[Amaku]

I don't have NIN currently and I don't plan on taking DNC past 37, I just want DNC for a subjob. Will I still get invites at a normal rate or will I be forced to solo/go level nin up?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

/MNK offers less and less to DNC the higher you get, though the Martial Arts traits are nice. I suppose once you get over 30 and have your first Accuracy Bonus Trait from DNC, /MNK would be fine considering its just a subjob.

Soloing to 37 on DNC isn't that bad though, its pretty easy if you just go after worms.

[Telera]

Well, since you're only going to 37, you'd only need Ninja to 18, and you could likely easily solo/duo that without even bothering to go for the fame for Utsusemi et al. If you're solo, no one you're hurting by not having it except yourself.

And Nin/Dnc is what I've been doing to solo my nin to 37 for my taru for her dnc. It works pretty well, but I have my scrolls. Haha.

Edit: I'm not even fucking coherent today.

You'd still need Utsu at 24... so everything I said is a lie.

..does that make me Vergere now? -_-;

[Lmnop]

dnc/mnk is pretty much ideal for the first 20-25 levels -- the HtH weapons always cover most or all of the skill gap. You'll solo faster than you would with a dagger (I actually switched to a dagger at 9 for a bit and again at 13 and was appalled at how slow I became at deathing faces), and then for party use, you'll be looking at -1% acc for double the DPS. And in those levels, even BRDs should be meleeing. So your DPS counts for something. The first time I would consider switching to dagger is probably 25 for the Windurstian knife. Note that even here, you're looking at 3.89 DPS with knife vs 4.15 with Metal Knuckles +1 but 2.5% lower hit rate (skill 74 + 2 acc from weapon versus skill 68 + 3 from weapon = 5 acc difference). Or go for the king of DPS: Cougar Baghnakhs with 4.26 but 4% less hit rate than the Windy knife. Buuuuuuuuut daggers deal 25% extra damage to mandies, which is where you'll be 25-30. And if you did level NIN for sub, the DPS of 2 such knives comes pretty close to what /mnk has to offer with a whole lot more acc.


Note: all these HtH DPS values were pulled from a spreadsheet I made while leveling DNC. Since HtH takes your actual skill level into account to figure your "DMG" rating, it uses the D-ranked HtH of a DNC from 1-30. All dagger info drawn from FFXIAH.


At level 30, I'd suggest ditching /mnk and using your acc bonus trait to emphasize how well you do with daggers instead of covering up HtH's weaknesses. Still, should be do-able if you're dead-set on it.

Btw, whatever it is you're leveling DNC for, I bet you're gonna want NIN leveled as well.

[Celeal]

DNC/NIN from level 24 ~ 37 is great in parties if and only if the player is using the tools from /NIN, which is backup tank or co-tanking with NIN/WAR or WAR/NIN. Otherwise don't even bother.

[Armando]

DNC/NIN from level 24 ~ 37 is great in parties if and only if the player is using the tools from /NIN, which is backup tank or co-tanking with NIN/WAR or WAR/NIN. Otherwise don't even bother.

Not completely true, since /NIN offers Dual Wield, which is every bit as good as Martial Arts + H2H.

That aside, you're right, a /NIN should always strive to put those shadows to good use.

[MrMageo]

I found /NIN very meh on dancer. Especially on some of the mobs we fight in the course of the game (crabs, crawlers, beetles) There are not many great damaging dagger, and at the lower levels hitting for 0 is alot more common.

I personally went /DRG to about level 50. I found it the best sub for the lower levels Jump is huge an instant chunk of TP every fight. The haste earring at level 30 is awesome. Just go H2H till 37, /NIN for daggers is meh until you get into the more decent damaging ones.

[Armando]

Hint: Don't use daggers when they suck then. No part of Dual Wield implies "you have to use daggers." There's also swords.

By the way, Daggers start not sucking at 25. Federation Knife.