Samurai DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dawntrail 7.1
On this page, you will find the best gear and best-in-slot items for your Samurai DPS in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Patch 7.1).
Samurai Gearsets (BiS)
This section covers endgame best-in-slot builds for Samurai in Patch 7.05 and also includes two options of iLvL 710 progression sets for those who want a strong starting point. This page also includes multiple potential Ultimate-specific builds for all Ultimate fights. These gear sets are made by calculating the highest possible damage modifiers at viable Skill Speed ranges and checking them against each other using a simulated full-uptime rotation.
If you are interested in making your own gear sets, or just want to check upgrade paths and melds, you can check out XIVGear.
If you instead are gearing up and don't want to do a deep dive into a spreadsheet for granular gains, you can read more about Samurai's interaction with various substats and find a general meld priority in the melding section linked below.
Best in Slot by Encounter
2.14 Crafted Sets
The sets below cover both ends depending on how much gil you want to spend on your early progression gear - for minimal investment, look to the Economy set; for a significant investment, the pentameld set is what you're looking for. Outside of week 1 the investment may not be as worth it, consider your situation.
2.08 Crafted Sets
The sets below cover both ends depending on how much gil you want to spend on your early progression gear - for minimal investment, look to the Economy set; for a significant investment, the pentameld set is what you're looking for. Outside of week 1 the investment may not be as worth it, consider your situation.
Savage BiS — 2.14 GCD
The 2.14 GCD Savage BiS set is the highest simulated DPS output of all current Savage BiS gear sets. As it only spends the absolute minimum amount of melds into Skill Speed, it is able to maximize the amount put into other more beneficial substats. Because of the lower amount of flexibility available in the 2.14 rotation, it's advised to at least be familiar with the fundamentals of the job if you're going to play at this GCD tier.
Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by completing the current raid tier, AAC Light-heavyweight M1-M4 (Savage).
Savage BiS — 2.08 GCD
The 2.08 GCD Savage BiS set is roughly 0.5% below 2.14 in simulated DPS and may cause some issues with weaving depending on player ping. In exchange for this, the rotation at this GCD tier is much easier to pick up and the greater flexibility allows less experienced players to learn fundamentals that assist in recovery.
Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by completing the current raid tier, AAC Light-heavyweight M1-M4 (Savage).
Patch 6.5 has brought with it a new dungeon, The Lunar Subterrane, which drops iLevel 635 gear - the maximum allowed iLevel in The Omega Protocol. This allows for arguably easier to obtain, stronger gear pieces to use in place of gear otherwise needed from Abyssos Savage. With the release of Patch 6.45 and the ability to choose our stats on the Majestic Manderville Samurai Blade, it has overtaken even the reward weapon as the Best in Slot weapon for The Omega Protocol, being easily obtainable without ever setting foot inside the content. Patch 6.55 added the ability to upgrade this weapon further, however due to the Item Level Sync feature there is no difference between these two steps in this content.
Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by completing the Abyssos raid tier. A guide for the content can be found in the link below.
Patch 6.3 has brought with it a new dungeon, Lapis Manalis, which drops iLevel 605 gear - the maximum allowed iLevel in Dragonsong's Reprise. This allows for arguably easier to obtain, stronger gear pieces to use in place of gear otherwise needed from Asphodelos Savage.
With the release of Patch 6.45 and the ability to choose our stats on the Majestic Manderville Samurai Blade, it has overtaken even the reward weapon as the Best in Slot weapon for Dragonsong's Reprise, being easily obtainable without ever setting foot inside the content. Patch 6.55 added the ability to upgrade this weapon further, however due to the Item Level Sync feature there is no difference between these two steps in this content.
Portions of these gear sets can only be acquired by completing the Asphodelos raid tier. A guide for the content can be found in the link below.
The Epic of Alexander (TEA) Best in Slot
- Item level 595
We also have sourced several sets from the community in The Balance Discord Server for Best in Slot options, using the XIVGear as a benchmark. They can be found here. Note some pieces do not have melds listed, this is due to the way gear syncing strips melded substats.
The Weapon's Refrain (UWU) Best in Slot
- Item level 500
We also have sourced several sets from the community in The Balance Discord Server for Best in Slot options, using the XIVGear as a benchmark. They can be found here. Note some pieces do not have melds listed, this is due to the way gear syncing strips melded substats.
The Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCoB) Best in Slot
- Item level 470
We also have sourced several sets from the community in The Balance Discord Server for Best in Slot options, using the XIVGear as a benchmark. They can be found here. Note some pieces do not have melds listed, this is due to the way gear syncing strips melded substats.
Changelog
- 13 Nov. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.1.
- 01 Aug. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.05.
- 16 Jul. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.01.
- 30 Jun. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.0.
- 16 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 6.55.
- 15 Oct. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 24 May 2023: Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 10 Jan. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 23 Aug. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.2.
- 20 Apr. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 10 Feb. 2022: Guide added.
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written by boxer, a FFXIV enjoyer since late ARR and Samurai main/theorycrafter since the addition of the job in Stormblood. Self-proclaimed as the "Fast Samurai" for his love of high Skill Speed, he is a Samurai Mentor on The Balance Discord and can be reached there or directly at boxer#7326. He can also occasionally be found streaming prog or optimization on Twitch.
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