Final Fantasy XI: Choosing a Dragoon Subjob for Parties

In case you don't know, Dragoons are a class in Final Fantasy XI, an Mass Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). Dragoons can wear decently heavy gear, wield lances (spears), and fights with the aid of their wyvern by their side. The wyverns, which are miniature dragons basically, have many different abilities depending on your subjob. However, for the subjobs I am going to discuss, the wyvern type you are going to be accessing is the offensive type wyvern, which deals damage by using elemental breaths whenever you, the Dragoon, uses a weapon skill. The damage is somewhat enhanced when you attain your Drachen Armet, your head artifact armor. The Drachen Armet helps the monsters not resist the elemental breaths, and it helps chooes the wyvern choose what elements the monster you're fighting is weak to.

What subjobs to choose variate from before and after you hit 60. The subjobs I am going to explain are Warrior, Thief, and Samurai. All of these subjobs are beneficial to deal damage, which is the most important job the Dragoon has to handle.

Pre-Level 60 Subjobs

Before 60 (levels 1-59), there are two main subjobs to choose from. Warrior and Thief. What do they each have to offer? Warrior has better job traits which include a Defense Bonus (20), Double Attack (50), and an Attack Bonus (60). [Note: The numbers in parenthesis are the level you, the Dragoon, are when you attain them.] Thief doesn't offer much when it comes to job traits. The only two things worth notting are the two Evasion Bonuses (20 and 60).

Abilities generally play a bigger role in which subjob someone should choose. When subbing Warrior you gain Provoke (10), Berserk (30), and Defender (50). Provoke makes an enemy attck you, in most cases. Before 60 this can be used for Sneak Attack + Trick Attack (SATA/SAnTA) parties, where the Thief uses these abilities to plant "hate" onto the tank. This way the mages can cure without having to worry about the monster attacking them, in most cases. Berserk enhances your attack, but lowers your defense. This is good for weapon skills, and damage over time. However, if you're provoking for SATA, I suggest cancelling Berserk so you don't to have the mages cure you too much. This will cause downtime and your experience points flow will decrease when mages need to rest for MP more often. Defender helps in these situations though. Defender boosts your defense, but lowers your attack. Use Defender when provoking, or if you take hate from an enemy when attacking it the Super Jump recast timer is not ready yet.

If you sub Thief you gain Steal (10), Sneak Attack (30), and Flee (25). You get Trick Attack at 60, which I will explain in the second half. Steal has no purpose really. Sneak Attack helps your damage become amplified once when attacking from behind. Using Sneak Attack and then a weapon skill does a good amount of damage. Flee is good for emergency situations and pulling only.

Level 60+ Subjobs

At level 60 Samurai is a great and versatile subjob to use since you gain Meditate (60). From subbing Warrior at level 60 and up you gain Warcry (70), and from subbing Thief you gain Trick Attack (60) and Mug (70).

The traits you attain from subbing Samurai are as follows: Resist Blind I (10), Store TP I (20), Zanshin (40), and Store TP II (60). Store TP increases the amount of TP you gain when making contact when attacking a monster, and Zanshin occassionally swings your weapon again if you miss a monster while attacking.

Samurai has great abilities too when subbing it. You gain Third Eye (30), Hasso (50), Meditate (60)*, and Seigan (70). The reason you really shouldn't use Samurai pre-60 is because Warrior simply overpowers it with Berserk and Double Attack. Double Attack overpowers the TP gain attain as a Dragoon until level 60, where Meditate helps overshadow TP gain. Third Eye dodges the next attack aimed at you, and can block full weapon skills as well. Use Third Eye when you're going to use a weapon skill to absorb the attack the monster throws at you, which essentially saves your mages MP. Hasso grants you an accuracy, attack, and attack speed bonus. This is a very good tool to have, but Double Attack and Berserk are better for damage and TP gain overall, until you get Meditate. Meditate grants you 60 TP in intervals of 12 over the duration of about 10 seconds, which helps build TP a lot faster. Seigan enhances Third Eye, which allows it to block multiple attacks and even counter some attacks as well.

When subbing Warrior at 60+, you now have Warcry. Warcry enhances your, and your party members within areas attack. This is good for using before weapon skills. Beware that Warcry's effect wears off pretty fast as well.

When subbing Thief you now gain Trick Attack and Mug. Trick Attack transfers hate to the perso you use the attack from. So if you use Trick Attack from behind someone and hit the monster for 5o damage, that 50 damage calculates as hate towards the person you were standing behind. Using Trick Attack and a weapon skill can be a good tool as well. Mug doesn't help your parties, but its good to get some extra gil when fighting against beastmen.

Conclusion

Warrior, Thief, and Samurai are all great subjobs for Dragoon. However, Samurai only really shines at levels 60 and up. I suggest subbing Warrior or Thief till level 60. Please remember that this is a guide for subjobs for party situations. Soloing is a very different field, and that will be discussed in a future article.

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