Dragoon Guide By Kaius

Introduction

Dragoon is a heavy-ish DD job capable of producing some of the highest damage output in the game in some situations. The job has a fast-paced playstyle due to the arsenal of low cooldown job abilities it comes equipped with. As a Dragoon you also have a best friend / pet wyvern to accompany you throughout Vana'diel. Your wyvern is what drives your damage output by providing you with 20% attack, 20% defense, 10% Job Ability Haste, 10% Weapon Skill Damage, and 15% Double Attack. It is essential that you understand your Wyvern (Dragoon Pet) in order to maintain those benefits and be successful as a Dragoon. For the equipment portion of this guide I will focus on end-game ready options. For Odyssey gear this means I will show Rank 25 options in the sets. It's obviously safe to assume R30 is even better, and usually R20 is almost as good (although there are a few places where R20 is noticeably worse than R25 - such as Gleti's Breeches). Furthermore, I will try to explain what you're looking for in a set and provide some alternatives so that you can have the confidence to mix-and-match as needed, or even experiment on your own.

Support Jobs

There are four main jobs which can all be a viable support job selection for a Dragoon, depending upon the engagement.

Samurai

• Hasso - Capped equipment haste (25%), capped magic haste (43.75%), and 10% job ability haste from the wyvern puts you at 78.75% haste. Hasso provides an additional 10% job ability haste, pushing us over the 80% total cap. That last 1.25% may seem insignificant but it ends up being a big deal because of the nature of haste - "As delay goes 0, dps goes to infinity". Additionally, there may be times where you want to use a gear set with less than 25% haste - Hasso will allow you the flexibility to due so by making up the difference with extra job ability haste.
• Store TP - Grants Store TP III which yields +20 STP
• Zanshin - Grants Zanshin III which provides 35% chance to attack again immediately after missing a target.
• Sekkanoki - Limits TP cost of next weapon skill to 1000.
• Warding Circle - Makes you and your party do 5% more damage to, and take 5% less damage from demons.

The primary benefit of /SAM is an increased rate of TP generation via the additional haste received from Hasso, and the additional 20 Store TP. Faster TP leads to more frequent weapon skills and more damage. Importantly, Hasso can be maintained with 100% uptime. This makes it ideal for situations where your damage output needs are constant over a long period - such as Odyssey C where you are basically constantly engaged for 30 minutes.

Dark Knight

• Last Resort - A 3 minute duration, 5 minute cooldown buff that gives 25% attack and 15% job ability haste buffs - at the cost of a 25% defense down penalty on yourself.
• Weapon Bash - On demand stun
• Souleater - Some additional auto-attack damage at the cost of self-inflicted damage.
• Arcane Circle - Makes you and your party do 5% more damage to, and take 5% less damage from arcana.

The primary benefit of /DRK is Last Resort which also closes the final 1.25% haste gap, while also providing a huge attack boost. However, it is important to note that Last Resort will not have 100% uptime, and you do not have the additional store tp provided by /SAM. The nature of Last Resort lends itself to situations where you may engage a target in combat for 1-3 minutes and then have a long period without combat before engaging in another battle. (read: Sortie bosses). In this case, Last Resort is always up when you need it and it's cooling down while you run between fights.

Warrior

• Fencer - +200-300 TP bonus makes Savage Blade (and Judgment) shine.
• Double Attack - Grants Double Attack II which yields +10% double attack.
• Berserk - 25% increased attack with 60% uptime.
• Aggressor - A boost of 25 accuracy, also with 60% uptime. Hopefully not needed, but nice when it is.
• Warcry - A percentage based attack boost for the whole party with 30 second duration. Always welcome buff.
• Provoke - A little enmity utility for emergencies.

The War support job's most important contribution is Fencer. (Fencer I until master level 45, then Fencer II). Fencer provides either +200 or +300 TP bonus and either +3% or +5% crit when single wielding. For better or worse, a Dragoon wielding a Naegling is a force to be reckoned with, and Fencer amplifies this effect. The additional attack provided by Berserk and Warcry are always welcome as well. When properly geared and executed /WAR is exceptionally powerful in Odyssey C as TP can be generated very quickly via jumps, and a single Savage Blade from a DRG/WAR will kill a fodder mob on any floor. Even outside of Odyssey there are certain fights where a Savage Blade only strategy is called for, and DRG/WAR will be very powerful in those situations.

Dancer

• Dual Wield II - The main attraction here - access to an offhand weapon for Dragoon - typically only used if you have access to a Kraken Club.
• Box Step - Can add a little bit of defense down if no one else is there to apply the same class of debuff for you. More likely you will be killing too quick to need it (eg seg run), or someone else will be applying defense down.
• Curing Waltz III - Some very solid utility. At the rate you generate tp as /DNC with a Kraken Club you can easily afford to use some TP for emergency curing.
• Healing Waltz - Always handy to be able to erase yourself when the healer is occupied, there isn't a healer, and/or you want to save yourself 20,000 gil using a panacea.
• Chocobo Jig - Who doesn't love running a little faster?
• Subtle Blow II - Nice little bonus when you are smacking things with your Kraken Club

The Dancer support job is used primarily by owners of the infamous Kraken Club with the goal of firing off Savage Blade as rapidly as possible. You may wonder about the /NIN option, especially if you have experience with other jobs where /NIN is commonly used for Dual Wield. For those other jobs, one of the main benefits of /NIN is access to Dual Wield III compared to /DNC's Dual Wield II. Jobs like Red Mage and Bard need the extra 10% delay reduction from /NIN to get to a place where they need only 11% Dual Wield on gear to achieve the delay reduction cap of 80%. Dragoon, however, comes with 10% Job Ability haste by virtue of it's Wyvern (Dragoon Pet) which more than makes up for the difference in Dual Wield. Here are two full calculations showing how Dragoon achieves the 80% delay reduction limit with /DNC, assuming maximum magic haste, and gear haste of of 25% or 23%.

• 25% Gear Haste => (1 - 0.15 Dual Wield) × (1024 - 256 Equipment Haste - 448 Magic Haste - 101 Job Ability Haste) ÷ 1024 = 0.1817 (18.2% Delay remaining / 81.8% Delay reduction)
• 23% Gear Haste => (1 - 0.15 Dual Wield) × (1024 - 235 Equipment Haste - 448 Magic Haste - 101 Job Ability Haste) ÷ 1024 = 0.1992 (19.9% Delay remaining / 80.1% Delay reduction)

Accordingly, you only need 23% gear haste and ZERO +Dual Wield on gear to achieve maximum attack speed. In fact, adding dual wield would actually lower your TP gained per swing. For the same reason, /NIN will actually reduce your TP rate compared to /DNC, and should only be used if for some reason you have a critical need to be a dual wielding Dragoon with Utsusemi: Ni.

Merits

Group 1 Name Description Level Notes Ancient Circle Recast Shorten recast time by 10 seconds. 0 It's already 3 minute CD on a 5 min recast. If there was a fight that where you needed high uptime over a long duration you could swap to this, but it's not useful for general purpose. Jump Recast Shorten recast time by 2 seconds. 2 More jumps, more tp! High Jump Recast Shorten recast time by 4 seconds. 3 More jumps, more tp! Super Jump Recast Shorten recast time by 6 seconds. 0 Does no damage and gives no tp -- so Super Jump is simply a hate reset tool. It should be up often enough already, especially on fights that matter where you will likely be getting Random Deal as well. Spirit Link Recast Shorten recast time by 3 seconds. 5 Instant, on-demand TP is great, and it comes with a host of other benefits for your wyvern.

Group 2 Name Description Level Notes Deep Breathing Enhances effect of next wyvern breath. Recast: 5min. Enhance effect by an additional 10%. 0 Healing breath is as potent as it needs to be without this merit, and any other breath is just some incidental damage. Not useful. Angon Expends an angon to lower an enemy's defense. Recast: 3min. Increase defense down duration by 15 seconds. 5 Angon is very useful in certain situations, and it's great to have it when you need it. There aren't many quality group 2 options so this will have to do. Empathy Copies beneficial status effects to wyvern when using Spirit Link. Increase number of copied effects by 1 and experience points obtained by 200. 5 The most important merit a DRG has. Do not skip this one. This is what let's you gain all of the essential benefits from your Wyvern buff instantly upon zoning rather than waiting to earn 1000 experience points. The job is basically unusable in some places (eg Odyssey NMs) without this. Strafe Increases accuracy of wyvern breath. Increase accuracy by 5. 0 Breath damage is, for the most part, insignificant. Avoid.

Weapons

Gungnir (Level 119 III) Opens up access to Geirskogul, DRG's only weapon skill with the (Distortion) property. May find niche uses, but will most likely want to prioritize other REMAP options.

Rhongomiant (Level 119 III) A strong option for low-buff situations when you can really take advantage of Camlann's Torment defense ignoring properties.

Ryunohige (Level 119 III) Considered to be a high quality option (at or better than Trishula) when sufficiently geared and spamming Drakesbane in a fully buffed zerg situation.

Trishula The bread-and-butter option. Relatively easy to obtain with very high damage potential. Works well either in a party/raid zerg situation or solo self-skillchaining.

Gae Buide (Level 119 III) The top tier option, but it comes with a very large barrier to entry. If this is your chosen Prime and you do do enough Sortie to support the grind to stage 4 and beyond, then you will be rewarded with an incredible polearm.

Shining One Even easier to obtain than Trishula and can be very competitive with the REMAP options. Damage from Impulse Drive scales well with WSD and crit.

Aram If you find yourself needing a full subtle blow kit on Dragoon then Path B will be the way to go. It simply won't compete with the other polearms on damage, however.

Naegling Love it or hate it, it's likely here to stay. Dragoon's tp generation and weapon skill damage potential are a lethal combination with a Naegling equipped. Really shines in segment runs where your main goal is kill each target in a single weapon skill. Dragoon does only come with a C- Sword rating so accuracy may be a concern, especially at low to medium master levels. Also always useful for those fights where everyone is using Savage Blade in order to avoid skillchaining.

Mafic Cudgel The only club option. Use it to slap skeletons in Odyssey C.

Job-Specific Armor

Note: The augments on Relic pieces, and some special attributes (eg Ancient Circle +1) are available at the base 119 version of the item. If the piece is only used for this purpose, then you do not need to fully upgrade the item to +3 to gain those effects. The recommendations in "Upgrade?" box refer to my personal opinion on whether the item should go all the way to +3.

Job Specific Equipment
Item	Upgrade?	Notes
Vishap Armet +3	Maybe	Could be a macro-piece for Spirit Link but at +3 we are only talking about an additional 16 hp restored.
Vishap Mail +3	Yes	Used for all jumps as it provides +39 TP per jump at +3.
Vis. Fng. Gaunt. +3	Yes	Used for all jumps as it provides +34 TP per jump at +3.
Vishap Brais +3	Maybe	Used for Ancient Circle and Steady Wing. Very minimal upgrades past +1 (more wyvern hp translates into larger Steady Wing shields)
Vishap Greaves +3	No	No known use
Ptero. Armet +3 Enhances Deep Breathing effect by 10% per merit level.	Maybe	Increases the efficacy of Healing Breath, which is always nice in a pinch.
Ptero. Mail +3 Enhances 'Spirit Surge' effect	Maybe	A very interesting item. Augment adds 20 seconds to Spirit Surge which is nice. Perhaps more importantly, it should also be used whenever Call Wyvern is used, and also whenever entering a new zone with your pet in order to grant support job capabilities to the wyvern.
Ptero. Fin. G. +3 Enhances 'Angon' effect	Maybe	Increases Angon efficacy for enhanced defense down. 10% WSD maybe useful if lacking access to sufficiently ranked Nyame and/or Gleti hands.
Ptero. Brais +3 Enhances 'Strafe' effect	Yes	10 Store TP coupled with Wyvern PDT makes this still a top tier TP piece.
Ptero. Greaves +3 Enhances 'Empathy' effect	Maybe	Used with Spirit Link to improve the duration of buffs transferred to the wyvern. Additionally, grants a large bonus to wyvern HP, making it useful for Steady Wing.
Peltast's Mezail +3	Yes	12% WSD, 27 Polearm skill and all the stats that come with empyrean +3. Default head slot for most weapon skill sets.
Pelt. Plackart +3	Yes	A whopping 14 Store TP, 10 PDL, and top tier stats. Amazing TP piece.
Pel. Vambraces +3	Yes	7% double attack paired with 11% DT and all the glory of empyrean +3. Sign me up.
Pelt. Cuissots +3	Yes	13% Critical hit damage is impressive whenever you are using Drakesbane or wielding a Shining One
Pelt. Schyn. +3	Maybe	Nice DT, and empy stats, but a bit lacking in oomph. Useful for Spirit Jump TP bonus.

Engaged Sets

The goal of any engaged or "TP" set on Dragoon is to generate TP as quickly as possible (while not dying - and not letting your wyvern die!) in order to reach 1000 TP and be able to perform a weapon skill. The most important thing you can do as a damage dealer is stay alive - and so having the proper amount of defensive stats in your engaged set is paramount. Besides staying alive, the next two most important aspects to any engaged set are accuracy and haste. Much like your defensive needs, your accuracy needs will vary widely depending on exactly what you are fighting. In my opinion most (if not all) accuracy issues should try to remedied by 1. Higher master levels 2. Using the appropriate buffs and/or debuffs (BRD/GEO/COR/RDM) 3. Food. Note that any additional accuracy beyond the amount needed to reach the 95% cap is wasted.

Haste is the other critical component of a TP set, and you always want to come as close to the overall delay-reduction cap of 80% as possible, regardless of the encounter. Dragoon is in a unique position when it comes to haste due to the effects granted by the Wyvern (Dragoon Pet) - specifically 10% Job Ability (JA) Haste - and the ability to still obtain additional JA Haste via a support job (either Hasso or Last Resort). Most commonly, you will likely be /SAM, and have Hasso with 100% uptime providing an additional 10% JA haste - this means that you need only 17% gear haste to reach the overall 80% delay reduction with full magic haste. With /DRK and Last Resort giving 15% JA haste, the amount needed on gear falls even lower (but only during Last Resort). With all of that said, the sets provided in this guide (other than /DNC) still prioritize reaching the 25% gear haste cap for the simple reason that support jobs are not available in one of the two main components of end-game content - Odyssey Sheol Gaol.

Once you have achieved the necessary levels of gear haste for your support job and enough accuracy to reach the cap, you can begin looking to maximize your Store TP and Multi-Hit (double/triple/quad attack).

Glass Cannon   Danger! See Notes Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Rank 30 Flam. Zucchetto +2 Pelt. Plackart +3 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Ptero. Brais +3 Flam. Gambieras +2 Vim Torque +1 Accuracy+15, Store TP+10 Sherida Earring Sroda Earring Niqmaddu Ring Moonlight Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: 26% gear haste Only 22% PDT / 5% MDT Telos Earring instead of Sroda Earring if no Wyvern Use at your own risk Standard Kit (/SAM /DRK) Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Rank 30 Hjarrandi Helm Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Pel. Vambraces +3 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Flam. Gambieras +2 Vim Torque +1 Accuracy+15, Store TP+10 Sherida Earring Sroda Earring Niqmaddu Ring Moonlight Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: 23% gear haste - if using /DRK (LR down), or in Odyssey G (no subjob), consider Nyame Helm instead to maintain cap 50% PDT / 31% MDT (50% with Shell V) Telos Earring instead of Sroda Earring if no Wyvern God Save the DRG!   Max DT & MEva Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Rank 30 Nyame Helm Rank 25 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Pel. Vambraces +3 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank25 Sherida Earring Sroda Earring Niqmaddu Ring Moonlight Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Damage taken-5% Notes: Particularly effective with R25+ on Path B Nyame 25% gear haste (technically 30%) 50% DT- (technically 54%) Very high MEva Telos Earring instead of Sroda Earring if no Wyvern Use when you don't want to get cranked; great on Odyssey bosses! Fencer   Naegling/Mafic Naegling Regis Coiste Bodhar Rank 30 Flam. Zucchetto +2 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Pel. Vambraces +3 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Flam. Gambieras +2 Vim Torque +1 Accuracy+15, Store TP+10 Sherida Earring Sroda Earring Niqmaddu Ring Moonlight Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: 27% gear haste Need to maintain gear haste without /SAM Hasso 43% PDT / 16% MDT 45% MDT with Shell V Telos Earring instead of Sroda Earring if no Wyvern Should be enough for seg runs, adjust as needed Clubbing /DNC Naegling Kraken Club Aurgelmir Orb +1 Hjarrandi Helm Pelt. Plackart +3 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Ptero. Brais +3 Pelt. Schyn. +3 Vim Torque +1 Accuracy+15, Store TP+10 Crep. Earring Telos Earring Chirich Ring +1 Chirich Ring +1 Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Store TP+10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: Max store tp and accuracy 22% gear / 43.75% magic / 10% ja haste 15 dual wield Total 84% delay reduction (over 80% cap) 38% PDT / 21% MDT 50% MDT with Shell V Wyvern DT Gleti's Gauntlets Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Dreki Ring Notes: Wyvern: Level +2 Wyvern: Damage Taken -33% If the Dgn. Collar +2 isn't enough, add the Gleti's Gauntlets. If that's still not enough, add the Dreki Ring.

Weapon Skill Sets

Weapon skill sets (except Diarmuid and Leg Sweep) are borrowed from the "All Jobs Damage Simulator and Gear Sets" created by Izanami. These sets are generated by his python simulator and have proven quite reliable and accurate in my experience. It is worth noting that some sets here include the Rigorous Grip +1, however since you can't switch grips when using a weapon skill I would suggest that Utu Grip is the default full time option on meaningful content. The 30 accuracy and 70 hp is likely more valuable than a small weapon skill damage increase, unless you are 100% certain you are accuracy capped. Like all things FFXI, you can and should adapt the situation at hand and the gear at your disposal. (Including fitting in your chosen TVR Ring, and slotting in your Pel. Earring +2 -- if you are so lucky)

Note: Use the 'Expand' link at the bottom of each section for more information about the sets.

Stardiver (Standard) Mid Buff   Rigorous Grip +1 Attack+30, STR+15 Coiste Bodhar Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Pel. Vambraces +3 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Fotia Gorget Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Sherida Earring Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Dbl.Atk.+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Fotia Gorget Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Dbl.Atk.+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: Stardiver is a 4-hit FTP replicating weapon skill Up to an 85% STR modifier with 5/5 merits, or Trishula WSD only affects 1 hit out of the 4+. Accordingly, multi-hit, high attack, and PDL are all valued highly here Diarmuid Mid Buff   Gae Buide (Level 119 III) Utu Grip Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Thrud Earring Regal Ring Epaminondas's Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Gae Buide (Level 119 III) Utu Grip Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Epaminondas's Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: Diarmuid is a 2-hit weapon skill which scales very well with TP FTP values unconfirmed, but fTP at 3k is more than 4x fTP at 1k Values WSD, STR, attack, and PDL when fully buffed Impulse Drive Mid Buff   Shining One Rigorous Grip +1 Attack+30, STR+15 Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Thrud Earring Begrudging Ring Niqmaddu Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Shining One Utu Grip Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: Impulse Drive is a 2-hit weapon skill These sets assume Shining One, which enables all polearm weapon skills to critical hit, and also adds 40% damage bonus to Impulse Drive Critical hit bonus from Shining One: +5% at 1k TP, 10% at 2k TP, and +15% at 3k TP STR, WSD, Attack, Crit %, Crit Damage %, Multi-hit are all valuable here - as well as PDL with high buffs. Camlann's Torment Mid Buff   Rigorous Grip +1 Attack+30, STR+15 Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Thrud Earring Regal Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Rigorous Grip +1 Attack+30, STR+15 Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Thrud Earring Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Stardiver (Crit based) Mid Buff   Shining One Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Blistering Sallet +1 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Pelt. Cuissots +3 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Fotia Gorget Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Sherida Earring Niqmaddu Ring Begrudging Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Crit.hit rate+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Shining One Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Gleti's Mask Rank 25 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Dbl.Atk.+10, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: Stardiver is a 4-hit FTP replicating Weapon Skill Up to an 85% STR modifier with 5/5 merits, or Trishula This crit-based build relies on the unique Shining One property to generate critical hits. Drakesbane Mid Buff   Utu Grip Coiste Bodhar Blistering Sallet +1 Hjarrandi Breast. Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Pelt. Cuissots +3 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Niqmaddu Ring Begrudging Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Crit+10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Utu Grip Crepuscular Pebble Gleti's Mask Rank 25 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Thrud Earring Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Niqmaddu Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Crit+10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Geirskogul Mid Buff   Utu Grip Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Fotia Gorget Thrud Earring Sherida Earring Niqmaddu Ring Regal Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle DEX+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, DEX+10, Weapon skill damage+10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Utu Grip Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Vishap Brais +3 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Thrud Earring Pel. Earring +1 Epaminondas's Ring Niqmaddu Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle DEX+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, DEX+10, Weapon skill damage+10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Savage Blade / Judgment Mid Buff   Naegling Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Rep. Plat. Medal Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Thrud Earring Regal Ring Epaminondas's Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% High Buff   Naegling Knobkierrie Peltast's Mezail +3 Pelt. Plackart +3 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Rank 25 Moonshade Earring TP Bonus +250, Magic Atk. Bonus +4 Pel. Earring +1 Sroda Ring Epaminondas's Ring Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle STR+20, Accuracy+20 Attack+20, STR+10, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Leg Sweep Stun 'em   Khonsu Pemphredo Tathlum Peltast's Mezail +3 Pelt. Plackart +3 Pel. Vambraces +3 Pelt. Cuissots +3 Pelt. Schyn. +3 Fotia Gorget Moonshade Earring Pel. Earring +1 Crepuscular Ring Stikini Ring +1 Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle STR +30, MAcc 30, Double Attack 10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: 12 seconds of stun! Even works to lock down Sortie Bosses! Crank & Spank Cataclysm Non-Linear AOE   Blurred Staff +1 Utu Grip Pemphredo Tathlum Pixie Hairpin +1 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Baetyl Pendant Moonshade Earring Friomisi Earring Archon Ring Epaminondas's Ring Fotia Belt Brigantia's Mantle INT +30, Magic Acc / Magic Dmg +20, Weapon skill damage +10%, Phys. dmg. taken-10% Notes: Set courtesy of Smii

Job Ability Sets

A quick note on these sets - it is possible to min/max some of these even further by including extremely niche pieces which will provide only negligibly increased utility. At this point in the game, I find myself weighing the benefits of an item against the inventory space needed to hold on to it. As such I choose not include things like "Acro" gear in the breath sets. Besides the inventory space, it is possible to be hit while activating a job ability or other breath, and I would argue that maintaining proper DT levels/MEVA throughout these sets is more important than eeking out a few dozen dps, or getting an extra 50 hp on your Steady Wing. Of course feel free to customize as needed. Check out Tatang's page for even more comprehensive sets.

Call Wyvern / Spirit Surge Ptero. Mail +3 Adds "Enhances 'Spirit Surge' effect" Jump / High Jump / Soul Jump Aurgelmir Orb +1 Flam. Zucchetto +2 Vishap Mail +3 Vis. Fng. Gaunt. +3 Ptero. Brais +3 Ostro Greaves Vim Torque +1 Sherida Earring Telos Earring Niqmaddu Ring Chirich Ring +1 Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: Maximize TP return through JSE bonuses and Ostro Greaves Spirit Jump Aurgelmir Orb +1 Flam. Zucchetto +2 Vishap Mail +3 Vis. Fng. Gaunt. +3 Ptero. Brais +3 Pelt. Schyn. +3 Vim Torque +1 Sherida Earring Telos Earring Niqmaddu Ring Chirich Ring +1 Sailfi Belt +1 Brigantia's Mantle Dex +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Notes: Like other jumps, but with Empyrean feet Angon Angon Ptero. Fin. G. +3 Enhances 'Angon' effect Notes: 25% Defense Down with maxed merits Stacks with Dia, Geo-Frailty, and Box Step Does not stack with other Defense Down effects i.e. BLU spells, Weaponskills (Armor Break, Shell Crusher etc), Acid Bolts Spirit Link Pel. Vambraces +3 Ptero. Greaves +3 Enhances 'Empathy' effect Pratik Earring Notes: Customize remaining slots with more DT/Def/Meva etc. or +MND for slightly more potency. Likely Nyame for main armor slots, possibly Defending Ring, Carrier's Sash, etc. To increase potency consider Metamorph Ring +1, Rufescent Ring, Hydrocera etc. Elemental Breath Staunch Tathlum +1 Ptero. Armet +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Pelt. Cuissots +3 Pelt. Schyn. +3 Adad Amulet Enmerkar Earring Handler's Earring +1 Pet: Acc & MAcc +15, Acc +10 C. Palug Ring Dreki Ring Glassblower's Belt Updraft Mantle Pet: Breath +10 Notes: 44% PDT / MDT Capped with Shell V Glassblower's Belt adds 5% to Breath Damage Healing Breath Ptero. Armet +3 Vishap Brais +3 Ptero. Greaves +3 Dgn. Collar +2 Lancer's Earring Anastasi Earring Dreki Ring Glassblower's Belt Updraft Mantle Pet: Breath +10 Notes: Earrings provide minimal gains, don't worry if you don't have them. Glassblower's Belt adds a 1/9 multiplier to Healing Breath Fill in other slots with DT items (you can be hit while activating breath) Ancient Circle Vishap Brais +3

Utility Sets

Idle Staunch Tathlum +1 Peltast's Mezail +3 Sacro Breastplate Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Gleti's Boots Rank 25 Dgn. Collar +2 Eabani Earring Sanare Earring Shadow Ring Moonlight Ring Plat. Mog. Belt Brigantia's Mantle INT +20, Evasion +20 Magic Evasion +20, Magic Evasion +10, Fast Cast +10, Magic Evasion +15 Notes: Mix of defensive stats, regen, and regain Chance to absorb damage for wyvern Many other options to choose from. Use Carrier's Sash if concerned about too much HP fluctuation. Fast Cast   74% Fast Cast Sapience Orb Carmine Mask +1 Path D Sacro Breastplate Leyline Gloves Fast Cast+3% Enif Cosciales Carmine Greaves +1 Orunmila's Torque Loquac. Earring Enchntr. Earring +1 Rahab Ring Prolix Ring Brigantia's Mantle INT +20, Evasion +20 Magic Evasion +20, Magic Evasion +10, Fast Cast +10, Magic Evasion +15 Emergency PDT Staunch Tathlum +1 Peltast's Mezail +3 Gleti's Cuirass Rank 25 Gleti's Gauntlets Rank 25 Gleti's Breeches Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Loricate Torque +1 Def+45, Spell interruption rate down 5% Tuisto Earring Odnowa Earring +1 Moonlight Ring Moonlight Ring Plat. Mog. Belt Brigantia's Mantle DEX +20, Accuracy +20 Attack +20, Accuracy +10, Dbl.Atk. +10, Phys. dmg. taken -10% Emergency MDT Staunch Tathlum +1 Peltast's Mezail +3 Nyame Mail Rank 25 Nyame Gauntlets Rank 25 Nyame Flanchard Rank 25 Nyame Sollerets Rank 25 Warder's Charm +1 Eabani Earring Sanare Earring Shadow Ring Moonlight Ring Plat. Mog. Belt Brigantia's Mantle INT +20, Evasion +20 Magic Evasion +20, Magic Evasion +10, Fast Cast +10, Magic Evasion +15

Starter Gear

Rather than try to create specific sets of gear for various levels of progression, I think it will be more beneficial to provide optimal sets to work toward paired with explanations of what to look for in each set - the "why" behind the set - and then let each player mix and match from their own gear to create gear sets that work for their current level of progression. Here I will try to show items for each slot which may be of use to up and coming Dragoons working toward the sets shown above.

One thing to note - I would urge any new player, or anyone looking to gear a Dragoon from zero to prioritize Sortie as much as possible. Getting 50,000 Gallimaufry and obtaining 5/5 Empyrean +2 will do more for you than almost anything else. The base stats (str/dex/meva/mdef/attack/acc) on all these items is very high compared to anything else you can reasonably obtain quickly. Even if you end up choosing to use some pieces where other (more geared) players may not (for example using Pelt. Cuissots +3 in your TP set) you will likely be in great shape to while you continue building up your collection of other items.

Main Item Notes Eminent Lance If Dragoon is your first 99, and you need something to start out with, grab this from the Sparks vendor. Geirrothr Might take longer to obtain than just working toward Shining One. But if you are able/willing to farm the Odin HTMB, this is a fine non-REMAP option. Ikenga's Lance If you are able to pick up Information on Xevioso, you could consider purchasing this and using it until you get the Shining One. Not worth investing any RP into this. Kaja Lance The precursor to Shining One and a great option even at this stage. It takes 16,500 ambuscade hallmarks to reach this point. Prioritize getting this ASAP when starting out.

Sub Item Notes Duplus Grip Decent starter option Gracile Grip Nice pre-Utu option on the AH. HQ also available. Fills out the two most important TP stats, but you likely don't need the haste when /SAM.

Ammo Item Notes Floestone Could be used for weapon skills if you don't have anything better. Oshasha's Treatise Good starter WS, obtainable from missions. Ginsen Might take a while to obtain if you can't do the HTMB on a higher difficulty, but still a decent item if you don't have access to even the base Coiste Bodhar Aurgelmir Orb Available on the AH. Significantly cheaper than the HQ and the STP is always welcome.

Head Item Notes Flamma Zucchetto +1 Upgrades into one of the strongest overall pieces of armor from Ambuscade for any job. Useful at any stage when starting out. Sulevia's Mask +1 A very respectable Store TP+8 paired with 5% DT. Peltast's Mezail +2 For just 10,000 Gallimaufry and a Ra'Kaz. Sapphire you get an exceptional weapon skill helm. Valorous Mask Can be obtained through Domain Invasion, and customized for either TP or WS sets via augmenting.

Neck Item Notes Anu Torque Nice STP piece, useful for other jobs, very viable until you get your Vim Torque +1. Dgn. Collar +1 So much cheaper than the +2. Contrary to what you may hear, there's no shame in starting here if you're just getting off the ground in FFXI!

Ear Item Notes Brutal Earring Very nice starter TP earring. Easy enough to find Ancient Beastcoin in bazaar, or even farm them yourself. Cessance Earring Another strong TP earring. Comes from the same HTMB as Ginsen.

Body Item Notes Valorous Mail Very easy to obtain (over the course of a week or more) via Domain Invasion, and having one for TP (look for augs with accuracy and store tp) and one for weapon skilling (look for augs with WSD) will work nicely. Pelt. Plackart +2 Get 10,000 Gallimaufry and use your first Ra'Kaz. Sapphire on these, or the gloves.

Hands Item Notes Acro Gauntlets Can reach very high STP once augmented. The Mellidopt Wings used to purchase these can be obtained from certain monthly campaigns, or you could try your hand at Alluvion SKirmish. Sulevia's Gauntlets +1 A very respectable 5% Double Attack paired with 4% DT. Pel. Vambraces +2 Get 10,000 Gallimaufry and use your first Ra'Kaz. Sapphire on these, or the body piece. Valorous Mitts Can be obtained through Domain Invasion, and customized for either TP or WS sets via augmenting.

Ring Item Notes Rajas Ring A true classic - get it from COP missions and use it until you get something better. Flamma Ring Can't go wrong for TP set with accuracy and Store TP. Petrov Ring Solid option, with a relatively low barrier to entry. Chirich Ring Obviously, the +1 is where you want to be, but when gil is a concern the NQ is viable when starting out.

Back Item Notes Bleating Mantle Really, you just want to work toward an Ambuscade cape as fast as possible, but this may have to suffice for a TP set until then. Updraft Mantle You can get some passable WSD on this via augments. and you'll want one anyway for your jump sets.

Waist Item Notes Sailfi Belt Even the unaugmented NQ is a wonderful belt. Try to get the base item ASAP via Unity and then build up to +1 and augments as soon as you can. Ioskeha Belt A cheap option on the AH. Could consider the +1, but I would recommend putting that gil toward upgrading the Sailfi Belt as much as you can.

Legs Item Notes Sulevia's Cuisses +1 A terrific ambuscade reward - 3% triple attack with 6% DT. Even better at +2, of course. Valorous Hose Can be obtained through Domain Invasion, and customized for either TP or WS sets via augmenting.

Feet Item Notes Flamma Gambieras +1 Great TP piece with Store TP and multi hit. The +2 is a top-tier item. Sulevia's Leggings +1 Nice weapon skill set option: 6% WSD on the +1 stage. Valorous Greaves Can be obtained through Domain Invasion, and customized for either TP or WS sets via augmenting.

Skillchains

Here are some common self skillchain sequences a Dragoon can execute. denotates the need of Trishula to continue the Skillchain.

• Stardiver → Stardiver = Darkness
• Stardiver → Sonic Thrust = Distortion → Stardiver = Darkness → Stardiver = Umbra
• Penta Thrust → Stardiver = Transfixion → Sonic Thrust = Distortion → Stardiver = Darkness → Stardiver = Umbra
• Stardiver → Camlann's Torment = Fragmentation → Drakesbane = Light → Camlann's Torment = Light ( creates Radiance instead of double light)
• Stardiver → Sonic Thrust = Distortion → Drakesbane = Fusion → Stardiver = Gravitation → Camlann's Torment = Fragmentation → Drakesbane = Light → Camlann's Torment = Light

Resources

• Tatang's User Page - Lots of good dragoon knowledge. I only found this while working on this guide. Some great resources here.
• All Jobs Damage Simulator and Gearsets by Izanami - great simulation based Weapon Skill sets for all jobs.
• The "Old" Dragoon Guide - Spicyryan's og guide. Still available on the Wayback Machine!