth Damage, Area Attack
Starburst 34 100 Light or Dark Damage
Sunburst 51 150 Y Light or Dark Damage
Shell Crusher 56 175 Defense Down
Full Swing 62 200 TP: Damage
Spirit Taker 68 215 Damage: MP recover
Retribution 71 230 TP: Damage (requires quest)
*need to sub WAR/MNK/WHM/PLD for the Exclusive 2h Staff skills.
3.3. Artifact Armors
--------------------
I did this in a mad rush around July & August, so I barely remember details.
I will just give a (corrected) list of instructions from 2ch. AF1 requires
you to be lv40~ summoner, AF2 requires you to be lv50~. All the BCNM battles
have NO limit in party members, you can have an alliance inside! The key item
can be reused as many times until you are successful, the key item can either
be kept in mog or discarded anytime (like any other BCNM orb). One key item
can unlock the BCNM for multiple people on the quest and in the same
party/alliance (one battle is enough for all).
AF1 Quest: Windurst Walls
-Speak to the "House of the Hero" in Windurst Walls
-Speak to Juroro in Bastok Port (get a key item)
-Go to Quicksands -> Earth Cloister -> trade the key item to Protocrystal
-BCNM battle with Gazer type monster (hint: use magic attacks)
-Speak to Juroro in Bastok Port
-Speak to the "House of the Hero" in Windurst Walls
-Speak to the Principal
-Kukulcan's Staff (weapon) get
AF2 Quest: Windurst Walls
-Speak to the Principal, trade 4 Astragalos (throw ammo, made by Bone Guild)
-Speak to Shantoto, and the NPCs in charge of Aurastery and Optistery
-Speak to Gulmama in North San d'Oria (get a key item)
-Go to Fei Yin -> Ice Cloister -> trade key item to Protocrystal
-BCNM battle with 6 Sapling type monsters (hint: BRD or BLM is useful)
-Speak to Principal, Evoker's Spats (pants) get
AF3 Quest: Windurst Walls
-Speak to the "House of the Hero" in Windurst Walls
-Speak to the Principal
-Speak to Ripapa in Mhaura (get a key item)
-Go to Boyahda Tree -> Thunder Cloister -> trade key item to Protocrystal
-BCNM battle with 2 Weapon type monsters
-Speak to Principal
-Speak to Agado-Pugado in Rabao (get a key item)
-Go to Cape Terrigan -> Wind Cloister -> trade key item to Protocrystal
-BCNM battle with 1 Manticore type monster (hint: buy Cure Silence items)
-Speak to Principal, Evoker's Horn (helmet) get
Gloves Quest (same as other AF Gloves):
Sea Serpent Grotto Coffer for the key item, can open as any job
Boots:
Toraimarai Canal Coffer
(easier if you have the key to the door from Windurst Walls, from a quest)
Body:
Temple of Uggalepih Coffer
(easier if you are lv68~ as most monsters will not aggro)
[ AF Stats ]
Kukulcan's Staff (2h staff)
lv41 D22 delay366 MP+20
Evoker's Horn (head)
lv60 defense15 MP+20 INT+3 Summoning Magic Skill+5 Avatar: Enmity-3
Evoker Doublet (body)
lv58 defense35 MP+15 MND+3 Avatar: Enmity-2
Avatar Elemental Resistance+20
Evoker's Bracer (gloves)
lv54 defense11 MP+15 VIT+4 Avatar: Enmity-2
Occasionally converts damage taken to Avatar Element to MP
Evoker's Spats (pants)
lv52 defense25 MP+15 Evade+10 Avatar: Enmity-2
Enhances Avatar Accuracy
Evoker's Pigaches (boots)
lv56 defense10 MP+15 AGI+5 Avatar: Enmity-2
Enhances Avatar Evasion
[ AF2 & Relic Stats ]
Apparently AF2 and Relics are random drop in Dynamis.
Summoner's Horn (head)
lv75 defense18 MP+25 INT+3 Weather: SummonCost-3
Time until next Blood Pact-3
Summoner Doublet (body)
lv74 defense38 MP+20 Week: SummonCost-3
Time until next Blood Pact-3 Avatar: Critical Hit+3%
Summoner's Bracer (gloves)
lv72 defense15 MP+25 Summoning Magic Skill+10
Time until next Blood Pact-3 Enhances Avatar Evasion
Summoner's Spats (pants)
lv71 defense29 MP+20 MND+3 Spirit Summon: less spell interruption
Time until next Blood Pact-2
Summoner's Pigaches (boots)
lv73 defense14 MP+20 VIT+3
Time until next Blood Pact-2 Enhances Avatar Attack
Relic Staff lv75 D1 delay999
Sage's Staff lv75 D1 delay402 Dynamis: D55 delay402 Fire+7
Dynamis Staff lv75 D55 delay402 Dynamis: D58 delay402 Fire+9
3.4 Modifications to Summoner Job
---------------------------------
Square-Enix changed quite a few things to Summoner Job but it still is never
enough. So far they have increased the Astral Flow damage and lowered the cost
of only two abilities. The one major change occured when they lowered the cost
of summoning Avatars (Shiva, Ifrit, etc) from 30MP to 7MP, yet raised the cost
of summoning Elemental Spirits. Fenrir however is 15MP.
[ Future Beast Ability List ]
These are used by the "Prime" summons and are not usable by players yet.
They're magic damage.
Ifrit: Meteo Strike
Titan: Geo Crash (additional affect: Stun)
Garuda: Wind Blade
Ramuh: Thunder Storm
Shiva: Heaven Strike
Leviathan: Grand Fall
[ What Summoners want (2ch BBS) ]
-Skill up to become easier, `right` now it is wasteful to try to do
-Can either solo or be useful in party outside of being a cure tank
-MP costs change (if a less people get a party ability, then less mp cost)
-2h staff skill rank A
-Faster summoning and ability use
-Summon's attacks having enchant already
-Keeping summons out having less mp slip (or none at all)
-The damage summons do is valid for the MP cost, so it does not feel wasteful
- Samurai Guide
In Final Fantasy XI, partying with other players is a big part of the
experience. When you're in a party, each character should have a role fitting
of their character's abilities. Your goal as a Samurai is essentially to do
damage. Most character classes will fall into one or two of the categories
below:
Attackers- Since your goal in a party is generally to kill enemies, and
gain experience, effective attackers are crucial to a party's success. The
role of an attacker is to do large amounts of damage.
Examples: Ranger, Black Mage, Dark Knight, Dragoon, Samurai, Monk, etc...
Tanks- The purpose of a tank is to be a shield for the party, a damage
sponge if you will. It is tremendously beneficial to a party to have
someone that can absorb most of the damage so that others can focus on
doing their role rather than surviving.
Examples: Paladin, Ninja, Warrior, (Monk at low levels)
Healers- Pretty self-explanatory. When you fight you get hurt. If you want
to keep fighting, you'll need to be healed.
Examples: White Mage, Red Mage, Bard
ENers- Enners (also called buffers, debuffers, enhancers, or enfeeblers) are
support characters who use their abilities to strengthen their party members
and/or weaken their enemies.
Examples: Bard, Red Mage, White Mage
Syn- Merchants (or synthesizers) are generally non-combat classes and for
the most part don't exist on FFXI. You can, however, relate this to the many
guilds of Vanadiel.
Please note that even though tanks will attack the enemy, not all attackers
are tanks. Tanks deliberately keep the damage on themselves. Attackers don't.
Yes, it is preferable in an emergency circumstance to have the attackers take
the damage before the enners and certainly the healers; however, this shouldn't
happen in the first place. If the party was properly constructed and everyone
does their job, it should never happen that an attacker has to tank. If it
does, then either be very skillful or target "even match" mobs, or you may
find that your experience chains are negated by a series of untimely deaths.
So as I said, your role as a samurai is as an attacker. The problem is
this-- Samurais are not by any means the best damage dealers. Above Samurais
in damage dealing are Rangers, Black Mages, Dark Knights, Dragoons, and
probably some other classes of which I'm not sure, so why be a samurai?
Well, if you're not particularly fond of Samurais then you should probably
choose another class in the first place. I know that for some people, being
an uber-character is the one and only way to have fun, and losing is incredibly
not fun. All I'm going to say on this is that if you want to be "the best"
attacker in all of Vanadiel, this is probably not the class for you. Samurai
is, however, a very fun class to play and definitely has its advantages. For
one, samurai is a very well-balanced class in terms of fighting with no big
weaknesses (such as the horrible defense of a Dark Knight/Black Mage, or the
high costs of ammunition for Rangers). Also, samurais collect TP like a sheet
of Bounty absorbs grape juice. This makes them the leaders in skillchains for
their party (it also makes Samurai a highly desirable sub-job). It also poses
a problem or two, because the truth of the matter is that although Samurais
are not by any means useless in a party, there aren't many good reasons to
have Samurai as your main job. This, of course, may change in upcoming
updates.
This lone sentence is just to reiterate that you should NOT think that
samurais are a weak class or not playable just because they don't do the most
damage.
__________________/__________________________________________________ _________
/04. / THE QUEST OF THE SAMURAI /
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>/__________________________________________________ _________/
/
Okay, did I say I'd have this up soon? Well, for me, three weeks is fairly
soon, okay?
The quest to become a Samurai is pretty hard, to say the least. Yes, there is
combat involved. Of course, Samurai is an advanced job, so you can't do the
quest until you've reached lvl 30. First, though, you'll need to go to Norg.
Your client is Jaucribaix. Once you're there, do the following:
1) Talk to Ranemaud to get the Sacred Sprig.
2) Talk to Aeka to get the Oriental Steel.
3) Go to Konschtat Highlands (D- and trade the Oriental Steel to the ???.
4) A Bomb named Forger will appear. Defeat it to get the Bomb Steel.
5) Go to the west of the Sanctuary of Zi'Tah and use an axe on the ??? of the
giant tree.
6) Defeat the Guardian Treant and inspect the ??? again. You'll recieve the
Sacred Branch.
7) Give the Bomb Steel and Sacred Branch to Jaucribaix. Return in 3 hours.
Congratulations! You'll recieve the Mumeito GK and can now be a Samurai!
If you want to solo this quest you'll need to be around Lvl. 55. The Guardian
Treant is one tough fella. You should be able to beat Forger some time before
that, but I don't see much reason to if you can't finish the whole quest. Of
course, you can always party up, or just get someone at a high level to do it
for you.
Also, keep the Mumeito, or you may find yourself dishing out some major cash
to get it back later on.
__________________/__________________________________________________ _________
/05. / CHOOSING A RACE /
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>/__________________________________________________ _________/
/
Any race will make a suitable Samurai. In the end it all comes down to your
personal preference. I recommend that you choose the race that you like the
most, because otherwise you might find that you don't enjoy the game as much
(or as long) when you get sick of looking at your character. Below I've listed
the stats for each race as a level 1 and level 70 samurai, which can be found
running rampant all across the internet, but just in case you wanted to choose
your race `right` at this moment based solely on the stats of a lvl 70 samurai,
I thought I should oblige you.
Level 1:
| Hume | Elvann | Tarutaru | Mithra | Galka |
| HP 31 | HP 33 | HP 27 | HP 28 | HP 36 |
| MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 |
| STR 7 | STR 8 | STR 6 | STR 7 | STR 8 |
| DEX 7 | DEX 7 | DEX 7 | DEX 9 | DEX 7 |
| VIT 7 | VIT 8 | VIT 7 | VIT 7 | VIT 9 |
| AGI 6 | AGI 5 | AGI 7 | AGI 7 | AGI 6 |
| INT 6 | INT 5 | INT 8 | INT 6 | INT 6 |
| MND 6 | MND 7 | MND 6 | MND 6 | MND 6 |
| CHR 6 | CHR 6 | CHR 6 | CHR 5 | CHR 5 |
Level 70:
| Hume | Elvann | Tarutaru | Mithra | Galka |
| HP 1157 | HP 1268 | HP 946 | HP 1157 | HP 1409 |
| MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 | MP 0 |
| STR 58 | STR 66 | STR 50 | STR 54 | STR 62 |
| DEX 58 | DEX 54 | DEX 58 | DEX 70 | DEX 58 |
| VIT 58 | VIT 62 | VIT 54 | VIT 54 | VIT 70 |
| AGI 50 | AGI 42 | AGI 54 | AGI 58 | AGI 46 |
| INT 54 | INT 46 | INT 66 | INT 54 | INT 50 |
| MND 54 | MND 62 | MND 50 | MND 50 | MND 54 |
| CHR 54 | CHR 54 | CHR 54 | CHR 46 | CHR 46 |
If you care to do the math, all of the stats (except for HP) will add up to
be the same. The only stats that don't matter for a Samurai are MP, INT, and
CHR, because MP and INT only matter for magic casters, and CHR only matters
for Bards and Beastmasters. The only reason these stats would matter would
be that you chose such a job as a sub-job, which as I discuss in a later
section is not a very good idea. What this all means is that "the best" race
is most likely the one with the fewest points in MP, INT, and CHR, and the
most points in HP, because these are the only things that vary. Mithra and
Galka each get 8 points added to their other stats because of their low CHR.
They both have average INT, but Galka's is lower. Galka also has quite a bit
higher HP than other races, so the bottom line is, in terms of numbers, Galka
is "the best" choice for a Samurai, followed by Elvaan, then Mithra, then
Hume, and lastly, Tarutaru. Of course, if you're like me and can't stand the
sight of a Galka, then by all means choose a more attractive race.
*Before I recieve a single e-mail on the matter, I want to explain that MND is
of a notably lesser importance to a Samurai than the other stats, as it only
aids us in magic defense and resistance to status ailments, so you might want
to consider that while choosing your race. Nonetheless, it's a stat that is not
in any way useless (well, unless you don't fight much of anything with magic or
status attacks). My point is that everyone has their beliefs about which stats
are most important-- the only comment I'll make about the priority of stats is
that MND is generally a less essential stat than STR, DEX, VIT, and AGI.
__________________/__________________________________________________ _________
/06. / JOB TRAITS /
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/
Job traits are bonuses that your character gains at certain levels. You
don't use them-- they are always active. Here are the Samurai's job traits.
Lv. 5 Resist Blind: Increases your resistance to "blind" status.
Lv. 10 Store TP: Your TP growth rate increases.
Lv. 30 Store TP: Your TP growth rate increases.
Lv. 40 Demon Killer: Increases your attack damage against demons.
Lv. 50 Store TP: Your TP growth rate increases.
Here's my little commentary... In general, the "resist status ailment" traits
aren't that useful, because they only provide a little protection, but for a
Samurai, blind resistance is one of the better ones at least. "Store TP" is
your most useful trait, so it's a good thing that you get it relatively early.
The whole source of your power is your ability to manage TP. Demon Killer, as
you can imagine, is really only useful when you're fighting demons, which
probably won't be too often. Samurais only have three job traits, which is a
little scarce in comparison to most jobs, and we have no stat bonuses, which
sucks, frankly.
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/07. / JOB ABILITIES /
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/
Unlike job traits, job abilities must be activated by the player. Each
ability has a duration for which it lasts, and a charge time before it can be
used again.
Lv. 1 Meikyo Shisui: Your TP bar fills to 300%, and all weapon
skills now use exactly 100 TP.
Charge- 2 hours Duration- 30 seconds
Lv. 5 Warding Circle: Increases your party's resistance to Demons.
Charge- 10 minutes Duration- 1 minute
Lv. 15 Third Eye: You evade the next attack.
Charge- 1 minute Duration- 1 minute
Lv. 30 Meditation: You gain 100 TP (in five increments of 20 TP).
Charge- 3 minutes Duration- 5-10 seconds
Your two-hour ability should generally be saved for big fights and emergencies
only. As you can see for yourself, Meikyo Shisui gives you the opportunity to
unleash three weapon skills consecutively, resulting in the ability to execute
your own skillchain. This is arguably one of the best two-hour abilities in all
of FFXI.
Warding Circle, like your Demon Killer trait, is only useful against demons,
but at least it works on your entire party. Not a great ability (but it's
definitely better than not having it).
Third Eye is a great defensive ability, and a one minute recharge time is not
bad at all, particularly if you know that a powerful attack is coming your way,
or find yourself having to take a few hits.
Finally, Silent Concentration is indespensable to a Samurai. Once you gain this
ability, you should never stop using it.
Silent Concentration and Third Eye should be used as often as possible (in
combat). It would be a good idea to set macros for each of these abilities.
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/08. / SUB JOBS /
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/
First things first-- if you don't know what a subjob is or how to get one
there's about a bajillion places to find that information, no doubt GameFAQs
is one of them. If you don't understand how a subjob works, this might not
make much sense to you. Fret not, it's simple. Once you've got it figured out,
stop by again. In the future there's a (poor) chance that I'll add that
information to this guide.
Here's the part that always get everybody's panties in a bunch. Excuse my
language, but don't email me any s**t about how my opinion is wrong (how can an
opinion be wrong?) and never EVER ask me about a job/subjob combination unless
you feel that there is something I didn't cover thoroughly enough, or if there
has been an update (such as a raise in level cap, which could obviously effect
the viability of a subjob).
This section is intended to inform you of the most effective subjob
combinations for a Samurai main. The golden rule here is to use the subjob that
you like the best, but it would be very under-appreciated if I were to sit here
and talk about which subjobs I liked best, so if you like a combination, use
it. It's hard to make a total gimp. Well, not hard, but more or less unlikely.
The sad truth of the Samurai is this: the Samurai is not a main job. It's
a sub job. (In case you're a noob, please don't email me asking if it is
impossible to have Samurai as your main job.) There are virtually no benefits
to having a Samurai as your main job, because pretty much everything you could
want from the job you can get if you sub it. What are you missing out on if
you sub Samurai? The ability to use a Great Katana (which is a neat weapon but
by no means a great one), the Demon Killer trait (which only works against a
couple of enemies), and of course your 2hr ability, which is almost a shame
except that it's actually not overpowered by any definition of the word.
So in the end, the Samurai doesn't really have anything of value as a main
job that it doesn't as a subjob. On the other hand, Samurai is generally the
best subjob for any melee attacker. (Samurai is to attacker, as Warrior is to
tank). Any job that makes a good attacker class becomes absolutely lethal
once combined with the abilities of a Samurai, and that's why at least 80% of
the people you see playing as Samurai most likely have no intention whatsoever
as remaining a Samurai. In case by now you're not seeing the trend, Samurai's
got mad jipped as a main class, which is truly the greatest shame of all FFXI
IMHO.
So without further ado, here's my take on each job as a subjob for a Samurai
main. I try to be a little in-depth with it so you know *why* it does or does
not work well. I also rated each job with stars (*), five being the best. If
you want to make a truly valuable party character, you shouldn't use anything
that rates less than a four.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Black Mage- I prefer to start with the bad news. Subbing a magic class with a
melee class is just generally a bad idea. Melee+ Magic= Bad. Got that? Black
Mage is no exception and probably one of the worst combinations. Samurai is
an attacker. Black Mage is an attacker. You can't be fighting if you're casting
magic, so you're basically doing two things badly. Some spells like Drain and
Bio might not be terrible, but you don't have much of an MP pool to work with,
since you get zilch as a Samurai, and then less than half the amount of a Black
Mage's MP.
**
White Mage- Actually a useable combo. White Mage with any job is not terrible
for soloing if good for nothing else. Mind you your magic won't be good, but a
few cure spells and auto-regen never hurt anyone (except the undead- har har).
In a group you should have a true white mage to do the healing, but it's not
a bad all-purpose combo. Your limited cure magic will still be able to generate
some hate when it's absolutely dire, and of course you can heal yourself.
You're not likely to get many party invites with combo, but you'll survive in
any case. Let me just make myself clear in that this is not a good combo--
mediocre at best--, but it will work.
*
Red Mage- If you were going to have a mage subjob, it should be White Mage.
Half black magic and half white magic at half strength may be fun, but is
mostly worthless. If you want to play it as an Enner, you might get somewhere,
but it won't be nearly as useful as other jobs.
*
Summoner- Never. You can't have an Avitar out while you fight, plus you'll have
nowhere near the MP you'll need to keep one out. It's like with Black Mage only
worse.
*
Bard- Bard generally makes a bad sub. You can't equip instruments so you only
get one song. You get no abilities, and Resist Silence is utterly worthless for
a Samurai. You'd be much better off focusing on your fighting.
?
Beastmaster- I've recently learned that your skills with a Beastmaster sub are
dependant solely on your CHR, and aren't hurt directly by being subbed. I'm not
sure what kind of CHR you have as a Samurai, but I'm sure that it's fairly
poor. If anyone has anything to say about playing as a SAM/BST, please give me
a holla.
(At last, we reach the 100% melee jobs, which generally make much better
combinations.)
*****
Warrior- The standard combo for Samurai. Many people choose this because
you get more party invites with Provoke. Truth be told, you should never have
to tank. (You ~could~ tank, but you would be bad at it.) Hate is bad for you.
Nonetheless, you get a nice defense boost as well as an attack boost. You also
get Double Attack, Berserk, Defender, and War Cry-- all nice abilities. Again
though, you're probably better off using a Warrior/Samurai.
*****
Monk- Pretty much Even-Steven with a Samurai/Warrior. The HP boosts and
counter are really handy, plus you get Boost, Dodge, and Focus. You also get
Chakra really late-- though I doubt it heals much HP (especially as a sub),
every little bit helps. Chi Blast is also a possibility if the level cap raises
(and I'm sure it will eventually-- I think it's coded to go all the way to 90).
Again, in a battle situation it's pretty even with SAM/Warrior, but most people
go towards WAR so they get more PT invites. Again, Monk/Samurai would be more
effective.
*****
Thief- Another good combination. The Gil Steal and Treasure Hunter traits
combined with the Steal and Pickpocket abilities are great to have as they
really help out with Gil and item acquisition. You get a substantial Evasion
boost, as well as Sneak Attack, which is a great way to initiate combat, and
Trick Attack, which has potential usefulness in a party situation (Samurai
Yokodama!) On top of all that, you get Flee, which comes in handy in a pinch, or
just gets you around a little faster.
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