[Ellipses]

As a subjob, the only abilities THF provides to increase damage output are Sneak Attack and Trick Attack. WAR as a sub provides Double Attack, Attack Bonus, Berserk, and Warcry. That leaves a stat comparison. THF will generally give you more DEX while WAR will give you more STR. As long as you're meeting a minimum Accuracy level, which you generally should be regardless of your subjob, STR will help your overall damage more, especially on weaponskills.

[DarkEpyon]

DRG/mage solo can be quite interesting, but it's a very lengthy and arduous process. As Omgwtfbbqkitten already stated, play the field. WHM can be a royal pain though. Myself I started as RDM to 18, then BLM to 18, then RDM to 30 not touching WHM and no one complained, even on occasions where I main healed.

[eticket109]

I personally prefer /WAR to /THF and /SAM but each has it's benefits. I haven't DD'ed as anything but DRG/WAR for over a year though (except for a rare /NIN on some HNM style fights).

As far as solo subjobs, imo it's /BLU > /RDM > /WHM. If you find yourself in a backup healer position then /WHM is the way to go though.

As far as crafting, the easiest answer is Cooking. No matter what you sub or what you wear, or even what you level... you will almost always be eating food. Once you get it into the high levels and can HQ the food you use, it becomes rather cost effective. Cooking is also typically less costly to level than other crafts.

Alchemy is another choice that can work. It's relatively easy and low cost to level to the point of usefulness. Various Alchmey meds can be useful for missions or bc fights, etc. The prevalence of items like Hi-Potion and Hi-Ether tanks makes this just a bit less desirable now though.

Smithing, Clothcraft and Goldsmithing have little or no tie-ins to DRG as a job. Leathercraft has limited usefulness but has some early applications. (most of these synths however require a very high crafting level). Bonecraft has a number of applications throughout a DRG career and can be usefull throughout. (Bone and Beetle armor, earrings, gorgets etc.) As stated though, making your own gear is often impractical unless you really want to wear something you made and signed yourself. Wordworking is another option. A few of the polearms you'll use are crafted and once the skill is capped you can HQ Angons for a better price than the NPC.

As far as monetary gains, I would recommend Fishing, Cooking and Alchemy. There will always be more money in consumables than in gear. However, I would strongly recommend taking Smithing, Woodworking and Leathercraft into at least the 20s or 30s as it will make farming so so so much easier.

[Reichter]

So much info here o.O

THe more I read, the less attractive THF becomes. Which is a shame :|

So...it looks like WAR/MNK to 30, then DRG/WAR from there, possibly switching to SAM for 60+ for the TP goodness I hear it provides.

And as for whether I know I'll like it or not...it's an aesthetic thing. I like it

[Ellipses]

You know, there's nothing stopping you from having THF as an available sub. It certainly helps with farming.

I understand not wanting to get into a situation where you have tons of subjobs to level and not getting any time to focus on your main. But I'd recommend against getting to attached to any single plan of action. It's hard to say how things will really go until you've actually played for a while. Many's the player who thought they knew their full strategy and path to 75, only to find out there was something else they enjoyed just as much, or more.

For most jobs, especially the higher you go, there isn't one single subjob that covers every situation and that every party will expect you to sub. You're almost certainly going to end up with multiple available subjobs eventually.

[Reichter]

Originally Posted by Ellipses

You know, there's nothing stopping you from having THF as an available sub. It certainly helps with farming.

I understand not wanting to get into a situation where you have tons of subjobs to level and not getting any time to focus on your main. But I'd recommend against getting to attached to any single plan of action. It's hard to say how things will really go until you've actually played for a while. Many's the player who thought they knew their full strategy and path to 75, only to find out there was something else they enjoyed just as much, or more.

For most jobs, especially the higher you go, there isn't one single subjob that covers every situation and that every party will expect you to sub. You're almost certainly going to end up with multiple available subjobs eventually.

Totally hear what you're saying. At the same time, though, I want to get into doing silly, dragoony things as fast as possible, and was just looking for the quickest route

[Celeal]

Try all jobs if you have the chance/resource. It is fairly common for a player to have multiple 75 jobs. The more options you have, the more useful you are ^^b

For leveling multiple subjobs, there is not need to rush. However, you may want to have the subjob available when your main job is at a certain level.

For example:

/WAR from level 10: Even if you may not be tanking, the emergence Provoke can save the party. (If your WHM is dead, who is going to cure you ^^?)
/WAR level 30+ : Berserk, and Provoke for SATA parnter (Sneak Attack + Trick Attack). DRG/WAR teams up with a THF is ideal, because most polearm WS open Distortion Skillchain and the THF can close the Distortion and plant hate on the tank. At level 50+ DRG/WAR has Double Attack for TP gain, and Super Jump to remove hate, which enhance the role of SATA partner.

/THF : there is no reason to /THF before level 30. At mid-levels (after level 30), if you use the trick to pre-charge Sneak Attack when the puller is pulling the mob, you can make 2 or more Sneak Attack within 1 minute. At level 60 Trick Attack can be useful, if the DD can gain 100+ TP each minute.

/SAM : At least wait until level 50+ Hasso, or level 60 for Mediate.

/WHM, /NIN or others: Once you have main job 37+, WAR to 37, THF to 37, SAM to 37, at that point you should have enough game experience to figure out what other subjobs offer.

[Vyuru]

Ever so slightly expanding on what Celeal said:

I would go Drg/war up to lvl 60, and then probably switch over to Drg/sam.

As Celeal said, Drg is a natural SATA buddy for Thiefs and that first Provoke from a Dragoon IS needed to help setup the SATA if you are the SATA buddy. Some people say that you can grab hate just fine by jumping when the mob comes to camp. Grabbing and holding hate through jumps before you WS is too unreliable for my tastes.

At level 60 Thiefs get some nifty new job ability called Assassin which let's them gain SATA damage with just TA alone, no setup except standing behind the tank needed. At this point it's better for the tank to provoke the mob as it comes in, and the Thf run behind the tank and get ready for the TA+SC, or just TA onto mob depending on your party.

Too, Drg/sam really starts to shine past lvl 60 since you get Meditate at that level. This seems a natural time for these two jobs to split apart a bit and not rely on each other quite so much.

Drg/war is a good sub, but I like the flexibility that Drg/sam gives me, and it doesn't seem to make me pull quite so much hate while dealing roughly the same damage (maybe more, maybe less, never parsed it) through WS and SC. When you can get them Seigan+Third Eye are wonderfull lifesavers. Annoying as hell when you fight Imps though and you get smacked with Amnesia, tank is silenced and has Amnesia, and you have hate. (Amnesia prevents you from using any Job Abilities and WS just so you know)

And while Dragoon is *NOT* a tank job, you can tank fairly decently up to about lvl 30 or so, I wouldn't tank after you leave Yhoater Jungle, and you have to be carefull that your puller doesn't pull a goblin right after a mandy hits you with their vit down attack. Seriously consider some form of +def food if you do decide to do some low level tanking. Just thinking back to my time as a newbie Drg I kinda wish I had carried +def food with me a bit more often. The Platoon Lance is insanely powerfull for it's level and you will be taking some hits.

[Spinnthrift]

Originally Posted by Reichter

So I'm new to the game.,which craft(s) should i be looking into? I figure I've got some time until I'm a DRG, and didn't really want to waste time on a craft that wouldn't benefit me. Thanks for the help!

Honest advice? Alchemy or Fishing are the cheapest to level and the easiest to make money with. Alchemy, you can almost always make cash buying mats off the AH and selling to NPC vendors with a few recipes. More if you can HQ the synths. Fishing - dirt cheap to level, and you will almost always make money with it. That or look into gardening as a craft. It's also cheap and profitable.

[Reichter]

Really really really appreciate everything in here guys, and not just the stuff about crafting <3