Information by Scholar of the Samurai Job, Bakslash "Through the study of Far Eastern martial arts techniques, these lone warriors have learned to devote their lives to their cause and to their blades, the mighty katana." Argued as the hardest advanced job to obtain, the Samurai has abilities that make it one of the most powerful jobs, and the most beneficial sub-job. Considered the masters of Weapon skills, the Samurai´s focus is on proficiency with the blade, harmony with their weapons. They accumulate abilities that assist in gaining and preserving their TP, and obtain weapon skills which Skillchain easily with either themselves or other members in a party. When used as a sub-job, these abilities work wonders in making any job very proficient in Skillchains, and even their 2 hour ability is based on inflicting massive amounts of damage very quickly. Eventually, later on in the career of a Samurai, the job even gains special abilities when using Eastern style foods, gaining additive strength and defense bonuses that no other job may benefit from.

		In the world of the Samurai, the balanced character is extremely strong, making humes one of the best and most natural choices for this job. Powerful as they are, they make up for a lack of grace with strength and sheer attack power to make a completely acceptable choice for this job. Challenged more for this job than any other race, a dim consolation is the tarutaru's natural agility make for an interesting style of play, leaning more towards a ranged attack samurai. The power of a mithra is felt in this job, both with accuracy and speed, as well as slightly more dependable skillchains. Strong and endurant, the galka makes another good choice for this job, offering strength and self-reliance more than other races, which in most cases makes up for a lack of agility.
	Getting the Job    The samurai is an advanced job and was introduced in the Zilart expansion pack (included free with the NA version of FFXI). In order to receive the samurai quest the character must be at least level 30 and have the gotten Kazham Airship pass. This pass can be gotten through a quest or bought for 140,000 gil. It is also a good idea to buy a map of the Elshimo region before you leave Jeuno since maps are not sold in Kazham. The map can be bought from the commerce department in Lower Jeuno or the market goods store in Upper Jeuno.    Once the airship pass is obtained, take the airship from Port Jeuno to Kazham and then take a chocobo to Norg. Don't forget to bring with a couple of silent oils because there is an area where chocobo won´t enter and it is necessary to travel by foot. Ride out of Kazham and head south toward the outpost (G-11). Near the outpost (to the northwest of) is a hole to drop down which will take you to the waterfalls. Follow the tunnel behind the waterfall until the chocobo refuses to go any further. Dismount, rest and enter the Sea Serpent´s Grotto. All the mobs in the Grotto agro so silent oils are very useful. One bottle should last all the way to Norg, but it doesn´t hurt to have two for safety. Simply follow the right wall all the way to Norg. There is one gate that you have to open, and Norg is only a short distance beyond it.    Inside Norg, head up the main stairs to speak with Jaucribaix (K-8). All samurai will get pretty familiar with Jaucribaix. Jaucribaix will have you speak with Ranemaud (I-7) and Aeka (I-8) to get two rare/ex items: sacred sprig and oriental steel.    There are two NMs to defeat to complete the samurai quest. The bomb NM is located in the Konschat Highlands at (D-7) inside a shallow cave. Trade the oriental steel to the ??? and spawn the NM. The NM has to be defeated for each player who wants to complete the samurai quest. When the NM is killed, an item will go into the treasure lot so make sure the correct player lots for it. There is about a 3 minute respawn time so take the time to rest and recharge.    The other NM is located in the Sanctuary of Zi´tah. A map of this area can be purchased in Mhaura although the NM is actually located at (L-10) which is off the map. Bring a hatchet (2 to be safe) to cut the branch of the large tree. The NM only needs to be killed once for all the characters to get the item. Once you arrive at the tree, cut the branch and trade the sacred sprig to the ???. The NM will spawn once the first player trades it. After defeating the NM, each player should touch the ??? once again to get the item.    Trade the items to Jaucribaix and he will spend 3 game days (3 real life hours) making the great katana, Mumeito, for you. Once received, the samurai job is granted. Remember to hold on to the Great Katana because it is needed for the AF1 quest. If the GK is ever lost, it can be bought back from Norg for 30,000 gils.    Congratulations, the path of the bushido is now open!

Job Traits Trait Name Level Gained Description Resist Blind 5 Grants the character a slight resistance against blindness spells and abilities Store TP 10 Increases the amount of Tactical Points Gained in combat (* 1.10) Resist Blind 25 Grants the character a slight resistance against blindness spells and abilities Store TP 30 Increases the amount of Tactical Points Gained in combat (* 1.15) Demon Killer 40 Character gains tactical advantage over demon type mobs, including increased damage Resist Blind 45 Grants the character a slight resistance against blindness spells and abilities Store TP 50 Increases the amount of Tactical Points Gained in combat (* 1.20) Zanshin 60 Character automatically makes one additional attack once missing an attack Resist Blind 65 Grants the character a slight resistance against blindness spells and abilities Store TP 70 Increases the amount of Tactical Points Gained in combat (* 1.25)

Job Abilities Ability Name Level Gained Duration of Use Duration of Recharge Description "Meikyo Shisui" 1 0:00:30 2:00:00 Increases the Tactic Points to 300% (full TP) and lowers the cost of using a Weaponskill to 100 TP (allowing for three consequetive Weaponskills) /ja "Meikyo Shisui" <me> "Warding Circle" 5 0:03:00 0:05:00 Temporarily increases the party's defense against Demon class monsters /ja "Warding Circle" <me> "Third Eye" 15 0:01:00 0:01:00 Defensive skill to automatically dodge the next physical attack directed at the character /ja "Third Eye" <me> "Meditate" 30 0:00:15 0:03:00 Character automatically gains Tactical Points in five increments /ja "Meditate" <me>

Skill Cap Rankings
Rank	-	F	C+	-	-	-	-	B-	-	A+	F	-	C+	-	C	-	B+	-	A	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Primary Weapon: Great Katana
Skill Level	Weapon Skill							Job Level		Elements			Description						Damage						Macro
10	Tachi:Enpi							3					Double Attack						1.00 1.50 2.00 2x STR_30%						/ws "Tachi:Enpi" <t>
30	Tachi:Hobaku							9					Attack with Additional Effect Stun						1.00 1.00 1.00 1x STR_30%						/ws "Tachi:Hobaku" <t>
70	Tachi:Goten							23					Lightning Based Attack						1.00 1.50 2.00 Thunder STR_30%						/ws "Tachi:Goten" <t>
100	Tachi:Kagero							33					Fire Based Attack						1.00 1.50 2.00 Fire STR_50%						/ws "Tachi:Kagero" <t>
150	Tachi:Jinpu							49					Double Attack Wind Based Attack						1.00 1.50 2.00 Wind 2x STR_30%						/ws "Tachi:Jinpu" <t>
175	Tachi:Koki							55					Light Based Attack						1.00 1.50 2.00 Light STR_60%						/ws "Tachi:Koki" <t>
200	Tachi:Yukikaze							60					Attack Ignores Defense with Additional Effect Blind						1.50 2.00 2.50 1x STR_75%						/ws "Tachi:Yukikaze" <t>
225	Tachi:Gekko							65					Attack with Additional Effect Silence						1.50 2.00 2.50 1x STR_75%						/ws "Tachi:Gekko" <t>
250	Tachi:Kasha							71					Attack with Additional Effect Paralyze						1.50 2.00 2.50 1x STR_75%						/ws "Tachi:Kasha" <t>

Job Specific Accessories
Cancer Subligar (Legs) [Lv50 DEF23 "Store TP"+1]	To obtain this item, the character must defeat Samurai Fomor in Phomiuna Aqueducts or the Sacrarium.
Shinimusha Hara-ate (Body) [Lv50 DEF37 "Store TP"+9]	To obtain this item, the character must complete the "Brigid the Stylist Returns" Quest in Bastok Markets. To obtain the quest, the player must speak with Brygid wearing full Artifact Armor. Select the armor of choice, and Brygid will request you meet her wearing a specific set of clothing, the list of which will include the JSE Subligar obtained from Phomiuna Aqueducts as well as in the Sacrarium, which is rare/ex so must be obtained on your own. The Subligaria required to complete the SAM JSE is the Cancer Subligar, found as a drop off of Samurai Fomor.

Job Specific Equipment (JSE) 50
Cancer Subligar (Legs) [Lv50 DEF23 "Store TP"+1]	To obtain this item, the character must defeat Samurai Fomor in Phomiuna Aqueducts or the Sacrarium.
Shinimusha Hara-ate (Body) [Lv50 DEF37 "Store TP"+9]	To obtain this item, the character must complete the "Brigid the Stylist Returns" Quest in Bastok Markets. To obtain the quest, the player must speak with Brygid wearing full Artifact Armor. Select the armor of choice, and Brygid will request you meet her wearing a specific set of clothing, the list of which will include the JSE Subligar obtained from Phomiuna Aqueducts as well as in the Sacrarium, which is rare/ex so must be obtained on your own. The Subligaria required to complete the SAM JSE is the Cancer Subligar, found as a drop off of Samurai Fomor.

AF1-AF1	Magoroku (Great Katana) [Lv42 DMG56 DLY450 STR+1 AGI+1]	The AF1 quest can be accepted at level 40, but the sword itself is not usuable until level 42. You start the quest by taking to Jaucribaix who will request the Mumeito and "Crystal Scales" which is dropped off a fish NM in the Sanctuary of Zi´tah (E-8). A rare/ex item which is dropped by Goblin Robbers, called "Fish bait", is required to spawn the NM. Go to Zi´Tah to hunt the robbers until one drops the fish bait and then head to the NM spawn location. Do not go there at night (20:00-04:00) since skeletons will spawn and may well wipe out the party. Instead, stay on the chocobo until daytime and then clear the area of mobs before fighting the NM. Trade the fish bait to the ???, then kill the NM and touch the ??? to get the key item. Return to Norg and trade the Mumeito to Jaucribaix and he will begin making the Magoroku. As with the Samurai Flag Quest, it takes multiple game days until the sword is completed before you can receive it.
AF1-AF2		Here we begin the first of many painful quests for samurai AFs. It is painful because compared to other classes´ AF, it is like having to do 2 quests to get one item. Start by talking to Jaucribaix at level 50+. He will want a "Yomutsu Feature" from the Ubume, a NM located in the Labryrinth of Onzozo. To lure the bird out, get the key item "Washu´s Tasty Wurst" from Washu (located in the room near Jaucribaix). Trade Wash a hecteye eye, frost turnip, giant sheep meat and bastore sardine to receive the key item. Head to (F-8) in the Labrynth of Onzozo which is located at the eastern beach of the Buburimu. The entrance is hidden so go into the water and head north until you see the cave entrace. Once inside, follow the left wall (sneak/invis) until you see a giant bird hut and clear the area of mobs. Ubume casts area sleep which is the primary reason high levels might be killed, so bring a WHM who can cure and have the whm take some poison before the fight. Poison will keep the WHM from sleeping if he/she is too close to the NM. Kill the NM and touch the ??? to get the feature. Every SAM doing this can get the item at once.
AF1-AF3		Ahh, the magical helm of the samurai that allows meditate to return 120-140 TP. The fight itself is very cool, but again the quest has restrictions that the other classes´ AFs do not. Here, samurai encounter a BCNM-type fight. The good news is that only 5 other people need to be gathered, but the bad news is that they better be a good team of 5 others! The quest begins with a long search for the location of the man who stole the helm from Norg. Speak with (who else) Jaucribaix to get the quest then go to the Port Jeuno Duty Free shop to speak with Sanosuke. Next, head to Mhaura and speak to Phoochuchu, a Jujitsu Gi wearing taru at the foot of the stairs, then head to Bastok Mines and the door at (J-6). From the mines, head to Waughroon Shrine in the Palborough Mines. Finally, return to Norg to get the "Banishing Charm". Return to the Waughroon Shrine and trade the charm to the burning circle. There are 3 demon NMs and a pet that must be defeated. The NMs are Gaki (blm), Rasetsu (drk), Onki (smn), and Onibi (elemental). There are different strategies for this fight, but the most common is to fight the NMs from right to left (Gaki, Rasetsu, Onki). Ignore the elemental since it will die when Onki dies. The BLM is the most deadly with its spells so try to kill him quickly. The DRK does dmg but does not have great DEF or HP. The SMN also does not have great HP but can launch a big attack when its HP gets low. Once the NMs are defeated, return to Norg with the charred helm received from the battle and Gold Thread. With these two together, Jaucribaix will make a new helm. Again, be prepared to wait awhile.
AF1-AF4		The player is charged with obtaining a coffer key and opening a coffer in Kuftal Tunnel. On opening the coffer in Kuftal, the player will obtain a key item, a pair of Old Gauntlets. The Old Gauntlets are taken to Port Jeuno, where in the Auction House area is an Old Crate. Examining the Old Crate will bring forth the ghost of Bolghertz, who offers to repair his handiwork, but to do so he must have the Shadow Flame. To obtain the Shadow Flame, travel to Castle Zvahl Baileys in Xarcabard. At F-8 in Castle Zvahl Baileys, you come to find a sealed gate, set with 4 Flame Torches. Examining any one of the Flame Torches brings forth the spirit of Dark Spark, a NM Bomb type mob. The party defeats Dark Spark, then examining the Torch again the player obtains the Shadow Flame. Dark Spark need only be defeated once for any member in the party needing the Shadow Flame. Returning to Port Jeuno and examining the crate again, the Spirit of Bolghertz takes the Shadow Flame and with it recrafts the artifact hands.
AF1-AF5		The player is charged with obtaining a coffer key and opening a coffer in Quicksand Caves.
AF1-AF6		The player is charged with obtaining a coffer key and opening a coffer in Temple of Uggalepih.

Genkai 5 - Limit Break Fight Level 70 (The Maat Fight)

The final genkai is a one-on-one fight against Maat at level 66+ and a Samurai testimony is traded to Maat. The testimony can be gotten from Blood and Gore Demons in Bailey's, and the Yagudo Templar in Oztroja. No subjob is allowed and Maat will have the same ability as a SAM except that he uses hand-to-hand instead of a Great Katana. When fighting Maat, expect him to use Meikyo Shishui and most likely Asuran Fist (although one person said Maat did 3 consecutive Asuran Fists, I don´t think this is supported by any proof). A few things to know about the Maat fight. First, Maat won´t attack you until you hit him, so you´ll always get the first swing in. Second, no one is sure if there´s any special condition that will get Maat to quit (i.e. Thf needs to steal). Maat will also use Meikyo Shishui very early in the fight. He often uses Combo, Shoulder Tackle and Spinning Rush. -- How I fought Maat -- I chose a more defensive route to fighting Maat. I went in at level 70 with 2 Phalanx Rings, full AF, Amemet Mantle, Life Belt, RK Collar, Opo-opo necklace, 2x Coral Earrings, and Kazaridachi (level 67 Great Katana). This is pretty normal equiment for SAMs (except for the normal 2x sniper rings) although I realize a lot of SAM might chose to wear Ochiudo´s Kote, Haurbegeon, etc. I was wearing pretty average SAM gear. For extras, I brought 1 shogun rice ball, 5 hi-potions, 1 vile elixer, 1 icarus wing (unused), and 12 sleep potions (used 5). First, macro the items so they can be used quickly. Set up the weapon skill macros in a way that is familiar. My strategy is as follows: Absorb Maat´s attack, interrupt his skill chain and then maximize the number of skill chains. I entered the Burning Circle, ate the shogun riceball (for the possibility of a double attack), meditated, put on Opo-opo necklace and slept myself until my meditate timer was almost up. I did this for max TP without wasting too much time. I used Third Eye before the Meditate timer was up so I could absorb one blow and still have another third eye available soon. Then I proceeded to fight Maat. I got my first hit in, absorbed his normal attack and once I saw him use 2 hours, I used "Tachi: Hobaku" hoping that the TP accumulated was enough to stun his WS from forming a skillchain. Then I used Third Eye to try to absorb his second WS. In the end, my hobaku did disrupt his first skill chain, but my third eye only absorbed a regular attack. I was able to weather his attacks without him being able to form any type of skill chain for extra damage. I used my hi-potions to catch up on my health, then proceeded to attack. I used Meikyo Shisui and did "Tachi: Yukikaze" > "Tachi: Gekko" > "Tachi: Gekko" (1st major mistake: forgot to meditate after "Tachi: Yukikaze"). This formed 2 skill chains: fragmentation and distortion. This is enough damage to almost make Maat quit. Now, it is a one-on-one fight. I saw I was behind Maat in HP, so I used my vile elixir, but the fight was still close. I thought if I used Meditate now, it´d be too late given my low HP, so as I was about to use the Icarus Wing to try to finish him with one last WS, my normal hits defeated him. This was a pretty defensive strategy and somewhat different then how other people did it, but it was enough to give me the record time in defeating Maat. ^^ Whether you chose this method or another, here is what I learned from the fight: 1. Play the way you are comfortable with. What got you to 66-70 is what will get you past Maat. Changing stuff for the fight will add confusion. 2. Expect to be nervous, but try to remain calm. The number one reason for failure is when someone panics. 3. Third Eye is very important. Maat hit me for 100-140 damage, so even absorbing a regular attack is good. 4. Skill chain is the key! It is what lets SAMs do damage so three WS without skill chains won't be enough to win. Try to avoid being stunned between your WS (Maat uses Shoulder Tackle for stunning). Basically, I won the Maat fight by using all the abilities of Samurai: Meditate, Third Eye, and skill chains. ^^

Weapon Skill Notorius Monster - WSNM Great Katana

[ Tachi: Kasha ] The final weapon skill is Tachi: Kasha (Fusion, compression, paralysis). Just like the other final WSs, this one has to be quested. To obtain the quest, a Samurai must be level 71 and has Great Katana skill at 250. Talk to Jaucribaix in Norg and receive the "Tachi of Trials", a level 70 Great Katana. It's not a pretty looking weapon, but very serviceable to use in experience parties. Like all trial weapons, there is a latent effect on it. As soon as it is equiped, HP should rise by 20, Ice and Dark will increase by 10. When the trial is completed, the latent effect disappears and the bonuses will be lost even when equiped. For Samurai, this is a very easy quest since we do so many skillchains per fight. It took me a little more than a normal exp'ing session to finish. Once the latent effect disappears, return to Jaucribaix and he will take back the weapon in exchange for another key item which spawns the WSNM that needs to be fought. After doing a few WSNM, I have to say that this WSNM is not at all difficult. It is easy to get to, and not too difficult to defeat with 1.5 PT of level 70-71s. Finally, SAMs get a break! Head to Kuftal Tunnels and go to L-7. It is located in a small circular room and the ??? is in the middle. Touch to spawn Kettenkaefer, a beetle NM. Once defeated, touch ??? again to get the "Annals of Truth". Return to Jaucribaix and receive "Tachi: Kasha". With Tachi: Kasha, the Samurai now posseses every element of the skillchain chart and 2 level 2 skillchain elements (one of dark, one of light). Only the Great Katana and Samurai is capable of being so flexible with 1 weapon.

Job Specific Equipment (JSE) 70
	Crafted on Fire Crystal Adaman Ingot Darksteel Sheet x2 Gold Ingot Mercury Rainbow Thread Tiger Leather Velvet Cloth
	Crafted on Earth Crystal Darksteel Chain x2 Gold Thread Kejusu Satin Scarlet Linen Cloth Velvet Cloth
	Crafted on Fire Crystal Darksteel Chain x2 Darksteel Sheet x2 Gold Ingot Tiger Leather Viridian Urushi
	Crafted on Fire Crystal Adaman Sheet Darksteel Chain x2 Darksteel Scales x2 Gold Thread Tiger Leather Viridian Urushi
	Crafted on Wind Crystal Adaman Chain Kejusu Satin Silk Cloth Steel Sheet Urushi

AF2-AF1		Dynamis - Jeuno
AF2-AF2		Dynamis - Windurst
AF2-AF3		Dynamis - Bastok
AF2-AF4		Dynamis - Beaucedine
AF2-AF5		Dynamis - Xarcabard

Relic Weapon
	Dynamis - Bastok
Hayatemaru (Great Katana) [Lv75 DMG1 DLY450 In Dynamis: DMG76 Wind+7]	M.Silverpiece x3 Relic Steel Siren's Macrame Tama-Hagane
Oboromaru (Great Katana) [Lv75 DMG76 DLY450 In Dynamis: DMG79 Wind+9]	L.Jadeshell x15 Tachi Mikazuki Kazaridachi
Tosukanotsurugi (Great Katana) [Lv75 DMG88 DLY450 In Dynamis: Weaponskill "Tachi:Kaiten"]	100 Byne Bill x60 Attestation of Decisiveness
Relic Weapon
	Dynamis - Jueno
Wolver Bow (Bow) [ Lv.75 RNG/SAM DMG:1 Delay:540 In Dynamis : D68 Dly540 [WTR]+7]	M.Silverpiece x4 Behemoth Horn Lancewood Lumber Carbon Fiber
Dynamis Bow (Bow) [ Lv.75 RNG/SAM DMG:68 Delay:540 In Dynamis : D71 Dly540 [WTR]+9]	M.Silverpiece x15 Power Bow War Bow Shigeto Bow
Futatokoroto (Bow) [ Lv.75 RNG/SAM DMG:81 Delay:540 In Dynamis : Weaponskill "Namas Arrow"]	L. Jadeshell x61 Attestation of Transcendence
Yoichinoyumi (Bow) [ Lv.75 RNG/SAM DMG:81 Delay:524 Ranged Accuracy+20 Ranged Attack+10 Weaponskill "Namas Arrow"]	R.Goldpiece x1 Snarled Fragment at Cape Teriggan : Seashore
Amanomurakumo (Great Katana) [Lv75 DMG88 DLY437 Accuracy+20 Weaponskill "Tachi:Kaiten" Additional Effect: Weakens Attacks]	10,000 Coin Divine Fragment at Horlais Peak:Hot Spring

Merits - Samurai Exclusive
Third Eye Recast	This Merit incrementally reduces the recast time of the "Third Eye" Ability
Warding Circle Recast	This Merit incrementally reduces the recast time of the "Warding Circle " Ability
Store TP Effect	This Merit incrementally increases the TP gained from combat actions
Meditate Recast	This Merit incrementally reduces the recast time of the "Meditate" Ability
Zanshin Attack Rate	This Merit Incrementally increases the Frequency Rate of Zashin activating