PvP Job Series: Samurai

As we continue the Tactics PvP Job Series, we will have a look at the viability and the performance of the Samurai job as the main role in PvP for competitive use.

PvP Performance Statcard

Looking at their ratings, Samurai is a fairly decent primary job in PvP. Let’s expand more on that below.

For more information on this job, visit the job link: Samurai

Abilities

Samurai are known for their Iaido ability, drawing the spirit out of each katana in the game and utilizing them for a mixture of support and damaging abilities. Iaido is one of the best, if not arguably the best skillset in the game because of its variety of skills and instant casting. Iaido is even a great ability to add as a secondary to a variety of builds due to the buffs and versatility you can get from it. Each Iaido ability scales with MA and has zero MP cost. There is a downside in that you do need copies of the katana available in your inventory in order to cast the ability, and they have a chance of breaking based on the katana’s Weapon Power per use.

Let’s look at which of their abilities you will commonly see in PvP:

Kiyomori and Masamune (action) – These abilities grant instant protect and shell (kiyomori) and regen and haste (masamune) respectively to allies in a 2-range area. Because these status effects are so vital in PvP, this is the most efficient way to grant these abilities within 1-2 turns versus using White Magicks and Time Magicks which are inheritently slower due to cast time.

Kiku-ichimonji (action) – This 8-tile, line-based magic attack is used for its range and getting picks from a distance. This skill does not damage allies in the area.

Chirijiraden (action) – This 3×3 area magic attack does a ton of damage, but does require you to be up close.

Murasame (action) – This ability provides instant area healing to all allies in the area. Will deal damage to undead allies.

Shirahadori (reaction) – This ability reduces the hit rate of certain physical attacks and abilities, decreasing it further with higher Bravery. This ability can only proc against the first attack if the enemy is dual wielding. Shirahadori is technically not a form of evasion and stacks with other sources of evasion.

Stats

Stats as a primary job: HP: 75% | MP: 90% | SP: 100% | PA: 128% | MA: 90%
C-EV: 20 | Move: 3 | Jump: 3

Can equip: Katanas, Helmets, Armor, Robes

Based on their stats, Samurai has excellent PA, but their MA is lacking, especially when their skillset revolves around MA. Still, they can utilize Iaido just like other jobs, but if you are looking at optimizing damage, Black Mage and Time Mage are best with their high base MA stats. Ninja is a great option to utilize support Iaido abilities because of their base high Speed. Samurais do have access to both armor and robes, so they have versatility with adding to their bulk or stacking into damage with a variety of robes that increase MA further.

Conclusion

Samurai as the main job is a solid choice, especially as a physical-based damage dealer. They aren’t the best choice to utilize their own skillset sadly, but the nature of Iaido enables it to be usable on practically any job due to the diverse range of abilities it offers.