[Rent-A-Hamster]

Version updates:

12/06 noted that the "wyvern sit macro" don't work no more.
09/07 added section on how to make only your wyvern sit
08/18 added FAQ section.
08/17 added more general strategies and sub job strategies


Hopefully this little bit of info all in one place will help to cull the redundant posting.

Info has been accumulated through personal experience and these Japanese web sites:

http://www.zephyr.dti.ne.jp/~miara/ff/ (click on ���R�m on the left frame.) If you can't find it, just go here: http://www.zephyr.dti.ne.jp/~miara/f...m_doragoon.htm

http://dragoon.kt.fc2.com/

http://www.my-drug.com/ffxi_drg/index.html

Dragoon Basics

Skill Proficiency

2 hand spear: A+
Dagger: E
1 hand sword: C-
1 hand club: E
2 hand club: B-
Evasion: C-
Parry: C

For more info on skill caps, check out this site:

http://www.ausystem.org/~aushacho/gbox/ff/skill.html

Stats, in relation to other jobs. Leftmost jobs have the highest values. Jobs separated by commas are considered to have the same values. For example, monks are first for HP, while warriors and samurais are tied for second.

HP: C (MNK > WAR,SAM > DRG ,PLD,DRK,BST > NIN,BRD,RDM,THF > WHM,RNG > BLM > SMN)

STR: B (WAR,DRK > DRG ,PLD > MNK,SAM,NIN > WHM,RDM,THF,BST,BRD > RNG > BLM,SMN)

DEX: D (THF > MNK,NIN > WAR,BLM,DRK,BST,SAM > DRG ,RDM,BRD,RNG > PLD,SMN > WHM)

VIT: C (MNK,PLD > DRG ,DRK,SAM,NIN > WAR,WHM,THF,BST,BRD,RNG > RDM > BLM,SMN)

AGI: D (RNG > THF,NIN > WAR,BLM > DRG ,DRK,SMN > WHM,RDM,SAM > MNK,BST,BRD > PLD)

INT: F (BLM > SMN > RDM,THF,DRK > BRD,SAM,NIN > WHM,BST,RNG > DRG ,WAR > MNK,PLD)

MND: E (WHM > SMN > RDM,PLD > MNK,BRD,RNG,SAM > DRG ,BLM,BST > WAR > THF,DRK,NIN)

CHR: C (BST > BRD,SMN > DRG ,WHM,PLD > BLM,RDM,SAM > WAR,MNK,RNG > NIN > THF,DRK)
For a stat calculator, go here:
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~nhart/Status_calculator.htm

[Rent-A-Hamster]

Lv1:
Call Wyvern
cooldown 2 hours
Summon a baby dragon to fight by your side

Lv5:
Ancient Circle
cooldown 5 min
Increases defense against dragon type monsters for you and your party members in range

Lv10:
Jump
cooldown 1 min 30 sec
Jump on your enemy and inflict damage. Functions as an attack ability

Lv10:
Attack Power Up
Passive Ability
Increases your attack power

Lv25:
Dragon Killer
Passive Ability
Increases your damage against dragon type monsters

Lv30:
Accuracy Up
Passive Ability
Increases your attack accuracy

Lv35:
High Jump
cooldown 3 min
Jump on your enemy and inflict damage. Functions as an attack ability. Also slightly reduces hate

Lv50
Super Jump
cooldown 5 min
Jump high up and leave the battle for a few seconds. Any hate towards you by any monster will be reset. Any attack by the monster will be evaded while you are in the air.

[Rent-A-Hamster]

LV10: Double Thrust
More TP = more dmg.
notes: 2 hits.
attributes:�ђ�

LV40: Thunder Thrust
More TP = more dmg.
notes:Lightning dmg, guaranteed hit.
attributes:�ђ�, ?Ռ�

LV70: Raiden Thrust
More TP = more dmg.
notes:Lightning dmg, guaranteed hit. Main or sub job must be war, pld, or drg
attributes:�ђ�, ?Ռ�

LV100: Ashibarai (foot sweep)
More TP = longer stun time.
notes:Stuns Target
attributes:?Ռ�

LV150: Penta Thrust
More TP = more dmg.
notes:5 hits.
attributes:��?k

LV175: Vorpal Thrust
More TP = higher critical hit rate
attributes:�ђ�, ?U��

LV200: Skewer
More TP = more accuracy
notes:3 hits. Main job must be drg.
attributes:�ђ�

LV225: daijyarin (um, going crazy? frenzied activity? Big wheel lol? All out effort? helpme )
More TP = ignore more defense.
notes: Ignores target's def. Good for HNM! Not sure if you need to have main or sub as war pld or drg
attributes:�j�M

My Wyvern and Me

The wyvern is the most unique 2 hour ability in the game. It summons a baby dragon to fight by your side. The wyvern's strength depends upon the level you are at when you summon it. While it is a very versatile ally, it does have a few limiations.

Recovery and buff spells cannot be cast on it.:mad:

It can only be healed by sitting down. The wyvern only sits when you sit. You cannot stand while the wyvern is sitting.

NEW UPDATE: SQUEENIX "FIXED" THIS "BUG" BECAUSE THEY HATE YOU AND WANT YOUR WYVERN TO F'N DIE!!!
�q��=����?@?@���͂�����������������!!!11one

The following "wyvern-only sit macro" does not work anymore. Yes, that's right. Because it's SOOOO overpowered.



UPDATE: You CAN make the wyvern sit while you stand!

There is a method you can use to stand while your wyvern sits, but it a rather strange process. I did not come up with this on my own. I learned it from the Japanese websites I link to in the first section. All credit goes to them.

This technique is tricky, so be sure to practice it before using it in a party. You don't want to screw this up.

Method:

1. Find a non-active monster and sit down near enough to it to be in attacking range. You can also do it with an active monster, but you have to be more careful so that it doesn't aggro you.

2. Target the monster bring up your command menu. Hit the key to stop sitting and get up and as fast as possible enter the command to attack. Your character should get up to attack while the wyvern stays sitting.

There are two things that can happen that can cause your wyvern to get up.
1. You get close enough and actually hit the monster with your weapon.
2. You enter the command to stop attacking. Yes, that means you have to stay in battle mode with your weapon out in order for this strategy to work.

To make things easier, here is a macro you can use.

First, manually target the monster you want to use.
Second, use this macro:

/heal on
/party I'll be in attack mode so that only my wyvern sits. Don't worry. (Or something to that effect to tell your party members what you're up to)
/wait 2
/heal off
/attack <t>

Using this method, you can have your wyvern recover HP with no TP loss whatsoever. Finally, monsters with an area attack aren't that scary anymore.




Wyvern Breath Usage

In addition to attacking the enemy alongside you, the wyvern can use various breath abilites.
The type of breath your wyvern does depends on your subjob.
There are three types of modes your wyvern can be in.

Offensive mode (sub: war, mnk, thf, rng, bst, brd, sam, nin, smn)
Recovery/Heal mode (sub: whm, rdm, blm)
All-purpose mode (sub: pld, drk)


Offensive mode:
Whenever you use a WS, your wyvern does a breath attack. It could be one of any of the elements excluding light and dark.
Note: Breath damage will lessen if it is resisted by a monster who is strong against that type of element. Any other breath will do the same amount of damage. In other words, each breath will do the same amount of damage to a certain monster unless it is resisted due to that monster being strong against a certain type of element.
Note: The less percent life your wyvern has, the weaker its breath will be.

Recovery/heal mode:
Whenever you do a WS, and if you are sticken with a negative status (blind, paralyze, poison), your wyvern does "cure breath", a status recovery move.
If you or any of your party members' HP is below 1/3, and you use a magic spell, your wyvern will use "heal breath", an HP recovery move. As you level up, your wyvern will learn heal breath II, heal breath III, etc, increasing the amount of healing it does.
Note: The Lv60 AF DRG helmet increases the effectiveness of heal breath in recovery mode. The requirement is instead 1/2 life, not 1/3

All purpose mode:
You get to use the offensive breath attacks when you use a WS, but you don't get the status recovery "cure breath"
If you or any of your party members' HP is below1/4, and you use a magic spell, your wyvern will use its heal breath HP recovery move.
Note: The Lv60 AF DRG helmet increases the effectiveness of heal breath in all-purpose mode. The requirement is instead 1/3 life, not 1/4 sds

[Rent-A-Hamster]

General Strategies

Know your role and shut your mouth
At earlier levels, the differences between melee classes aren't that apparent. From 1-30, the dragoon can be used as a tanker for the party, but after that, a paladin, warrior, or samurai would be better suited for the job.

Although you are a knight, you can't wear the spiffy heavy armor that warriors, paladins, or dark knights can wear. Dragoons are limited to light and medium armor. You might as well be wearing cardboard

At later levels, your role in a party becomes more of an all out attacker, like the dark knight. If you have a suitable tanker in your party who can draw the monster's hate towards him most of the time, you can wear equipment that boosts your attack and accuracy as much as possible, at the expense of defense.

In case you do become the target, you should have backup equipment to change into in order to reduce the pain.

For example: Sniper rings provide +5 accuracy, but reduce defense by 10 and dark resistance by 20. You'd be crazy to wear those things while a totetote's wailing on you. Solution? Macros.

Example macro to use if you become the target:
(phalanx ring gives you defense +10)

/equip ring1 phalanx ring
/equip ring2 phalanx ring
/echo Defense up, accuracy down

When the target switches to someone else:

/equip ring1 sniper ring
/equip ring2 sniper ring
/echo Defense down, accuracy up


If you're gonna die (when to use superjump):

Super Jump can be a lifesaver. Since it cancels all the hate towards you, you can use that opportunity to escape a dangerous situation.

While partying: You can use super jump to turn the monster's attention away from you and towards someone else or to evade a strong attack. This will give the mages time to heal you. You shouldn't even be tanking past level 50 either, what are you thinking!

While soloing: If your wyvern is out, super jump will turn the monsters' attention to it instead of you. Once you come back down, run like hell or dezone.

Lances are your best friend:

Lances are dragoon only, so that's a big hint that you should probably use them. They dole out the biggest damage among the spear class weapons. They are a little slower than the other spears, but while the normal spears only give 10 TP per succesful hit, lances give 12. That means you get a whopping 60 TP back if all 5 hits of pentathrust connect.

Sub Job Specific Strategies and Merits

Warrior

Attack, attack, attack! This job gives you lots of strength to help you deal out damage. Increased defense passive ability at level 20 and taunt at level 10 helps out at the earlier levels when you can still be an effective tanker. However, once you get double attack at level 50, get ready to kick some ass. Berserk(atk+25%)at level 30 is quite nice as well.

Thief

Everyone loves money. Thief sub gives you gil steal and treasure hunter to help reduce your financial woes. Fuiuchi(sneak attack) is what gives this job combo some power. Combine fui with doublethrust or pentathrust for some awesome damage.

When soloing, one usually can't use fui in the middle of a battle becuase there is no one else to become the target. You can do this with a dragoon with the help of Super Jump and you wyvern. Super Jump to turn the monster's attention to the wyvern, and then fui>penta to your delight.

White Mage

With the help of heal breath, soloing at earlier levels is quite viable, but later on becomes considerably harder. With the help of the AF helmet and heal breath, a dragoon might be a pretty good party healer, but that's not until level 60. I haven't tried that out myself yet.

because megami > care-ga causes lots of hate, you can use superjump after that to cancel the hate.

Samurai

Pentathrust mania. With the ability "store TP" at level 20, each hit with a lance will give you 14 TP. If all hits of pentathrust connect, you will get a nice 70 TP back. With the ability "meditation" at level 60, you will have an abundance of TP for your bunghole.

Using meditation, you can renkei with yourself. When you have 90 TP use meditation, and do pentathrust. You should be able to acquire another 100 TP fast enough; if not, use a jump or two. Follow the pentathrust with a skewer.

[Rent-A-Hamster]

Frequently Asked Questions


Q: How long does my wyvern stay with me?
A: The only way your wyvern vanishes is if:

Your wyvern loses all of its HP and dies.
You die :dead:
You ride a chocobo.
You exit to POL in the field or in a dungeon. (If you logout, your wyvern won't disappear. If you go into a town first and then exit to POL, your wyvern won't disappear)
You change your main job.
You change your sub job.

Strangely enough, your wyven will stay with you even if you ride the airship. Go figure.



Q: I don't want to lose TP by sitting down, but the only way for my wyvern to recover HP is for both of us to sit. Can I make it sit while I stand?
A: Nope.
UPDATE: YES YOU CAN. See Wyvern section of guide
NEW UPDATE: NO YOU CAN'T! "BUG" was "FIXED" Your Wyvern will DIE! Merry Christmas!!wwwww

Q: Can I change the appearance of my wyvern? Does it get bigger as I level up?
A: No and no. Your wyvern always looks the same.

[tazirai]

This post needs a sticky STAT!!!!

Very nice HamsterGood start

A class breakdown as subs Is needed If not in the works and objectiveness for each type of sub. NOT the oNLY WAR is good sub.

[ganhosi]

WOW, Thanks for the info. I copied all this info down to print out, man how informative. Thanks a bunch man, you will definitely make my taru/drg life easier.

[Rico]

Very Good information I'll place this as a Sticky Dragoon's aren't bad at all there are basicaly ranked 3rd in fighting overall.

[vagtark]

tell me how on earth paladins are ranked 4th for higherst STR?? there almost the wrost attackers?

[DarkenedShadow]

i still neeed more info mainly because im gonna be a taru taru dragoon. I cant decide if it would be better to sub rdm or war... if i sub war i only get like 30 more hp htats just basedd on stat calc... i was wondering if my def wit war as sub is gonna be enuf to take some hits and actually use taunt if ihave too or would i be better of just using rdm so i can throw in a phalanx stone skin combo along with enchanted lance.

[Leon]

Originally posted by vagtark
tell me how on earth paladins are ranked 4th for higherst STR?? there almost the wrost attackers?

Errrr....yea :p
They don't dish out much damage. They take damage.

Nice FAQ work. This will be very useful ^^

[Rent-A-Hamster]

Originally posted by DarkenedShadow
i still neeed more info mainly because im gonna be a taru taru dragoon.

Cobbi could weigh in on the ins and outs of the Taru dragoon. He's more qualified than I to discuss that option

Originally posted by DarkenedShadow
I cant decide if it would be better to sub rdm or war... if i sub war i only get like 30 more hp htats just basedd on stat calc... i was wondering if my def wit war as sub is gonna be enuf to take some hits and actually use taunt if ihave too or would i be better of just using rdm so i can throw in a phalanx stone skin combo along with enchanted lance.

I don't think a level up party would normally want one of their melees subbing a mage job. Unless you have bards or refresh red mages, sitting to regain your MP will drain your TP.

As a general rule for regular level up parties, melees should stick to a melee sub to supplement their role as melee. Since you probably won't be the tanker, especially at later levels, and especially since you will be a taru, you won't use taunt that much except in emergencies.

I haven't tried subbing red mage, but here are some things to think about:

Stoneskin is level 34 and Phalanx is level 33. That means you'll have to be level 68 to use Stoneskin and 66 to use Phalanx with a red mage sub.

A taru drg/rdm at level 68 has 161 MP. Stoneskin costs 29 MP and Phalanx costs 21 MP. You could use items to boost your MP.
Two astral rings would leave you with 211 MP.

Unless you are taking hits, the effects of Stoneskin and Phalanx are useless. It seems like the mage subs are more suited for going solo.

[Rico]

Hmm... 2handed club B+? Cool ^^ I expected not to be that well...

[DarkenedShadow]

okkie dokie, thanks for da info hamster

[Cobalt Katze]

Heh, I was just about to start writing mine when I saw this and got a tad discouraged.

I'll still work on my guide though, I'm just getting things organized first. But I plan to go in depth with all the posibilities a dragoon could have, since I see it as a very diverse job.

Just give me a bit, ne?