*SAM

Work in progress

 

Equipment

SAM pre-hyper

SAM hyper

For the purpose of this guide, I'll be focusing specifically on SAM/WAR used in hako, but this is also best in slot equipment for OM SAM/WAR as well.

 

Body  Pick any of the lv99 bodies with Attack/Accuracy (+7 or more)/Evasion (+6 or more), HP/MP (+15 or more), and attributes (+3 or more) covers everything.  Byrnie+1 isn't a bad choice here, as Penta Thrust needs attack.  If you can hit your ranged attacks, use Byrnie+1.

Feet usually Fuma Kyahan pre-hyper.  Post hyper you may want to change into a more defensive option like Genta Sune-ate or Nyame.

Ranged  Lamian Kaman+1.  Fastest bow for rook guarding and building TP.

Weapon Couse+1 for Penta Thrust.  You can use 99 polearms as well, but a good augmented Couse will have the best Penta damage.  If you aren't making Transfixion with Penta, there's a case to be made for using Soboro Sukehiro (pre-hyper only) and spamming Yukikaze.  Keep in mind that if you want to use Yukikaze well in this way, a high STR build pre-hyper is the way to go versus attack and accuracy for Penta.  Post-hyper it's Polearm only (Raiden Thrust is outrageous).

Rings and earrings*updated*  You can definitely use any damage-orientated earrings here, but pre-hyper it is probably best to focus on ice-resistance in your gearset, assuming a standard game including WHM.  In that case, in earring slots you'll want Genius Earring+1s with ice/str augments.  For rings in pre-hyper our choices are Rajas/Toreador/Victory/etc.   In Post-hyper you'll definitely be targeted and should aim for the more defensive set of Intruder/Cassie earrings and Phalanx/Bomb Queen rings.

Hands can be Ochiudo's Kote or Pallas pre-hyper, but post-hyper you'll want Pallas' greater defensive capabilities.

Legs are the same as body, pick anything lv99 that has every stat on it.  Refer to the sync page to make sure you're getting everything maxed under 60 sync.  Royal Knight's breeches are fine too.  AF legs give the highest STR possible if you're using Soboro Yukikaze.

Head Pre-hyper Zeal Cap+1(augmented), or a lv99 headgear.  Abtal Turban or Zeal Cap+1 if you're using Yukikaze.  Post hyper, a lv99 headgear works best as it gives both offensive and defensive stats.

Neck has options, Chivalrous Chain is an easy choice, and augmentable.  Sanctity Necklace is good too.

Belt can be Potent Belt(augmented), Eschan Stone, any lv99 belt with stats maxed out works well here.  Speed belt if you're using a haste build pre-hyper.

Grip Potens Grip (STR5DEX5) or Immolation Grip (STR5VIT3) post-hyper.

Recap of Augmentables:

High Priority, as there aren't any great alternatives and/or could offer the biggest bonuses: 

   Couse +1   

Lower Priority: 

    Fuma Kyahan, Zeal Cap +1, Ochiudo's Kote, Pallas' Bracelets, Potent Belt, Chivalrous Chain, Phalanx Rings, Toreador Rings, Victory Rings

Augmentables that carry over to other hako jobs:

    Couse +1(WAR), Fuma Kyahan (MNK), Zeal Cap+1 (MNK, maybe DRG), Ochiudo's Kote (MNK), Pallas' Bracelets (MNK, DRG, potentially WAR and DRK), Chivalrous Chain (MNK DRG DRK potentially WAR), Phalanx Rings (All jobs), Toreador/Victory Rings (All DD jobs) 

 

Bonuses

Mog Garden Cheer effect:  Blue Wyvern (STR/DEX4 ACC/RACC4) [or Bugard (STR5) if you really want to max out Tachi:Yukikaze]

Mog house effect:  Bonfire (Resist Paralyze)

 

Gameplay(3v3)

Abilities

Everyone has a pretty good idea what SAM can do.  Make sure you have one of Hasso or Seigan up, don't sit on Meditate timer too long, etc.  

 

I don't use Sekkanoki much, but if you somehow come across 200TP, technically I think you can get more damage out of Sekkanoki>Raiden>Penta over holding for 300TP Raiden or just using 200TP Raiden right away.  Sekkanoki gives you a major accuracy debuff, using Penta after Sekkanoki is going to be bad damage.  It's possible to Sekkanoki Penta>Raiden and make Transfixion for Holy, which might actually be a decent combination.  Make sure your WHM or PLD is on board for this because Holy is very expensive to cast. 

 

Raiden Thrust at 300TP deals around 850 magical damage (it does 0 damage against carnal incense, however), great for eliminating difficult targets or surprising enemies.  Leg Sweep's stun effect can be very long, so use it to prepare targets for follow-up damage or help an ally score.  These two WS make you the most dangerous damage dealer.

 

Make a macro for Meikyo Shisui, Leg Sweep, Penta and Raiden Thrust.  Meikyo is our time to shine and we can't be fumbling around with menus during that critical burst.  The standard combo to use is Leg Sweep with prior TP > Meikyo 300TP Raiden > 200TP Penta > (probably Penta again but most targets will already be dead).  Ideally though the best damage is a Penta followed by activating Meikyo and closing Transfixion with Raiden.  The enemy might sense this coming in some circumstances and escape before you can close, though.

 

You cannot build TP from auto-attacks while Meikyo is active, so once you're down to 100TP, tab up and cancel the ability off your bar.

Combat 

Samurai should never be the targeted job to begin with in any 3v3 (or any game period).  Even in a RNG+SAM setup I think the RNG would likely be the better target, but that's up for debate and depends on the players.  Do not kill a SAM early in a hako match or you will suffer a brutal loss.

SAM's job in combat is opening the skillchain.  Samurai can build TP very quickly and have access to 100TP Meditate, so they are the safest opening job.  I say safest because if the partner DD is flashed and cannot complete the skillchain, SAM are the fastest to get back to 100TP to try again.  It's also the best skillchain opener, allowing MNK(>Howling Fist), DRG(>Skewer), or RNG(>Sidewinder) to close for the all-powerful Transfixion.  DRK+SAM games you'll generally have the DRK open (or free WS) due to its chaotic and fleeting time alive.  SAM+WAR games won't happen under my lead as main job Provoke + subjob Provoke is too powerful in 3v3.

You can generally do the same combo every time to open the skillchain:  Penta Thrust, Provoke the healer, and hope for a good result.  You can Provoke first if you want, but don't hold TP until you've landed Provoke or anything like that.  Just dealing damage is great, as you're dealing damage to the healer's MP.

SAM can apply demon arrow Attack Down debuff, and should try to land it on both DD at the beginning of the game, and as the game goes on.  Be prepared with sleep arrows later on to help your teammates score and interrupt elixirs.  Earth arrows deal the most damage total out of all the available options, so having some on hand can help.

Poison arrows are important in the new metagame.  They apply a 30 second poison that overrides poison potions allowing you to prime enemies for later Sleep Arrow/Repose/Sleep.

When your target is dead, keep building TP on both the opposing SAM and healer.  Be careful about finishing them off, you don't want to kill them, just bring them low and store TP.  When the target returns, you should be ready to go for another skillchain.  Meanwhile, the opposing SAM will do the same to your team - it's up to you whether you want to maintain Hasso (and take the damage, leading to the strategy below) or use Seigan to prevent some damage during this time.

This gets into more advanced territory but it warrants some discussion:  SAM (and PLD, but that's another story) has the unique ability to attempt suicide early in the game.  If the opposing SAM has beaten you to low HP, you can hug them or the other DD during the next skirmish and try to Provoke their WS, making them kill you.  This way you can "steal" hyper and take over a game.  Keep in mind you need to land Provoke, not have Third Eye up and also be in range for the WS, otherwise they'll be too far away to kill you (it's very effective against Ranger). 

Strategy as the scoring DD

Since we're never targeted, SAM is guaranteed to be the "scoring damage dealer".  This means it is your responsibility to score petras just like the healer does.  There's no option here, if you aren't scoring, your team will lose every game.

Quarry for petra (far from the rook) as you deal damage and build TP.  You should be quarrying on cooldown away from the rook as much as possible.  If your quarry is available but you're near the rook, don't quarry, move away first.  Too much quarrying and not enough damage dealing and vice versa is inefficient and will lead to losses.  You should be aiming for about 15P in a 15 minute 3v3 (even if you don't score them due to death, it's a good target number of petra quarries).

Communication is really important.  Even in our games with teammates that have played together for more than a decade, we fail to pass on important information regularly.  So what info is important at this early point in the game?  And what do we do as the game goes on?   

If you're the first to pick up petra, try to /scout and tell your team where the rook is if it's not clear from the beginning.  This helps your targeted DD make an informed decision.

High petra counts force your opponents to make bad decisions

The more petra you quarry, the tighter the spot you put your opponents in.  If you are beating your mirror SAM in petras by a large amount, like 5 or more, some teams will bail on the normal strategy and just kill you.  This is what you want.  If you die before.. let's say, 6 minutes left, you have ample time to unleash some revitalizer hell.  In this case, the opposing team is appropriately taking the gamble that they can survive your hyper since they certainly weren't going to win in the normal petra race.  The enemy team will target you following your death, since your hyper is more dangerous than your partner DD.  Your job here is to get back to the rook and quarry on top of it - but do it calmly and focus on quarrying cleanly, without being interrupted.

The Magical World of Quarry Interruption

If you attempt a quarry and you take damage, are hit with an enemy spell, provoked(even if it misses), etc .. during the digging animation, your quarry is cancelled, you get nothing, and the timer is reset.  This is the last thing you want, on any job. 

You, your healer and your mirrors are engaged in petra combat the entire game, and you should attempt to interrupt their quarries as much as you can.  Be calm and make sure your quarries are not interrupted either.  Only quarrying on cooldown, and quarrying immediately when you disengage makes you very easy to predict and veteran players will be waiting to interrupt you.  Even if you have to wait a little, you need a clean quarry.

This is doubly important when it comes to the opposing targeted DD.  If they are able to quarry cleanly, they are going to get strong items that will snowball their team to an easy win.  Don't let them, stay on them as much as you can... while also quarrying as much as you can, away from the rook.. 

Yeah, it's a lot.

Ballista Band

The Ballista Band key item gives you the option to pick up or toss the first petra you dig up.  The prompt window takes considerably more time than a regular quarry, so your petra quarries will be interrupted much easier than normal.  Do not use this on scoring DD or healer.

 WIP