Community Samurai Guide

General Information

Available after completing the quest Forge Your Destiny, the Samurai (SAM) job focuses on the mastery of weapon skills and skillchains. Samurai excel at the use of Weapon Skills due to their ability to rapidly gain Tactical Points and use them to their advantage. Their mainstay weapon is the Great Katana, but they also have respectable skill in Polearms and Archery.

"Take this mumeito. This blade was forged fer ya. Pledge your life t'her an' she won't let ya down." - Gilgamesh

Roles

Warriors from the East. Demon Killers. Samurai are experts in wielding the Great Katana and manipulating Tactical Points, allowing the player to unleash a flurry of skills on their enemies quicker than any other class in Vana'diel. A Samurai's primary and most effective role is dealing high frequencies of damage. Samurai's versatility lies in the ability to output high bursts of damage with various abilities and traits that enable them to use Weapon Skills more frequently than any other job.

Abilities and Traits

Job Traits

The following table only lists the Job Traits of a level 99 Samurai and their effects at that level alphabetically. For more information about these Job Traits (e. g. its tiers, if any and the respective level the ability/tier is granted), are linked to their BG Wiki pages.

Job Traits
Resist Blind	30% chance of fully resisting blind.
Store TP	+30 Store TP at level 99, merits add 2 each (for a total of +10).
Zanshin	50% rate at level 99, merits add 1% rate (for a total of +5%).
Demon Killer	10% intimidation rate against Demons.
Ikishoten	+30 base TP (before Store TP) to Zanshin per merit level (for a total of 150).
Overwhelm	+5% Weapon Skill Damage for the first three merit levels, and +2% for the subsequent levels (Total: +19%).
Skillchain Bonus	Skillchain damage bonus. Grants +16% at level 98.

These Job Traits define Samurai's base capabilities: a fast TP-generating front-line job with enough bonuses to deal massive weapon skill and Skillchain damage.

Gifts from Job Points

Gift	Cumulative Bonus
Capacity Point Bonus	320%
Physical Defense Bonus	70
Physical Attack Bonus	70
Physical Evasion Bonus	43
Physical Accuracy Bonus	36
Magic Evasion Bonus	36
Magic Accuracy Bonus	36
"Zanshin" Effect Bonus	10%
Hasso and Seigan Effect	Increases Maximum Zanshin effects by 10%
Skillchain Bonus	6% Skillchain Bonus
Superior 1	Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 1 (Su1)
Superior 2	Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 2 (Su2)
Superior 3	Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 3 (Su3)
Store TP Effect	8% Store TP
Third Eye Effect	Increases the number of evasions from Third Eye by 1

★Master! Grants the designation "Master Mononofu."

Decreases the recast time of one-hour abilities by 15 minutes.

Job Abilities

Samurai job abilities revolve two different concepts: Primarily, there are two major abilities that affect the samurai's damage output or survival -- Hasso and Seigan respectively. These two share a timer, so only one may be active at a time.

• Hasso increases your damage [boosts STR, accuracy and Job Ability haste] at the cost of your cast and recast timers (+50%).
• Seigan affects how Third Eye works, reducing its recast timer to 30 seconds, and granting it multiple 'shadows' (similar to utsusemi) and the ability to counter enemy attacks, but also increases cast and recast timers (+50%).

The rest of your abilities are then focused on increasing your offensive attributes.

• Warding Circle grants you +15% for: damage against demons, resistance against demons, and some degree of Demon Killer.
• Meditate grants you a passive 200 TP/tick generation, for a total of 1000 TP gain (can be increased by gear).
• Sekkanoki makes your next Weaponskill consume only 1000 TP. Weaponskills used with Sekkanoki active will only count as 1000TP potency (also affected by gear).
• Konzen-ittai "readies your enemy for a skillchain". What this means is, it will treat the enemy as if it has been hit by a weaponskill once, and the next weaponskill will trigger a skillchain.
• Shikikoyo is the first of your merited abilities. It will grant any TP above 1000TP that the Samurai has, and transfer it over to another player. Example scenario is listed in the corresponding page.
• Blade Bash is an attack that deals no damage, but has a chance to stun the enemy and inflict plague.
• Sengikori grants a bonus to skillchain damage if used on an opening weaponskill; otherwise will grant bonus magic burst damage if used on a closing weaponskill.
• Hamanoha is specifically for demons, and will debuff them with -20 accuracy, evasion, magic accuracy, magic evasion and Store TP.
• Hagakure grants your next WS with 400 Save TP and 1000 TP Bonus.

Merits

Group I	Effect
Third Eye Recast	Shorten recast time by 2 seconds per merit level each. 1 minute recast (30 second recast with Seigan active).
Warding Circle Recast	Shorten recast time by 10 seconds per merit level. 5 minute recast.
Store TP Effect	Increases the amount TP returned by 2 TP per merit level.
Meditate Recast	Shorten recast time by 6 seconds per merit level. 3 minute recast.
Zanshin Attack Rate	Increases Zanshin attack rate by 1 percent per merit level.

Samurai's group I merits are recommended to be:

• 5/5 Zanshin Attack Rate *
• 5/5 Store TP Effect

Note: STP is a must. SAM relies heavily on large amounts of STP to have ideal "x-hit" builds. Other alternatives may seem attractive, but aren't as potentially beneficial. With the currently available gear, Zanshin Attack rate is considered your priority. Alternatively, could put some points into meditate recast.

Group II	Effect
Shikikoyo	Share TP above 1000 with a party member. 5 minute recast.
Blade Bash	Delivers an attack that can stun the target and occasionally causes Plague. 3 minute recast.
Ikishoten	Adds 30 base TP (before Store TP) to Zanshin per merit level.
Overwhelm	Gives +5% Weapon Skill Damage for the first three merit levels, and +2% for the subsequent merit levels.

The group II merits are recommended to be:

• 5/5 Overwhelm
• 5/5 Ikishoten*

Note: Overwhelm is a must. That said, Ikishoten can allow some leeway for Shikikoyo and Blade Bash. Shikikoyo's effect can be useful for pre-fight prep for your fellow DD, Blade Bash can potentially inflict plague and/or stun. It's not a bad idea to have one point on each, but not necessary. Up to you.

Support Jobs

Based on your play style and/or the Content you're participating in, along with what REMA you're using, Support Jobs may vary:

• Dragoon is the endgame subjob ever since they added the WS Damage Boost trait starting at lv.45 for that job, being a free +7% WSD for SAM. The jump abilities are also excellent hate management in a tight spot as well as extra dmg/tp. Smite and Conserve TP are also nice.

• Warrior is usually the go-to option for DPS otherwise, due to abilities such as Berserk and Warcry, as well as the extra Double Attack traits.

• Dark Knight is an alternative option, but doesn't see much use due to readily-available buffs from support party members hitting capped attack scenarios.

• Ninja is your ideal alternative for survivability if you have to depend on shadows. Suffice to say, if you're using Hasso/Seigan, make sure to have a decent Fast Cast/Utsusemi set.

• Rune Fencer is your ideal alternative for survivability if you have to depend on mitigating elemental damage and shadows aren't an option.

Weapons

Samurai, generally, will exclusively use Great Katana, and occasionally, Polearm. In terms of options, players will generally seek out Ultimate Weapons (or as they're more commonly known, REMA). This is a list of potential options.

Great Katanas

Amanomurakumo (Level 119 III):

• This is the Samurai Relic Weapon.
• This weapon grants the user the weaponskill Tachi: Kaiten and gives 40% increase in damage when used (at 119-III).
• Hidden Effect: Does 2.5x Damage on the first swing of an attack round 16% of the time (will not proc on multi-attack hits).
• High accuracy can make this situationally useful.
• Aftermath grants Store TP+10 and Zanshin+10 for its duration.
• Afterglow gives an Accuracy/Ranged Accuracy boost (+15) to party members.
• Additional Effect: Attack Down has a 10% chance to proc on melee hits and can overwrite itself.

Kogarasumaru (Level 119 III) :

• This is the Samurai Mythic Weapon.
• This weapon grants the user the weaponskill Tachi: Rana and gives 30% increase in damage when used (at 119-III).
• Aftermath grants a different effect based on amount of TP. Level 1 grants accuracy for 1.5 minutes, level 2 grants attack for 2 minutes, and level 3 grants Occ. Attacks Twice (40%) or Thrice (20%) for 3 minutes.
• Afterglow gives an Attack/Ranged Attack boost (+15).
• "Enhances Third Eye effect V" provides the following:

1. Increases anticipation rate about 15%.
2. Increases the rate of counters by 25%.

Masamune (Level 119 III):

• This is the Samurai Empyrean Weapon.
• This weapon grants the user the weaponskill Tachi: Fudo.
• Aftermath grants varying degrees of triple damage rate, for different durations, depending on amount of TP. Level 1 grants 30% rate for 60 seconds, level 2 grants 40% rate for 120 seconds and level 3 grants 50% rate for 180 seconds.
• Afterglow grants a Critical Hit Rate boost (+5%).

Dojikiri Yasutsuna:

• This is the Samurai Aeonic Weapon.
• Allows the user to perform an Ultimate Skillchain.
• This weapon grants the user the Merit Point weaponskill Tachi: Shoha at full "Rank 5" strength with no merit points invested.
• Aftermath grants Skillchain and Magic Burst potency increase, and varies by the amount of TP the user has. More details at Aeonic Aftermath page.

In summary:

• In terms of REMA, the preferred alternatives are Masamune and Dojikiri. These two weapons edge each other out in terms of DPS depending on the activity and battle conditions.
• Amano and Koga aren't recommended as often as a result, for particular reasons:
  • Amano provides good accuracy, and is useful for situations where you need that extra push. The damage is solid, and Kaiten is a good weaponskill. The aftermath isn't awful, but it's not great, especially in an era where so much STP gear exists. As such, it is at best considered "adequate".
  • Koga used to be considered the best of its kind, but due to the flourishing of multi-attack gear (QA, TA, DA), the aftermath effect that made it stand out is now far less noticeable. The Third Eye effect isn't particularly amazing (it's nice to have, but that's it). Rana is an OK weaponskill - but is heavily outdone by Fudo.
• With the advent of REMA augments, Masamune beats Dojikiri in raw damage - Fudo is your main WS, and the boosts provided by the augment can't be ignored.

note: these are opinions - require community input for verification

What about other GKs?

While REMA is arguably "the ideal", there are various weapons leading up to these that will assist you in the process of gearing up Samurai.

Sensui:

• Possible reward from Brittlis, an Escha - Zi'Tah T2 NM.
• A good starter GK for those entering into Escha for the first time.
• Augment with Path A, for accuracy and Store TP.

Anahera Blade:

• Possible reward from clearing the Ark Angel GK II High Tier Battlefield.
• Honestly, it's not exactly worth spending merits to obtain this weapon for practical purposes. The other options are both cheaper and better.
• It's pretty though, I'll give you that...

Kurikaranotachi:

• JSE Weapon obtained from Oboro.
• Can be further augmented to provide Accuracy +70, Weaponskill Damage +5%, Double Attack +5%.
• At best, this weapon functions as a stepping stone for better alternatives -- however, the cost involved for obtaining/augmenting is rather high and generally not worth the effort.

Himetsuruichimonji:

• Potential drop from Sinister Reign.
• Augments with STR+10 Acc./Atk.+10 Quadruple Attack +3.
• If you get it, it's OK. Due to the randomized nature of SR, you might have one laying around without even trying for it.
• Despite all the augments, it still performs incredibly below other options (such as Ichigo/Umaru), so it might not be worth your time pursuing this GK.¹

Norifusa / +1:

• Possible Coffer Reward from Unity NM Volatile Cluster.
• Otherwise referred to as "Soboro 119", this weapon effectively fills the same role as its predecessor.
• This is a situational GK, you will not be maining this unless you're doing sub-objectives on Omen, or need a low dmg, high atk rate GK.

Ichigohitofuri:

• Possible weapon drop from Kammavaca, an Escha - Ru'Aun T2 NM.
• This weapon will be your endgame GK, possibly outdone by a well-augmented Umaru.²
• You'll augment via Path A for pure damage (if accuracy isn't a concern), or Path B/C depending on your accuracy needs (B would be better, as 5 accuracy can be made up for elsewhere and 20STR will be a bigger benefit than 20 attack).

Deacon Blade:

• Possible weapon drop from Ark Angel GK, an Escha - Ru'Aun AA NM.
• While nice on paper, this GK isn't worth working to obtain over other options -- to specify, AAGK isn't the easiest target to kill and as such this shouldn't be considered a priority unless you just happen to have one.
  • Due to its unconventional 494 Delay (as opposed to most other options being 450), the builds differ ever so slightly. The potential damage is still relatively similar to Umaru/Ichigo.
• It's still pretty.

Umaru:

• Weapon drop from Sarsaok, a Reisenjima T2 NM.
• Augmented via Oseem, via use of various stones.
• Ideally, your upgrades would reflect DMG+20 or higher, STR+10 or higher, Acc/Atk.+20 or higher, and the special ability could vary.
  • Of these special abilities, beneficial ones could be Double Attack, Weaponskill Damage, or Store TP.
• Arguably, a well-augmented Umaru is your best non-REMA weapon (marginally edging out Ichigo). However, the cost involved for those random augments might not be worth the investment. Take this into consideration.

Note: Don't sweat it if you don't get "perfect" augments - you can always keep trying later on. These are just guidelines.

Hachimonji:

• Final upgrade in the ambuscade weapon GK line.
• Comparable, if not better than Ichigo/Umaru due to the high base stats provided.
  • That said, lack of store TP and Zanshin bonus may affect your tp gain by a variable margin, so you'll want to take this into consideration when gearing.
• Tachi: Kasha bonus lends this weapon to more potent light skillchain combinations.
• Provides an amount of multi-attack dependent on total +Store TP, where +1sTP = 1% Double Attack up to 100, 101~200 adds +1% Triple Attack and 201+ adds Quadruple Attack.
  • As an example, a Samurai with +137sTP would have 100% DA and 37% TA.
• A multi-hit swing will fix your TP/Hit to 127, so two hits will be 254, so on. Refer to item page for details.
  • This means that your outgoing dmg is potentially greater because of increased number of swings, but you'll also feed the enemy TP in the same way. Exercise caution.

Polearms

SE decided polearms are back in business.
Ambuscade weapons shook the meta a fair bit, making them more viable for content with appropriate gear.
With the release of Odyssey, multiple damage types are crucial. As such, these are your options.

Shining One:

• Final result of the ambuscade weapon upgrades for polearms.
• Does comparable damage to high-end weapons with a proper weapon skill set utilizing Impulse Drive.
• High crit rate bonus mechanic; WS over 2000 TP averages at least a crit WS every other attempt.
• Best available polearm at this time.

Kaja Lance:

• Penultimate step of the ambuscade weapon upgrade line for polearms.
• Lacks the crit modifier provided by Shining One, but still includes the damage boost to Impulse Drive.
  • While you won't see the massive damage spikes granted by the crit rate buff of Shining One, it's still fairly respectable damage.

Raetic Halberd / +1:

• Crafted.
• Requires Su3, which means you won't be allowed to equip it until you obtain a minimum amount of Job Points (500, in this case).
• Ideal use in scenarios where the fight is a short zerg and you can maintain the MP mechanic throughout. +1 shines thanks to the benefit of the added Store TP.

Exalted Spear / +1:

• Crafted.
• Requires Su2, which means you won't be allowed to equip it until you obtain a minimum about of Job Points (100, in this case).
• Your only other "real" alternative, this spear doesn't have nearly the same power as the above, but grants you access to Wheeling Thrust (for SC purposes, at best) and provides a fair amount of accuracy and weapon skill accuracy.

There are, perhaps, other options... but realistically, they don't matter (Quint Spear, I miss you).

Job-Specific Armor

Samurai's Artifact, Relic and Empyrean armors are particularly key towards different facets of your abilities. These pieces serve different purposes and some of them are—at most—macro pieces.
Priorities and reasoning will be included with each piece.

Artifact Armor Wakido Armor Set +3
Worth making?	Description Image	Priority + Reasoning
Optional		Fourth. Head +3 provides an extra one~two ticks worth of meditate that the previous iterations did not, but that's the largest use-case for this item. The only other use you'll see for this is in situations where you need the bonus from wielding multiple pieces of AF for the accuracy (aka, a "Max Acc" build). I don't believe it's worth investing cards for the +2 version until you can skip to +3 due to no difference in meditation (despite the misleading numbering), and the higher priority pieces have a much larger role to play for you as a Samurai. It's also an OK idle piece if you want regain in between fights.
Yes		Third. Despite similar alternatives like Chozor. Coselete providing equal DT reduction, the pieces lack the high accuracy and store TP that make this viable for DT hybrid and high accuracy setups. When opting for physical damage reduction, these are your best bet in overall utility.
Yes		First. A fundamental part of samurai's TP phase is the benefit granted from Hasso. These kotes are critical to SAM thanks to their additional haste, and most builds gear around "faking" the missing gear Haste with the boost provided by them. These are not optional.
Yes		Second. In terms of weaponskill pieces, nothing currently outperforms AF+3 legs, short of an insane DM augment on valorous legs (don't bet your life on it). Previous to this, you can obtain valorous legs with the standard STR+10(15) WSD+5%(4%) for your second best alternative, followed by the Hiza. Hizayoroi +2. The Wakido +2 legs don't outperform either of the aforementioned options.
No		Fifth. While the feet offer a Hasso boost, similar to the hands, the Flam. Gambieras +2 are just far too good and easily obtained to justify making this for any situation that demands accuracy. In situations where accuracy isn't a concern, you'd likely be using Ryuo Sune-Ate +1 anyway.

Relic Armor Sakonji Armor Set +3
Worth making?	Description Image	Priority + Reasoning
Optional		Fourth. Honestly speaking, its main (and probably only) use is as a ranged attack piece. Serious ranged Samurais are few and far in between for a myriad reasons, so it'd only be recommended to those seeking to pursue that venue. The Ikishoten augment provides 1% critical hit rate per merit, for a max of +5%, but you won't be TPing with this item regardless.
Yes		First. Hands down, your best weaponskill body piece. Valorous Mail with perfect augments comes second. The overwhelm augment bonus also provides you with a +10TP return (per merit, for a max of +50TP) for every Overwhelm-boosted WS.
Yes		Second. Meditate duration macro piece. Good PDT alternative, if necessary. Blade bash augment extends plague duration by 20% per merit. Not really noticeable.
Optional		Third. Seigan counter piece. It's honestly niche, as seigan tanking isn't perfect and you can't 100% rely on counters alone, but for those looking to have defensive options while they have to occasionally tank something rough, this is a good piece. MDT is easily capped outside of this piece, so I won't really focus on that aspect. The Shikikoyo effect is mediocre at best, providing you a 10% return on TP gifted to the target. Refer to the item page for an example.
No		Fifth. The feet are incredibly subpar. The augment only works while the feet are equipped, and the trade-offs aren't worthwhile.

TP Sets

These sets are by no means set in stone. +1's (or +2's in ambuscade equipment's case) are not a hard requirement in any of these—but as always, they're welcome advantages. The "gearing up" process establishes a baseline set with low accuracy requirements but sufficient Store TP to maintain an x-hit build—however—these sets are built around a typical party composition (bard, geo), but excluding SAM roll for any extra cushion in regards to TP. TP overflow is a good thing anyway.

• Note: These sets are geared towards zerging purposes. You are not meeting any particular accuracy checks beyond what the party buffs are providing you.

Set descriptions
Starter	Assumes access to delve, ambuscade and at least reforge +1, but not escha abjuration gear onwards.
Mid	Assumes clearing most of Escha except for the "tougher" targets (Reisen T3, Gods/Kouryu, WoC, etc) as well as access to omen midboss gear, reforge +2 and Vagary wins.
Max	High tier means you have access to pretty much everything.
Sortie	Access to +3 Empyrean and +2 Earrings.

Starter	Mid Tier	Max Tier
Ichigo Path B; Cibit Path C; Cape STR+20 (or DEX for extra acc), Acc+30/Atk+20, sTP+10 Alternative grip options: Duplus Grip, Bloodrain Strap, Dilettante's Grip +1 Alternative Earrings: Cessance Earring, Brutal Earring	Hiza. Hizayoroi +2 and Flam. Gambieras +2 are both good alternatives for their respective slots. In certain cases, well-augmented valorous legs/feet with DA/sTP could potentially serve as stand-ins.	Sam. Nodowa +2 > +1 > Moonlight Nodowa > Samurai's Nodowa assuming augments. At this point, you'd be upgrading your Ichigo to Doji or Masa. Cape changes from sTP→DA+10.

Sortie

• Moonlight Nodowa This allows you to reach 102 Zanshin as Master.
• Cape stays DA+10.
• Ryuo Sune-Ate +1 need 5 STP augment.
• If you do not have Kasuga Earring +2 you MUST make up the STP loss elsewhere via Chirich Ring +1, Dedition Earring, etc.
• Tatena. Gote +1 assume no Unity bonus.
• This set is exclusively built around Masamune's 137 delay and TP return of 123.82
• A +8 Samurai Roll will grant a 3 hit.

Gearing for Accuracy

The sets listed above, as mentioned earlier, are intended to be for scenarios where you don't require accuracy outside of what your buffs and food give you. For the things that do need more accuracy, then these tiered sets start filling in.

It's important to note that the accuracy listed on these sets is prior to any buffs (e.g. Hasso, cheers, food, etc). To determine the appropriate level of accuracy you need to jump to, it's important you understand what buffs you'll be receiving relative to your party composition and the estimated required accuracy of your target.

Low Accuracy     ~1160 Accuracy	Mid Accuracy     ~1176 Accuracy	High Accuracy     ~1264 Accuracy
Sam. Nodowa +2 > +1 > Moonlight Nodowa > Samurai's Nodowa assuming augments. Assumes Samurai Roll is active. DEX+20, Acc.+30/Atk.+20, DA+10 on Smertrios's. Ryuo Path C.	Sam. Nodowa +2 > +1 > Moonlight Nodowa > Samurai's Nodowa assuming augments. Assumes Samurai Roll is active. DEX+20, Acc.+30/Atk.+20, DA+10 on Smertrios's. Following swaps will provide an intermediary between "Mid" and "High": Replacing Brutal Earring for Telos Earring will provide 10 accuracy. Replacing feet for Flam. Gambieras +2 will provide ~59 accuracy.	Sam. Nodowa +2 > +1 > Moonlight Nodowa > Samurai's Nodowa assuming augments. Assumes Samurai Roll is active. DEX+20, Acc.+30/Atk.+20, DA+10 on Smertrios's.

For more info, verify the accuracy cheat sheet further down this guide.

Survival Sets

In short, the sets for when you don't want to die to a single TP move or magic spell, or avoid annoying status ailments.

MEva	Hybrid DD/DT
Go crazy with magic evasion! Ken gear provides the most meva SAM can equip. Kendatsuba gear is su3, so please keep in mind you'll need at least 500JP to equip this gear. Ring/Earring options may vary with accuracy needs, so feel free to adjust as necessary. Set serves as a decent mid-acc set, if the zerg alternative listed above (max tier) is too low.	Ideal hybrid set, raising your meva/resistances while also maintaining high DT. Excellent in situations where magic damage is prevalent (omen bosses, e.g.) Also provides good sTP and accuracy, so this won't significantly lower your DPS while ensuring survivability.

WS Sets

Most weaponskills for Samurai share the same set as you would gear for Fudo or Shoha. The WS sets for the "gearing up" stage can apply to all WS. I'll separate the "max" level into a "shoha" and a "fudo" set for those looking to get that top deeps.
For clarification, Nyame isn't included in any of these sets. You're limited to 1 set of armor, and the path you choose drastically alters your use-case for them. Where you want to make those changes is, first and foremost, YOUR decision. Gauge if it's worth replacing any gear vs. how accessible augmenting the gear is.

Set descriptions
Starter	Assumes access to delve, ambuscade and at least reforge +1, but not escha abjuration gear onwards.
Mid	Assumes clearing most of Escha except for the "tougher" targets (Reisen T3, Gods/Kouryu, WoC, etc) as well as access to omen midboss gear, reforge +2 and Vagary wins.
Max	High tier means you have access to pretty much everything.

Starter	Mid Tier	High Tier Fudo/Impulse
	Wakido Haidate +2 is good, but performs under Hizamaru. Alternate rings: Ifrit Ring→Apate, recommended if sTP isn't an issue.	Mpaca's Cap has a TP bonus that's hard to ignore, combined with higher base accuracy. While you won't net WSD from augments unlike valorous—also translating to slightly lower STR from perfect augs—the extra stats are worth the utility. Sakonji Domaru +2 outperforms almost every combination of Valorous Mail except maybe perfect augments. Due to the restrictions to obtain reforged relic, Valorous is still a great option over Ryuo. In the case of Shining One + Impulse, Ryuo Tekko +1 Path A would benefit more. Priority order for neck with augments: Sam. Nodowa +2 > +1 > NQ > Fotia Gorget The crafted necks are better under the condition you've begun the augmenting process. By themselves, they aren't WS pieces. Priority order for this set, assuming you don't own either: Karieyh Ring > Regal Ring > Niqmaddu Ring When TP overflow will exceed 3k, Lugra Earring +1 replaces Moonshade.

Now, it's important to understand that the sets listed above are a functional set for your primary physical weaponskills - e.g. Fudo, Kasha, Gekko, Yukikaze.
As for your other options, we have the following:

Shoha (fudo variant)	Hybrid WS	Ageha
Same neck priorities apply from the previous set. We're using Flamma Ring over Regal for the set bonus. If accuracy is a concern, you can keep regal in. Flamma pieces combine a decent amount of MA and mods, and work better for shoha. Flamma head is optional. Use Mpaca head for TP bonus. Alternate earrings: Thrud Earring > Brutal Earring.	Alternate rings: Karieyh Ring / +1, Flamma Ring. You're mixing WSD, MAB, STR, INT. Founder's pieces are aiming to be max aug. See Sinister Reign. Damage calculation linked here.	Stack accuracy to land the hit, m. acc to land the effect. The effect is highly accurate as-is, but our goal is to ensure defense down lands. Nyame probably accomplishes the same and will probably be your end-goal in other sets, depending on the path chosen.

Skillchains

No SAM is complete without some Skillchain Knowledge.
SCing is important due to all the extra damage it provides, much more than your weapon skill itself will do. Multistepping, or creating multiple skillchains off of previous skillchains increases the damage of a skillchain more and more each step. The window to create another step becomes shorter and shorter after each. Initially the window for a skillchain starts at 10 seconds between WSs to count. Each step reduces that time down by about 2 seconds until reaching 3 seconds.
Overall thanks to massive amount of Store TP and various ways to gain it, it is easy to multistep by yourself.

All primary WS properties are used first to create a SC, and if no SC is created then secondary properties are used.

• So if s WS has a secondary property you wish to use. It won't work unless the primary property is not utilized to make a SC first.

Level 1 → 2:

• Liquefaction → Impaction = Fusion
• Induration → Reverberation = Fragmentation
• Detonation → Compression = Gravitation
• Transfixion → Scission = Distortion

Level 2 → 3:

• Gravitation → Fragmentation = Fragmentation
• Distortion → Fusion = Fusion
• Fusion → Gravitation = Gravitation
• Fragmentation → Distortion = Distortion
• Fusion ↔ Fragmentation = Light
• Gravitation ↔ Distortion = Dark

Level 3:

• Light ↔ Light = Light
• Dark ↔ Dark = Dark

Empyrean and Relic WSs are the only WSs with a level 3 (light or dark) property. These may be used to create light and dark with themselves.

• Under Aeonic Aftermath all merit WSs gain a light or dark property too allowing for level 3s while it is active.

You may make a double light or dark SC, but this must be done with a level 2 → 3 resulting in light or dark and then a relic or empyrean level 3 WS following it to create the second light or dark.

• Level 3 skillchains can not make double light or darkness off of themselves.

Suggested Skillchains

Note: denotates the need of Dojikiri Yasutsuna to continue the SC.

• Light Skillchains
  • Tachi: Shoha → Tachi: Shoha = Light
  • Tachi: Shoha → Tachi: Kasha (Light) → Tachi: Fudo = Light
    • If using , ends in Radiance.
  • Tachi: Fudo → Tachi: Kasha (Fusion) → Tachi: Shoha (Light) → Tachi: Fudo = Light
    • If using , ends in Radiance.
  • Tachi: Shoha → Tachi: Fudo (Distortion) → Tachi: Kasha (Fusion) → Tachi: Shoha (Light) → Tachi: Fudo = Light
    • If using , ends in Radiance.
  • Tachi: Ageha → Tachi: Yukikaze (Detonation) → Tachi: Kasha (Gravitation) → Tachi: Shoha (Fragmentation) → Tachi: Kasha (Light) → Tachi: Fudo = Light
    • If using , ends in Radiance.

• Darkness Skillchains
  • Tachi: Rana ←/→ Tachi: Fudo = Darkness
  • Tachi: Shoha → Tachi: Fudo (Distortion) → Tachi: Rana = Darkness
  • Tachi: Kasha → Tachi: Rana (Gravitation) → Tachi: Fudo = Darkness
  • Tachi: Rana → Tachi: Shoha (Fragmentation) → Tachi: Fudo (Distortion) → Tachi: Rana = Darkness
  • Tachi: Ageha → Tachi: Yukikaze (Detonation) → Tachi: Kasha (Gravitation) → Tachi: Fudo = Darkness

Resources

Accuracy Cheat Sheet
Item / Ability	Accuracy Granted
Hasso	10 Accuracy
Honor March	42 Accuracy; each +March adds 4 Accuracy for a max. of 58.
Sword Madrigal	45 Accuracy; each +Madrigal adds 4 Accuracy for a max. of 85. (there's some weird rounding halfway through, ergo the extra 1 acc).
Blade Madrigal	60 Accuracy; each +Madrigal adds 6 Accuracy for a max. of 114.
Hunter's Roll	5 Accuracy at unlucky; 50 Accuracy at 11 "Phantom Roll"+ = +5 Accuracy each Job modifier = +15 Accuracy ⇊ Crooked bonus = +20% ⇊ Crooked Regal 11 w/ job bonus = 120 Accuracy total ↳without Job Bonus = 102 Accuracy total Crooked Rostam 11 w/ Job Bonus = 126 Accuracy Total ↳without Job Bonus = 108
(Indi- or Geo-)Precision	900 skill cast = +50 Accuracy Dunna/Nepote Bell = +25 Accuracy JSE Neck +1 = +30 Accuracy JSE Neck +2 = +35 accuracy Idris = +50 Accuracy *Note: "Geomancy" effects don't stack. Highest takes prio.
Sublime Sushi	10% of total accuracy, capping at 100 acc + 7 DEX (approx. +5 Acc.)