Static with a Samurai Tank?

[Enichi]

like nodachi said... best way to skill up parry..... evasion caps no matter what as a sam... from what i noticed.... for me... i've tanked from lv10-58.... 58 was the last time i tanked... raptors and double atk can really make a whm panic.... sams can do it but its alot of downtime and sams become a mp hog for cures. it's probably more easy to tank now with a few new equipment like blink band and stuff.... but going with nin, war, or pld for tank would be better in the long run. at best... i recommend sam as backup tank if the pld or nin or war goes down... but turning em into main tanks going to be extremely hard..... another problem sams tanks going to have is hate issues..... med gives a good amount of hate....... but hmm beside voke, and warcry at 70 we got nothing..... :sweat:

[McMeanass]

No high level experience with a samurai tank, but I was in a 30-31 party in Yhoator the other day with a super awesome galka samurai. I had just hit 30 and had thief sub(sneak attack sturmwind = yum) and I was tanking previous to that. Samurai said he didn't want to keep me from using it so he'd take first voke, tachi: hobaku and then I'd sneak sturm for fragmentation. Of course I'd generally take hate back after the chain but previous to me building tp he was doing fabulously holding hate as well as soaking up damage. Could be that he had a significantly higher number of HP and that mandy's hit like wet noodles, but I think under the right circumstances, Sam/War's can make effective tanks.

[tdh]

At Lv.36 in Garlage Citadel I had a SAM tank for about 2 hours. We were already had a full party with a decent tank. The PLD then had to leave, so we grabbed another member, and put the SAM in the tank role. (He actually volunteered. lol)

On the outset, we eneded up with:

SAM
DRK
WAR
BLM
RDM (me)
WHM

SAM and WHM were both Mithra. As an Elvaan RDM, I actually had more MP than the WHM, but with my MND+20 on top of my already stellar MND, I out cured the WHM easily. So keeping the SAM's HP up and still pulling off Chain 4-6's wasn't too difficult. (I'll confess to having brought items to synth Melon and Pineapple Juice, but it's what I've been doing since I started Cooking.)

But the big thing about this party, was that mobs didn't last very long. Skillchains and Magic Bursts sliced through beetles and bats fast and easily.

For higher levels though, I just can't see it. Personally. Having partied with a PLD in my static for so many levels, seeing some of the hits he was required to take; watching him fight to get hate back after Weapon Skills, from a top heavy DRK and a MNK who never seemed to miss a punch.

In my static, we EXP'd on beastment from Lv.38-51, almost entirely. Was tired of fighting for mobs in the Crawlers Nest, so we set out to find other spots, and EXP'd on Gobbys and Anticans. A SAM wouldn't survive long tanking a lot of those.

[Macht]

Well went through the SAMs/WARs/PLDs possible equipment they can wear. PLD and WAR can wear almost identical equipment and the ones they can't they both have varied types they can use there which are nearly a 1 to 1 equal in defense. So the PLDs only advantage over WAR is his ability to use spells, a few more skills focused at getting hate, and the two other defense boost traits.

Otherwise if equipped right PLD and WAR can be nearly equally matched in defense getting a total average around 250 defense (As long as you exclude Aegis from PLD otherwise PLD averages around 260). SAM when I looked has a few spotty areas were they can wear gear that's the same as what a PLD and WAR can wear, without his AF gloves though the SAM averages only around 185 defense.

If the SAM is to use his AF gloves and uses the rice balls for +50 Defense then they average around 235 defense. Those numbers are without use of defender, the problem is the SAM s equipment has a lot fewer choices for +Emnity which PLD and WAR both have an abundant amount of they can use. The defense numbers also didn't count in the +VIT in which the gear I selected the PLD and WAR easily went way over +20 VIT and SAM probably only reached +10.

At the look of it the SAM can do alright, but they'd have to use their AF gloves and Rice Balls right to do so. Much of the gear choices I picked for SAM in my test I noticed were also usable by MNK and NIN, so it seems those two can do similarly good at taking a hit if equipped right. The downfall is the gear choices are more solely focused at defense so attack or skill uses could get hindered. The biggest difficulty I see though is for jobs like SAM or MNK to be able to pull hate away from a well equipped PLD or WAR Tank, both of them have so much +emnity they can equip that it would take a job like NIN, RNG, or BLM to get it off them.

On a sidenote I looked to see how RNG could do defense wise, their defense ability is not at all impressive to any of the others mentioned they averaged somewere around 160 defense no matter which way I tried it, however their range attack potential was absolutly HUGE getting somewere near 300.

[hammrock]

personally, i think SAM's make decent tanks. one of the best parties I've ever been in was around lvl 40-41 in CN lvling off of Solider Crawlers. (not sure if that's the right lvl.... been awhile since that night...) the party set up was as followed:

SAM/WAR (Me)
MNK/WAR
RDM/WHM
RDM/BLM
WHM/BLM
and i forget the last job..... damn my bad memory

anyways, it was easy for me to hold hate in the early rounds. only time i ever lost hate was when me and the mnk did a fusion sc. got some massive damage. Tachi: Kagero ---> Raging Fist = crazy damage on crawlers. he usually did over 300 damage with each Raging Fist ending Fusion for around 400. we got up to exp chain 5 easy, but could never hit 6. after about 2 hours, our final member had to leave so we invited a PLD. after we got the PLD, exp slowed down a lot. ended up breaking the party after about an hour after we got the PLD.

but i agree with everyone else, at later lvls, SAM should only be used as a tank when it comes to SATA partner or when the WAR or PLD dies...

[Macht]

Wow, EXP slowed once you got a PLD??? The 6th member must of been a DD like a RNG, DRK, or something. If he wasn't then it doesn't make sense it would slow unless the PLD was that badly equipped. I know with my own experiences DD can't do their job right if the Tank can't take his hits, you usually end up with a dead DD or really long fights

[Ryan0617]

What would a WAR/SAM be at higher levels? a tank or DD? would a SAM/WAR better?

[Nodachi]

A SAM/WAR will be a lot more of a 'DD' than a tank. NIN sub would be your tanking option. SAM/WAR is good for select PTs and HNMs but I think WAR gets more benefits from MNK, THF and NIN subs.

[Raqua]

the only time i've ever run into a SAM tank was when there was no other person looking int the dunes. Even though he was a friend of mine, hke didn't tank well. more oflike a paper tank to me lol. Now i my LS is starting a SP at lvl 10 and they want me to be SAM (i don't even know if its gonna happen anymore, we lost the use of our rdm...)

[Ryan0617]

I am a war, at level 18 now, but i am unsure of what to do? I was advised to go WAR/SAM but now i am not so sure. What would you guys suggest? I don't really want to tank but rather be a DD. What would be the best option and can you explain why as i have only just played the game and am unsure of everything. Oh, by the way i am a galka. TIA!

[kuu]

I wouldn't touch war/sam much. People haven't touched any/sam for xp since the TP patch.

There are uses for war/sam, but usually not in XP situations.

[Rico]

most people use /sam for Ballista.

[Ryan0617]

what is ballista? as i am new i haven't a clue about it!

[Kronosan]

Re: Static with a Samurai Tank?

you too
Brian Regan is the best.

[ibroyles]

Re: Static with a Samurai Tank?

I remember reading this thread a very, very long time ago. It has a good run down on the advantages/disadvantages of WAR/SAM(post TP patch). Its an interesting approach to WAR, but you'd probably have to have a static with friends to play through as this is not seen as a "viable" sub to the average player.