[eticket109]

Wow, this was a bump from outta nowhere lol

There really is no benefit to monk that I can see other then slightly more HP and the occasional Boost. Most of Monk's most usefull abilities don't carry over to a subjob. I can't see any reason to suggest it past lvl 10.

For exp parties, /THF and /WAR are still pretty much the way to go. /DRK, /NIN and /SAM have situational uses but aren't typically used for exp parties.

/RDM and /WHM are both very good subs for soloing.

[eticket109]

With the new changes to Samurai and the addition of Hasso, /SAM becomes quite valuable again at 50+

[Valiant]

Has anyone ever tried DRG/BLU? (Is totally not thinking of Khimari of FFX )

[AchillisGT]

Never subbed monk, but have read subtile blow and boosts work well in Dunes, but berserk is definitly easier to use with /war than boost. Then again, dragoon is personal preference, for example: I like to take a few hits when necesary (adds to tp.. minor, but helps), so I sub war and whm (solo) and plan to solo with /pld for extra Def (hey, we already have attack bonus) and both breaths, while my boy swears by /sam and another by /thf. All depends on your style. Plus in addition to your subtile blow, you would have extra hp too. Try it!

Ooh yeah, I have good friend who loves blu, but loves drg more, so he uses drg/blu and i've partied with 4 other drg and a whm at one time and while myself and friend subbed war, the other two had /blu and we rocked Qufim

[Greylynx]

I used DRG/BLU to solo from level 20 to level 40. At 40 I finally started partying and for that I go /WAR. I still use it when I solo (which isn't often anymore) and when I help lower levels with missions/quests/etc. Cocoon, Bludgeon and 5 mp healing breaths (with Foot Kick) are tough to beat. You would be amazed what you can solo with this combo.

I imagine its even better now with Wild Carrot, but I have been away from the game for several weeks and haven't tried it. I hear that can heal 180 hp which would be nice in a pinch.

Another perk is that you can (within limits of course) basically costomize your stats and job traits to match the situation. Auto Regen and Beast Killer are great traits. I usually have a few spell spots left open which I put + STR spells into, which can usually give me +4-6 Strength, which is a nice freebie.

[Sevv]

Lol i just looked at my old post so much has changed in the game

drg/sam is amazing and drg/blu is so much better for solo then drg/whm lmao

[silentsteel]

Care to give an addition to why /blu is so good? <3 being drg currently but I might enjoy soloing more than xping, despite the fact that I really enjoy sam as well XD (Only have drg at 23 atm... I dont want to lvl war -.- (not that I dont like it)course I'd prolly hafta for sam anyways XD)

[Greylynx]

/BLU is great for many reasons:

1) Low mp, fast casting spells to trigger healing breath. The one I use is foot kick but there are at least 3 others. The point of these spells is not to do damage or anything, just to quickly and cheaply get out a healing breath.

2) Cocoon has a HUGE defence boost, and when I solo a mob I keep it up at ALL times.

3) BLU job traits can be set to maximize performance. I currently make sure to have auto-regen and clear mind up. There are many "killer" traits like beast killer and lizard killer which can be set depending on the mobs you are fighting.

4) Head butt. This is a cheap, fast cast stun that used to stick almost 100% of the time with me when I soloed gobs. Nice for stopping Bomb Toss, but many other applications as well.

5) Bludgeon has blunt damage, which is useful if you run into a mob strong against piercing. Bludgeon really takes a chunk outta any skeleton type mob.

If you have any spell slots left, start customizing stats like STR, VIT, etc. Plus /BLU has naturally more ATT, STR, etc. then /WHM (not sure how much more, as /BLU is my only mage sub).

[Achaicus]

hm.. solo as drg/blu (or drg/brd) !

I have been 'holding out' on lvling WHM b/c I was saving it for when I could get my wife to play as a RDM/BLM - but this opens up a few more possibilities!

I had always thought to try drg/brd, so I'll probably duo as drg/brd with w/e job she wants to play.

Thanks :D

- Greg W.

[Sevv]

drg/brd is good for soloing to third floor on promies... the lack of healing breath to other party members and the lower trigger still with af helm hurts TBH. im gonna redo a my party v sub post later ^.^

[amiller90]

Has anyone tried drg/nin with maybe double swords? Drgs can use most one handed swords right? I just thought maybe drg/nin might be fun to try for soloing

[neokaril]

Originally Posted by amiller90

Has anyone tried drg/nin with maybe double swords? Drgs can use most one handed swords right? I just thought maybe drg/nin might be fun to try for soloing

Dragoon DRG
Attacker : 4 | Defender : 3 | Healer : 0 | Supporter : 0
HP : B+ | MP : 0 | STR : A | DEX : B | VIT : C | AGI : B | INT : E | MND : E | CHR : D
Dagger : E | 1H Swd : C- | Spear : A+ | 1H Club : E | 2H Staff : B
Evade : C | Parry : C

Ninja NIN
Attacker : 4 | Defender : 3 | Healer : 0 | Supporter : 2
HP : B | MP : 0 | STR : B | DEX B+ | VIT : B | AGI : B+ | INT : C | MND : F | CHR : E
Grapple : E | Dagger : C+ | 1H Swd : C | 1H Katana : A- | 2H Katana : C | 1H Club : E | Bow : E | Shooting : C | Throwing : A
Evade : A | Parry : A

The problem with doing as you say is that the DRG is not made for swords (neither is NIN), benifit of dual wield on a job that has it's strength it two handed weapons is low, additionally, solo with slow cast of Utsusemi: Ichi means you wont be able to have shadows up when fighting anything you would need them for..

That being said, give it a shot and see if it works for you.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Originally Posted by neokaril

... additionally, solo with slow cast of Utsusemi: Ichi means you wont be able to have shadows up when fighting anything you would need them for.

Which also translates to it being much harder to trigger Healing Breath. As a Multipurpose Wyvern, you'd have to be down to 1/4th of your HP (as opposed to 1/3rd when using a Defensive Wyvern) for Healing Breath to trigger as it is. Add to that the long casting time of the entire Ichi line. Having to precisely time the casting of a spell that takes 4 seconds to finish casting is probably not something you want to deal with when you're down to 25% of your HP.

You could start casting Tonko: Ni to trigger Healing Breath starting at DRG68/NIN34. But by that point, the skill gap between your A+ Polearm and C- Sword is already 35 levels.

If you find a mob that you're better off soloing with Utsusemi as DRG/NIN, you might as well stick to just using Polearm, and that's once you get access to Utsusemi: Ni at level 74. Before that point, subbing WHM, RDM or BLU would give you fewer headaches when it comes to soloing.

[nickofearth]

Wow old topic, but it was replied to not too long ago so here I go >_>;

It's amazing to see how much things have changed in FFXI.

Now a days with ToAU areas you can say y helo thar easy soloing and y helo thar wyvern burns. (wyvern burns, making /mage sexy in xp/merit pts

As far as DRG/NIN it only really seems to be for certain fights (U/O or final ZM fight for instance) only for the shadows to stop making aoes eat your face off. /NIN really lowers damage (and in turn hate) and really provides nothing but shadows. If Dragoon's got the ex weaponskills (red lotus blade, seraph blade, vorpal blade) and Savage Blade, I'd say DRG/NIN would prob be much more worth trying with dual swords. Disector/Joyeuse or Disector/KC >_>; (Ya, I went there.)

Me? In xp I prefer /WAR. Not because I conformed. But because I love the power I have drg/war. When I first started DRG I was strickly /THF. I gave THF a run for their money (easily did as much as early SATA Viper Bites.) But once I had to use /WAR for first voke... I really fell in love with it. Double Attack and Berzerk... what more can any DD want? (well maybe aggressor... damn you war! lol) If you are good you can easily avoid having too much hate. In caedarva mire, mobs die way too fast to worry about hate. It's my fave merit spot.

[Djonma]

I used drg/blm through dunes because I didn't want to sub whm and get asked to main heal. You know what the dunes are like. Then drg/whm to solo to 30. Then drg/thf to 50 when I brought out Double attack with drg/war.
When I get to 60 I'll try out /sam and /whm for soloing again with the af hat.