[rogan12345]

Hello
I was wondering which of these three Job/SubJob combinations is best for dealing the most amount of damage.

• SAM/DRG
• SAM/THF
• DRG/SAM
• DRG/THF

Which one is best for solely doing the most damage? If they vary based on level, then please explain.

[Murphie]

What do you mean by "most damage?" Most damage over the course of one fight, or most damage per hit, or something else?

[Donnovan]

Well if I had to pick the job I was going to play out of those four selections, I would pick DRG/SAM. Just because it seems like the most logical to me. But that's just my opinion.

[Armando]

Everything is situational and depends on the rest of the party, what you're fighting, the equipment available, the presence/absence of Mythic WS, etc.

[Murphie]

That's what I was going to get to, Armando, but I just wanted to figure out what he meant by best. For curiosity's sake.

[rogan12345]

What do you mean by "most damage?" Most damage over the course of one fight, or most damage per hit, or something else?

over the course of a fight (average damage per second)

Everything is situational and depends on the rest of the party, what you're fighting, the equipment available, the presence/absence of Mythic WS, etc.

How about, we are fightning normal Very Toughs (not monk-type, not magic casters, etc.).
In a basic party of 6. Theres a WHM, a BLM, a RDM, two WARs, and Me.
I have the basic non-twinked gear for my level, and I have the max Weapon Skill for my level.
In that situation, which Job Combination would be best? Keep in mind that I solely care about Damage (not defense, tanking ability, or anything else)

[Armando]

At 75, with the Wyvern factored in, Probably DRG/SAM. SAM gear tends to be more costly, so "basic" DRG gear is better than "basic" SAM gear. Because of this, the comparison is inherently biased.

However you can't "care solely about damage." Ability to mitigate damage factors directly into your damage output because it means you don't have to limit your damage as much. In addition to this, there is never a "neutral" party configuration. WAR may skillchain better with one of the two jobs better than the other. SAM's best WS happen to make powerful skillchains; DRG's Penta Thrust doesn't make Lv.3 Skillchains. On the other hand, Drakesbane will and it's even better than Penta Thrust but it's hard to obtain. In addition to this, the mob can be weak to piercing damage skewing things in favor of the DRG. Conversely, while you don't run into these in EXP, there are mobs that resist piercing more than they resist slashing, skewing things in favor of the SAM.

All of this varies by level. /SAM only really takes off after 50. /WAR is good since 30.

It's also ignoring the fact the SAM will be able to mitigate damage starting at Lv.35 with much higher frequency than the DRG can High Jump to shed hate. DRG/SAM won't get SAM's damage mitigation tools until 70.

It's also ignoring the fact that a Lv.75 DRG will be swinging Thalassocrat which lowers the enemy's Evasion, and also will be using Angon to lower the enemy's Defense. In effect the DRG raises everyone's damage, a contribution which goes beyond being the top damage dealer.

In short there's no answer. I don't know where you're going with these questions but I say level the main job you want and level all appropriate sub jobs. You can't get by with just one sub job no matter what job you level. Different jobs do damage in different ways, and each one excels in different scenarios. There is no such thing as the best DD. If you like SAM level SAM. If you like DRG level DRG. If you like DRK, MNK, RNG, or WAR, level that. If you like more than one, level more than one.

[rogan12345]

You've got some really good points there. You see, i DO plan on leveling SAM, DRG, and THF. But I guess I should really ask this: which combination should I use from levels 25-50? Because I plan on partying with my brothers/friends alot over the summer, and based on they're main jobs, I need to do as much damage as possible. My brothers/friends are the following Jobs: WHM, THF, PLD, WAR, and RDM. In that case, which Job Combination should I be, to party with them, through levels 25-50?

[Armando]

Ok, that gives a lot more information.

Both SAM and DRG will complement the THF - a mid-level THF's bread and butter for damage is closing Distortion Skillchains with SATA Viper Bite. Both SAM and DRG can open Distortion for the THF (DRG with Double Thrust, SAM with Tachi: Enpi.) This also has the side effect of causing the tank to gain a ridiculous amount of hate - and the tank in this case is already capable of generating a lot of hate when played properly. This is probably why they're emphasizing doing the most damage possible.

Now, SAM's selling point post-30 is its ability to Skillchain with two different people thanks to Meditate. However, in this case the other DD to skillchain with is the WAR, and he should be subbing /NIN to serve as a SATA partner for the THF, and he should also be supporting the party with Shield Break. Shield Break is a relatively unimpressive WS without Sneak Attack, and your party lacks a BLM for strong Magic Bursts, so SAM's ability to skillchain with the WAR (or PLD) goes to waste in this case (though the SAM can simply use the extra 100 TP from Meditate to do a solo Tachi: Enpi.)

DRG does piercing damage, which is a big plus here - since your party is built around the THF, which does piercing damage, then having another DD that does piercing damage is appealing when fighting mandragora, bats, or any other mob type that's weak to piercing. In addition to this, the WAR's Shield Break and the Thief's Acid Bolts will allow the DRG's Wyvern to do damage far more easily.

I would say DRG is somewhat more suited to that party setup, though either choice is good since both will open Distortion. You could go SAM if you liked it more than DRG. For either job, you'd want to be /WAR during that level range.

Note that DRK would also work - it can open Distortion using Great Sword (Hard Slash), and it can exploit Souleater to the fullest in such a high-hate, high-support setup. The same goes for RNG - they, too, can open Distortion, do high overall damage, and can take advantage of piercing-weak mobs. An offensive COR would be similar, trading raw damage for the ability to buff the other DDs further.

The DDs that don't capitalize as much on this party setup's strengths are MNK, BLU, BST and PUP.

[godsaiyan]

Originally Posted by Donnovan

Well if I had to pick the job I was going to play out of those four selections, I would pick DRG/SAM. Just because it seems like the most logical to me. But that's just my opinion.

I would have to agree with you here and only because not only do you have a high damage melee here, you also have the pet to assist as well, giving you even more power in both soloing and partying conditions

[Malacite]

The wyvern doesn't just assist your damage, it can also save your ass if you have a mage sub set. Take some time to look up all 3 jobs on the forums and the wiki and you'll find they're all capable soloists. DRG takes the cake however with the wyvern being able to use Healing Breath on top of DRG's already high damage output.

You're going to need a bunch of sub jobs for these however; WAR, NIN, DNC and WHM or BLU.

[IfritnoItazura]

Originally Posted by rogan12345

Hello
I was wondering which of these three Job/SubJob combinations is best for dealing the most amount of damage.

• SAM/DRG
• SAM/THF
• DRG/SAM
• DRG/THF

Which one is best for solely doing the most damage? If they vary based on level, then please explain.

Originally Posted by rogan12345

You've got some really good points there. You see, i DO plan on leveling SAM, DRG, and THF. But I guess I should really ask this: which combination should I use from levels 25-50? [ ... ] My brothers/friends are the following Jobs: WHM, THF, PLD, WAR, and RDM. In that case, which Job Combination should I be, to party with them, through levels 25-50?

DRG/SAM doesn't make much sense until Lv.50 for Hasso, and even then it may be come too much of an MP sponge, though that's not as much of a concern in this particular case with that much healing power in the party. The SJ /THF really don't add anything until DRG30/THF15 when Sneak Attack becomes available.

For a Dragoon in that party, /WAR for Berserk is pretty much the best bet Lv.30+, as long as one is careful not being an MP sponge. Before Lv.30, support job doesn't matter as much; can /RNG for Accuracy Bonus, or even /BRD for Army's Paeon or /DNC for Drain Samba.

SAM/DRG works pretty much from Lv.20 and up; /DRG gives Attack Bonus earlier than /WAR, and Jump is an extra attack round every 90 seconds. The SJ /WAR becomes more competitive at SAM30/WAR15 when Berserk is available, and is probably the better choice for most (unless Wyvern Earring and Wyvern Mantle are in the equation, esp. if the SAM can use Hasso full-time or nearly so).

[rogan12345]

Okay, thanks everybody for the info

I decided I'm going to get THF to level 35 to be my subjob, and raise SAM and DRG depending on which one I feel like raising at the time. Once I get DRG to level 60-ish, I'll consider DRG/SAM too.
Thanks

[VZX]

Polearm SAM/WAR for meriting in bird.
GKT SAM/DRG for meriting in everywhere else.
SAM/THF is not meriting/exping job. It's a job/subjob combination you bring where you don't really have solid tank and the monster doesn't have hate reset.


DRG/SAM is good all round for bird. But it's pale in comparison to decked Polearm SAM/WAR or Polearm WAR/SAM in the same spot.
DRG/THF is not really good for anything.

[IfritnoItazura]

OP was only concerned about the Lv.25-50 range, and it's a static party.

Whatever gives the most fun to as many people in that party is the strongest job/support job combination. That said, I still recommend SAM/WAR and DRG/WAR, based on the information given by the OP.