So I'm confused...

[Lunaryn]

Re: So I'm confused...

The worst melee class in the game is black mage. Don't use them for melee.

I don't know, I think Scholar may have Black Mage beat on this due to the lack of a B-rank weapon. They do get E Parry in exchange, but...

(Getting scholar past the early levels is truly painful... >_< )

[Tsrwedge]

Re: So I'm confused...

I don't know, I think Scholar may have Black Mage beat on this due to the lack of a B-rank weapon. They do get E Parry in exchange, but...

(Getting scholar past the early levels is truly painful... >_< )

\derail
Yup, there's nothing more painful than seeing a Mandragora use Photosynthesis and knowing you can't do more damage than the regen effect is giving back...
\derail

[Skoal]

Re: So I'm confused...

Whoops forgot about Scholar.

[Vyuru]

Re: So I'm confused...

The more you know! /rainbow

Although we can't wear Hauby, by that time we are fighting birds. We can make up for that loss of that one piece with the piercing bonus.

I'm still going to complain that I can't wear a Hauby though >.>

And the fact that if we are restricted to light armors why the heck can't we wear some of the sam/mnk/nin line of gear.

/fume

[Reichter]

Re: So I'm confused...

Wow, I'm not even a DRG yet and even I feel ripped off about not being able to use that Haubergeon piece...that's a really nice piece...

[Skoal]

Re: So I'm confused...

Wow, I'm not even a DRG yet and even I feel ripped off about not being able to use that Haubergeon piece...that's a really nice piece...

LOL. Don't worry about it. We get 2 Acc bonus job traits that most jobs don't get. Also we have Jumps. FREAKING JUMPS MAN!!!9

[eticket109]

Re: So I'm confused...

We do at least get the Askar Korazin and I personally like Drachen Mail +1 a lot too.

[Callisto]

Re: So I'm confused...

AF+1 gloves are sexy too. >.>

DRG gear at 75 is so ridiculously far ahead of gear at 69, that's my only beef really.

[NicasinXS]

Re: So I'm confused...

I did a lot of melee leveling my scholar to 37 for a /sch and found that the wand hits fairly often if your skill is capped. Light arts have an affect on Seraph Strike. If you already have your wand at least to level 100 you should be good to do the same. Its not really wise to bust out the wand for melee during parties, but if someone leaves and you bust out your signal/tactics pearl and spawn your melee npc buddy to keep the party alive while another member is on the way, your team mates wont complain about your swinging your wand around as long as you keep up the casting as well. I tried this class with dagger, pole and wand. Wand seems to be the better weapon to melee with a scholar. Around level 35 to 37 it was a real waste to try melee with scholar at all, would slow the party down. I only did it at that level to get the lazy bard out of the corner and swing his sword. Early level bards have no excuse to just stand there...

I personally think that the people talking about Dragoon is a good melee as long as the gear is right, not just flashy, are right on the money. I love to have a good dragoon around. Dragoons need a lot of acc like Dark Knights for leveling up. It’s rare that Dragoon players already have a pole arm class leveled up with merits on that weapon. Also, dragoons may have weakish WS they can still open and close decent WS leaving open the option for an old fashion Magic Burst party that can move fairly quick if your casters are into it and the dragoon has enough acc to keep up with their SC partner.

If you have a hard time getting a party with whatever class you desire to level, whether it be dragoon, scholar, black mage, then learn to /sea all level ??-?? And make your own party. You can use that same /sea function to see where players are specific levels are partying to help you decide where to put yourself.

Dragoons with full AF in parties still get laughed at.

[eticket109]

Re: So I'm confused...

AF+1 gloves are sexy too. >.>

DRG gear at 75 is so ridiculously far ahead of gear at 69, that's my only beef really.

I ws with AF+1 gloves typically since I don't have any Hecatomb pieces. I like the fact they have STR and DEX on them. I also use the AF+1 pants full time until I get Askar or Barbossas Zerehs. The WHP+ is great for breaths and you can't argue with 9 Accuracy. If I ever get Homam pants though, I'll probably swap them out in a Haste build. The AF+1 helm is good for Spirit Link and it's in my macro for Healing Breaths.

My eventual goal is:
Askar head: X
Askar body: X
Relic +1 gloves: O
Askar shorts: X
Homam feet: O

Though if I get Homam pants and Askar or Homam hands, then I would swap in those and grab a Swift belt. As far as weapons, Mez for DD and IRL for solo is the way to go. Then again, I have a 'unique' solo build. lol

[Pteryx]

Re: So I'm confused...

DRG's bad reputation isn't completely because of bad players, though. Part of it also dates back to the "TP nerf", in which multi-hit weaponskills stopped returning full TP for every hit. One of the polearm skills, Penta Thrust, was hurt badly by this change, and since that was considered one of DRG's selling points at high levels, people concluded that DRG must suck.

Another contributing factor is that back in the day, one of the most popular (and only) merit camps was deep in King Ranperre's Tomb against skeletons. Without a specific blunt polearm, DRG's damage suffered incredibly against these. By the time ToAU with its piercing-weak meripo mobs came out, though, "lolDRG" was already seared into the consensus too strongly to be scrubbed away by mere reality.

Accordingly, DRG has been given some help. Call Wyvern is no longer their two-hour; it's now a main-job-only ability on a 20-minute timer. The wyvern itself was given Subtle Blow, and it's said that it may be given some damage resistance as well in the future. DRG was given a second Accuracy Bonus trait, helping to make up for their inability to wear a Hauby.

What's made the biggest impact on DRG's recovery, however, is the two-handed damage adjustment. The original upgrade was a little too good, so DRGs got a chance to prove themselves again (but still proved weaker than SAMs). The upgrade has been scaled back to a saner level, but it's still enough to have put a significant dent in the "lolDRG" mentality. Maybe once they add that damage resistance so wyverns don't die to the first -aga they're hit by, DRG will be accepted again. -- Pteryx

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: So I'm confused...

DRG is a very versatile, capable job that is limited at lower levels due to a poor selection of available gear and decent weaponskills.

Well, if it's limited at lower levels, sure isn't in the DD'ing capability.

My DRG is 31, I think? No one out damaged me in party from 10 to 31 (as reported by parser). When I had another DRG in party, it was usually DRG as top DD, then DRG as 2nd top DD. Double Thrust is one of the strongest WS at lower levels, BTW, behind only a proper SA(TA) Fast Blade/Combo from THF.

That was before the two-handed update; Dragoon is even stronger now. You should level up DRG to see for yourself how "limited" it is.

[Callisto]

Re: So I'm confused...

lol Itaz, we already covered my incorrectness, thanks though.

[Reichter]

Re: So I'm confused...

Kind of disheartening...keep hearing from my LS that the class is all but worthless, especially end game :\

[Sabaron]

Re: So I'm confused...

Kind of disheartening...keep hearing from my LS that the class is all but worthless, especially end game :

If all you do is complain about being a DRG then why be a DRG? Go be a SAM.

What is DRG to you? Is it just a means to produce large numbers? Is that how you determine your worth as a party member?

Did you forget that your wyvern can be used to heal?

Dragoon can Provoke and then High/Super Jump to shed the voke. This is perfect for giving a Ninja a few extra seconds to get his shadows back up after a nasty attack like say... Hex Eye.

Dragoon's wyvern can participate in a magic burst to further increase your output.

Or maybe you're just into the numbers...

Dragoons with good gear whose wyvern retains life can outparse other DD jobs on Damage Over Time, and you can hold up quite well when its dead, too. You will never show Weaponskill numbers that match a Samurai, but your damage over time and the fact that you can sustain it without becoming a target by shedding hate gives you great versatility.

Not only can you deal phenomonal damage, you can do so wearing very light armor. Of course, SE has designed the Dragoon to dress this way, but the amount of Attack, Accuracy, and/or Haste gear you can pile on is really stellar. While it's true you can't use other melees incredible pieces like Hauby, Dragoon gets +22 Accuracy just for being a Dragoon, so you don't necessarily need Hauby--you can wear something with more Attack on it. The only job that gets more natural accuracy than a Dragoon is a Ranger and they don't even use it, and guess what? Only Dark Knight gets more native Attack than you do, +10, though you do have to share with WAR and BLU.

Basic DoT on high-end Dragoon weapons (even the cheap ones) are in the 11.5 range and many of them have cool effects. By contrast, a Samurai's Great Katanas are in the 11 range (half a point lower than comparable spears). The difference, then is that the Samurai compensates by WSing. You compensate with your wyvern.

Don't focus too much on trying to be like another DD job. Dragoon is Dragoon. It's quite a bit different from the other DDs. Learn to position yourself well, stay low on the hate list and keep your pet alive.