Job selection for obtaining Sea access

[LyonheartLakshmi]

I'd like to one day get access to Sea. Currently I'm on CoP 2-3. I'm currently a lvl 70 WAR, and plan to get it to 75. In order to get the remaining missions completed, I'm contemplating leveling another job to a substantial level to increase my flexibility.

So, if I wanted to increase my chances at finishing the CoP mission line, what other job should I consider leveling? For reference, my current jobs:

70 WAR
60 BST
37 NIN
37 THF
37 WHM
30 MNK
26 PLD
20 BLM
14 BLU
10 BRD
7 RDM

Keeping in mind what subjobs I would need to level in addition to leveling the main job itself (e.g. RDM would likely require me to also level BLM to 37), what would be my best bet?

[DakAttack]

Ninja!

Although warrior should work out very well on most missions, being able to tank 6-4 with two Ninjas should greatly increase your chances of success. Mission 6-4 is 60 capped, and you've already got Ninja's sub leveled past 37.

You can probably attend missions as Warrior, but if you can attend as a DD Ninja you'll have a lot more survivability with a little less damage.

[Davitron3000]

I would think if you wanted the most flexibility, leveling a mage job would help the most because you already have a DD melee job.

I also agree with DakAttack about Ninja being useful because the job can do so many different things (tank, DD, nuke at some levels, etc.)

[Omni]

blm.

i know i was pestering a lot of blm in my ls to help out when doing cop.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Quick question aside from the obvious answers here (WAR, BST):

Of the jobs you've listed, what are the other ones you enjoy?

Just as an example, I took up RNG because I wanted to be COR. Really had no intention of going all the way with RNG, but came to appreciate it once I had finished it off as a subjob, so I kept going with it. And at that point i realized it would be good to keep around for CoPs. I actually got RNG to 75 ahead of COR.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is if you can pick a job you enjoy that works into CoPs, then doing the CoPs themselves will feel a lot less like work since those jobs weren't just a means of doing CoPs.

Of what you've listed:

WAR - Good for most CoPs, not good for kiting, though
BST - Did it once in 2-5 as /NIN, wasn't too bad if you bring a sturdy pet to kite.
NIN - Good for most CoPs in kiting and tankning
THF - no real outstanding applications in CoP.
WHM - Healing = Good.
MNK - Good DD, but nothing outstanding for the BCNMs aside from Hundred Fists.
PLD - Certain mob attacks ignore NIN's Shadows, PLD succeeds on these mobs.
BLM - Nuking = Good
BLU - Can't say, but the one I worked with on Promys sucked. Spammed Bludgeon.
BRD - Hard sell until 60 caps, as no Ballad II until then. They don't bring the damage, curing or damage reduction needed. BRD's strongest point is melee buffs and you can't expect to keep melees still on CoPs.
RDM - Similar problem to BRD, but shines after 50 caps begin.

Side note: COR - Strongest "refresher" option for 40 caps, BRD only has Ballad and wouldn't have Ballad II until 60 caps, RDM's Refresh is 41. Evoker's Roll lands squarely on level 40 and has Healer's Roll (+hMP buff) to back it up. If you're looking for a CoP "refresher" with longevity, this is the one, as COR supports mages more strongly than BRD does. More DD for your PT with this one, too.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Quick question aside from the obvious answers here (WAR, BST):

Of the jobs you've listed, what are the other ones you enjoy?

I honestly haven't played a job that I didn't end up enjoying. The closest I came to not enjoying a job was THF. But it wasn't the job I didn't like. It was the less-than-cooperative party members which made doing my job as THF a source of major frustration.

I enjoy tanking. I can enjoy healing. I have enough stable income that I can attempt the pricier jobs.

What I don't enjoy is LFG'ing. I might end up picking NIN back up. I've read that NIN/BST works quite well for when I get sick of seeking.

[Vyuru]

And out of curiosity, since I am about where the OP is, where would you rate dragoon on the list? Both as DD and DD/support/backup healer?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I enjoy tanking. I can enjoy healing. I have enough stable income that I can attempt the pricier jobs.

Big secret about the "pricier" jobs:

They're not as expensive as people think.

But then, I also have all those beastmen seals I pick up from BST, so when I'm low on funds, I have that to fall back on. I actually have so many I beg to share them with friends.

Also, with those jobs, most of the best armor and gear is free, cheap or an NM drop. OK, COR AF you have to pay out the nose for, but that was about it. Armor and weapon-wise NIN has it worse than RNG or COR, but still not really that bad.

[Icemage]

And out of curiosity, since I am about where the OP is, where would you rate dragoon on the list? Both as DD and DD/support/backup healer?

My Dragoon ratings for CoP:

Attacker: D- to B+
Depending on the battle, Dragoons can be anywhere from great to completely worthless. Dragoons are great at dealing consistent damage, but burst damage is still a bit gimpy even with Spirit Surge.

Support: D-
Dragoon's only real support role is with /THF for Trick Attack at 60+, and that's not particularly useful in the handful of missions where it's an available option. Mild exception: Level 75 Dragoon with Angon merit ability is very useful for some of the uncapped battles.

Backup Healer: D-
If you're relying on a dragoon for backup heals (<33%HP before AF hat, <50% after) you're in serious trouble. This is not a safe strategy to use in any of the battles IMO. Doable? Yes. Preferred? Absolutely not if you have any other options available.

Dragoon does a great job at early battlefields like Promyvion, when polearm WS are very strong and wyvern damage is substantial. The farther in you get, the less effective Dragoon becomes due to the time-critical nature of many battles.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I've known people who got Sea with DRG and never once dragged their groups down with them, so I'm going to have to humbly disagree with most of that.

Considering how MP expensive Cure III and up is for WHM, having a DRG/WHM or /BLU to back you in critical moments is a lifesaver an an MP saver for mages. Unless we're talking about an AoE spam mob - which isn't the case for many CoP missions before chapter 6 - DRG's wyvern usually comes out just fine.

Snoll Tzar, DRG is very weak overall there due to the extreme time limit, but I'm of the opinion you should have another 60+ job on hand before you do CoPs anyway. Lots of jobs are weak in that BC and even if you are one of the best jobs for it, its still mostly luck.

Also, don't forget the SAM update, DRG doesn't have to live on /THF at 60+ now.

Doing CoPs as DRG is very possible - just as it is with any job - but again, its a good idea to have alternative jobs to have more options open to you. At least one other job.

I can't really hope to get past Snoll Tzar on BST, which is why RDM is good to have. There may also be times when we have enough speedy DDs, so I can fall back on NIN or COR for another role if my RNG isn't really needed.

And trust me if you think doing CoPs once is bad enough, try doing them twice. Second time around I built my character with CoPs in mind. Glad I did.

[Icemage]

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's totally possible to get to Sea with DRG as your only job. I'm just pointing out that, taken at face strategic value across the entirety of the CoP missions, Dragoons struggle compared to other jobs in the 40 and 50 cap battles, and aren't generally that impressive at the 60 caps.

The real solution to getting to Sea successfully with minimal fuss: Have more than one job at level 75, with at least one of those jobs being a non-melee. Otherwise, I think your recommendation of Corsair is solid. I'd also rate Summoner, Red Mage, Blue Mage, Ninja and Bard pretty high on the list of most useful and painless jobs to get through CoP with.


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

The real solution to getting to Sea successfully with minimal fuss: Have more than one job at level 75, with at least one of those jobs being a non-melee. Otherwise, I think your recommendation of Corsair is solid. I'd also rate Summoner, Red Mage, Blue Mage, Ninja and Bard pretty high on the list of most useful and painless jobs to get through CoP with.

I could never really find a place for BRD until about CoP 5-3 and I wouldn't even consider that one for Snoll Tzar. I'm not entirely sure I want to get by on just BRD for the remainder or CoP, but BST and DRG EXP is just too hard-fought for me to be willing to put it on the line for missions. But BLU is on the agenda and I will need sea for complete spells, so I'll do what I gotta, I guess. Plus I crave the Temperance Axe.

NIN is next on my list for my Mithra and I can easily move forward with that pretty soon. RNG, COR and NIN are just more solid all-around than what I have on my Taru. So sea first for the cat.

[Grizzlebeard]

I pretty much went through all of CoP as a ninja with the odd switch to warrior and paladin. Other jobs I noticed were pretty much always in demand were black mage, summoner, ranger, monk, and white mage. Red mage and bard came into their own later on near the end but due to those stupid ass level caps their real strength was denied them till a fair chunk of the missions were out the way.

[Olorin401]

To be honest, there are jobs that are particularly useful depending on the mission run you're doing. Like SMN for Promyvion - You don't need one, but it greatly speeds up the fight when you have one.

[Feenicks]

As Icemage said, it's worth having two jobs levelled to get the maximum benefit. I did most of CoP on my WHM but for Ouryu, Snoll Tzar and a few other fights (Mammets I think) I went as BLM.