How to Become A Samurai In FFXIV (Guide)

Final Fantasy XIV has several classes for players to choose from that cater to many different people. For those that want to satisfy their inner Japanese warrior, the Samurai and Ninja is the best choice. Here’s our guide on how to become a Samurai in FFXIV and what is their in-game purpose/

FFXIV Samurai Job Class: What Is It

Towards the sun, rising from the rolling waves, is Higashi, an island nation of strong men and great lords. Said lords continue to bicker and fight left, right, and center for resources, supremacy, and land in a long and bloody war. Taking part in these conflicts in the names of their lords and lieges were courageous and noble men, whose arts and swordplay were forged in war’s crucible, known as the samurai.

Eventually, the nation was unified under one rule and banner, and thus the samurai became part of the new nation’s… Not army, but as protectors of the peace, a police force to keep order on the streets. However, neglect and disuse can turn a keen blade dull, and thus, those samurai forgot their former purpose and lose the old ways. However, a determined few do hold to their convictions and resolve. Their hands are by their katana’s grips as they wait for a time when their blades can sing again.

Anyhow, the Samurai class is a job class in Final Fantasy XIV that was introduced in the Stormblood expansion that uses katanas in combat. Their main purview is damage, damage, and even more damage through the use of various sword weaponskills. Sadly, this means that the player doesn’t have anything in terms of party support utility skills when in combat. However, when you deal ludicrous amounts of damage to a boss with several skills chained at once, well, it doesn’t matter.

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Additional Features

One thing to take note of is that the Samurai class is a class that’s only available if the player has the Stormblood expansion This expansion also added job gauges, which Samurai has 3 of The Sen Gauge, the Kenki Gauge, and lastly, the Meditation gauge.

The first gauge we need to talk about is the Sen Gauge, which displays Sen accumulation. Specifically, it displays the accumulation of 3 Sen effects – Setsu, Getsu, and Ka. When the Samurai uses certain weaponskills, Sen will be accumulated, which is required to activate skills called Iaijutsu.

Up to 3 Sen can be accumulated at a time and depending on how much was accumulated, a certain Iaijutsu skill will be activated: if 1 Sen is accumulated, then the Iaijutsu will be Higanbana, 2 will get the player Tenka Goken, and 3 will activate Midare Setsugekka. There’s a cast time for using Iaijutsu skills though, which is something that the player needs to keep an eye on to not get ganked by enemies.

Next is the Kenki Gauge, which is increased by using weaponskills. All of the Samurai weaponskills can increase the Kenki Gauge by a set amount except Iaijutsu. Once the Kenki Gauge is filled, the player can activate Hissatsu instant cast abilities that deal tremendous amounts of damage. Examples of these abilities include Hissatsu: Gyoten, and Hissatsu: Kaiten.

Last but not least is the Meditation Gauge which was added in FFXIV Patch 5.2.

In 5.2, an additional Meditation gauge was added below the Kenki gauge for the Meditation ability. When filled up, the weaponskill Shoha can be used. The Meditation Gauge is filled by using either Meditate, any Iaijutsu, or Ogi Namikiri.

Equipment

Samurais in FFXIV usually use Striking type gear as their equipment. For those not in the know, Striking Gears are strength-based melee DPS gear that is usually used by Samurais or Monks. Luckily for everyone, FFXIV’s drops are pretty easy to get compared to other MMORPGs. Which would usually give the player items that are not for the class they’re currently using.

Weapons-wise, the Samurai use katanas, which is pretty obvious given that you’re the Samurai class. In terms of accessories like earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces, going for the Slaying type is a good idea.

Party Role and Playstyle

Given the kind of things we’ve said already; you’ll have the right idea about the fact that the Samurai is a DPS class par excellence. It has hard-hitting, high-damage abilities and its attacks can destroy any enemies in the way. Their incredibly high damage output is one of the biggest reasons why they’re consistently considered one of the top-tier DPS classes in Final Fantasy 14.

Anyhow, in terms of playstyle, the Samurai wants, no, needs to be in the thick of things during a fight. Their main shtick is to unleash powerful melee combos to build up their Sen Gauge. Once the Sen Gauge is built up, the Samurai can then unleash even more damage and deliver various debilitating effects on their enemies. In addition to the Sen Gauge, the Samurai also needs to gain Kenki, which is done by using the weaponskills the Samurai has. This allows the Samurai to unleash powerful attacks like Hissatsu: Gyoten and Hissatsu: Kaiten.

Don’t let the flashy names fool you though, Samurai’s pretty straightforward when you know what you’re doing. It is one of the easier classes to get your head on. The skills are pretty forgiving in terms of execution, and they’re incredibly flexible in adapting to various scenarios. Combine that with a base rotation that’s relatively simple to get your head around and well, you got a top-tier job on your hands. Also, the Samurai Job Class is incredibly self-sufficient as well due to their Merciful Eyes recovery skill.

Samurai Rotation At level 90

Right, first off this is the level 90 rotation for Samurai. Samurai rotations have 2 rotations at level 90 based on if they go single or multi-target. The rotation functions basically as a loop with alternating even and odd minute boosts. There are 5 phases to this: Opener, Cooldown, Filler, Odd, and Even. The rotation should look like this overall:

1. Opener
2. Cooldown
3. Odd Minute Burst
4. Filler
5. Cooldown
6. Even Minute Burst
7. Filler
8. Cooldown
9. Odd Minute Burst
10. Et cetera.

Anyhow, here are the rotations for each phase in question:

Opener

Meikyo Shisui gives buffs to combo finishers, which is lucky for Samurai. Ergo, they only need to pre-pull Meikyo Shisui to get the buffs started ASAP. After that, go wild with high-potency attacks. Here’s how to do so:

1. Meikyo Shisui. Make sure to cast this ability when the countdown on the fight is at 9s.
2. True North
3. Gekko then chug a Grade 8 Tincture of Strength
4. Kasha followed by Ikishoten
5. Yukikaze
6. Midare Setsugekka followed by Hissatsu: Senei
7. Kaeshi: Setsugekka followed by Meikyo Shisui
8. Gekko followed by Hissatsu: Shinten
9. Higanbana
10. Kasha followed by Hissatsu: Shinten
11. Ogi Namikiri followed by Shoha
12. Kaeshi: Namikiri followed by Hissatsu: Shinten
13. Gekko followed by Hissatsu; Gyoten
14. Hakaze
15. Yukikaze followed by Hissatsu: Shinten
16. Midare Setsugekka
17. Kaeshi: Setsugekka

Cooldown

Following the Opener phase is the Cooldown phase, which is the rotation when your various burst abilities are on cooldown. This is the time when the Samurai has to rotate through combos until the burst attacks are back up again. Here’s the rotation:

1. Hakaze followed by Yukikaze
2. Hakaze followed by Jinpu
3. Gekko followed by Hakaze
4. Shifu followed by Kasha
5. Midare Setsugekka followed by Hakaze
6. Yukikaze followed by Hakaze
7. Jinpu followed by Gekko
8. Hakaze followed by Shifu
9. Kasha

Filler

The Filler is next, which is a part of a loop that helps the Samurai keep their burst phases aligned in addition to taking advantage of party raid buffs. This part of the rotation is based on the chosen GCD tier. It also depends on whether the preceding burst was an even or odd minute burst in addition to fighting mechanics.

There are a lot of things to take into account there, but at its core, Filler is broken down into 1, 2, or 3 GCD Options:

1. 1 GCD: Hissatsu: Yaten followed by Enpi
2. 2 GCD: Hakaze followed by Yukikaze followed by Hagakure
3. 3 GCD: Hakaze followed by Shifu or Jinpu followed by Kasha or Gekko, followed by Hagakure

Odd Minute Boost

Odd-minute bursts are next, and during this time, Ikishoten will be on a cooldown. This locks the Samurai from using Ogi Namikiri, meaning the burst is shorter and won’t hit as hard. There are a few things to take into account, but here’s the general outline of the Odd Minute Burst rotation:

1. Midare Setsugekka
2. Kaeshi: Setsugekka followed by Meikyo Shisui
3. Gekko followed by Higanbana
4. Gekko followed by Kasha
5. Hakaze followed by Yukikaze
6. Midare Setsugekka

Even Minute Boost

Last but not least is the Even Minute Burst, which is pretty identical to the opening rotation with a few exceptions. Specifically, Meikyo Shisui isn’t here due to not being required to set up Sen and buffs. Ikishoten is also not listed because a player may want to get enough Kenki for multiple Hissatsu: Shinten instead. It’s really up to the player how they want to go for the Even Minute Burst portion of their rotation.

Anyhow, here’s the rotation in question:

1. Midare Setsugekka
2. Kaeshi: Setsugekka followed by Hissatsu: Senei followed by Meikyo Shisui
3. Gekko followed by Higanbana
4. Gekko followed by Ogi Namikiri
5. Kaeshi: Namikiri followed by Kasha
6. Hakaze followed by Yukikaze
7. Midare Setsugekka

How To Become A Samurai In FFXIV

There are 2 absolute requirements before an FFXIV player can become a Samurai in the game.

1. Having FFXIV’s Stormblood expansion.
2. Being level 50 in any of the classes. Only 1 class needs to be level 50.

Once these 2 requirements are finished, the player needs to go to Ul’dah. Specifically, a place in Ul’dah called the Steps of Nald, is located near the main Aetheryte. Once there, the player will gain a new quest. Simply speak with an Ul’dahn Citizen (You’ll know it’s him due to the quest indicating to speak to said citizen), and he’ll tell the player to the Gladiator’s Guild. Go there immediately and head to the back room to find an old man on the floor. Speak with him for a bit, the conversation’s a lengthy one and takes some time, but once it is done you’ll be a Samurai.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of the Samurai Job Class

Now that we’ve discussed how to become a Samurai in FFXIV, let’s talk about this job’s advantages and disadvantages.

The Samurai is an incredible job class in FFXIV, with high burst damage potential with the right rotations. It’s relatively easy to learn, is very forgiving of mistakes, and gives the user a feeling of bliss when they manage to clutch a Hissatsu ability.

Combine this with the Samurai being very self-reliant in their ability to deal damage. Well, you can clear content with this class in mind. However, do note that there are downsides to Samurai as well, specifically the fact that they have zero raid utility. Meaning they don’t offer buffs to the whole party and are relatively selfish due to that. Their main goal is to burst bosses down until they’re dead and buried. This makes up for their lack of utility a bit, but there might be times when the raid group may want to go for a more generous DPS character.

Unless said DPS character’s a Dragoon, in which case they often fall off the arena into their deaths.

Anyhow, those are the main pros and cons of Samurai, which is hopefully enough for the player to decide if they want to go for the class.

Final Words

Now you know how to get, and how to use Samurai in FFXIV. We hope that this is useful to you in deciding if you want to go for the Samurai class as your main class in the game. Hopefully, this guide answers the question of “how to become a Samurai in FFXIV?” and what is their in-game purpose.