Scythe skill question

[Kairiru]

My DRK is at level 28 and iw as thinking of getting the mercenary captain's scythe, but i have no skill with scythes so far, just great swords....

Would it be a good idea to make the switch for more damage with scythes even with no skill?

[Brayden]

I wouldn't reccomend it, as you have no skill, overall dmg will most likely be lower than your GS, since it actually has skill points. Still, get a scythe, head out to the dunes and start skillin up. You cant go wrong with scythe.

[Mhurron]

No because you won't hit anything. You'll have to skill up your weapon by going back and killing things you would have killed before to get it closer to your existing level.

The starter areas (Sarutabaruta, Gustaburg, Ronafure) will get you to about skill level 30
The next areas in will take you to around 60, Qufim has things that will take you to around 80~100 then you'll be closer to being able to use it against EXP mobs, though you'll still (really) need ACC food.

You might need to find a WHM or RDM to duo with or a higher level friend to keep you cured the farther up you go.

You are going to want to keep both Scythe and GS skilled up.

[Malacite]

Get off your but and go skill up that scythe until you can use it properly in a party.

No DRK worth their salt goes with just 1 or the other, gotta have 'em both up.

[Kairiru]

well im farming in saru and i bought a bronze zaghnal to start with, i'm skilling up on crawlers while i'm at it, i'm keeping an eye on my newborn chocobo too, so i figured i'd farm while i was at it ^^

[Aaramis]

These days with the better equipment options, xp boosts (Empress Ring, etc.), it's quite difficult to keep even one weapon capped, as levelling is far quicker than it ever was in the past.
Hell, it wasn't until late 40s that I capped Scythe - and that was the *only* weapon I used in PTs. How sad is that?

So, this advice may slightly contradict what was said above (and by all means, if you can skill up TWO weapons and keep them capped, all the more power to you), but going on my experience, I find it's best to stick to ONE weapon and keep it capped or as close to cap as you can.

Unless you're planning on switching completely to Scythe over GS, I'd stick with GS for a while.
And then you can get a skillup PT in your 50s and get Scythe up to speed to prepare you for Guillotine.

Another option that would last you for some time, would be to skill up G.Axe, and get yourself an axe belt (level 30, subjob /WAR will net you +5 to your G.Axe skill), which would put G.Axe on par with Scythe or GS for skill for quite some time (think it only starts to lag behind in late 40s).
Sturmwind will far surpass any GS or Scythe WS for sometime; not to mention Shield Break is godly.

But that's just my 2cp

Again, if you can keep several weapons capped, then go for it!
But otherwise, stick with one until your 50s.

[Aksannyi]

With DRK I was slow to level my GSword, and I did go out and skill up on my own. Mostly while LFP wailing on EP for both XP and skill ups, I was doing fairly well, and Drain/Aspir were helping me out quite a bit.

After I got my GSword to about 80~ish, I would take it out in parties. With accuracy food and buffs I was still hitting fairly well even on IT mobs. My strategy was to xp with Scythe right after leveling till I capped it, then move on to Gsword for the remainder of the level, taking what skill ups I could get. I didn't ever get to cap on Gsword but I kept it *fairly* leveled while still dealing good amounts of damage. And if I found that I was missing too much on GSword, I would swap back to my Scythe.

For now, though, since DRK is {Taking a break.} I don't worry about it, though that was my strategy.

[Murphie]

I personally haven't had any trouble keeping both capped on my DRK (level 33 currently). But I've been doing a lot of soloing, so I have a longer period of time each level to get skillups. Of course, I'm fighting weaker mobs, so it may even out.

Still, it's not the end of the world to take some time out from your leveling to catch up any weapons that may be falling behind. And these days it's so easy to solo that it shouldn't be difficult at all.

[Aksannyi]

Very true Murphie. Looking back I should have leveled them both up simultaneously, but it was good for some farming. I guess.