Subjobs for PiratesFollow

I figured I'd try to put together a little guide for Corsair's subjob choices. Not like it matters, as people are still posting "Is only /NIN ok?" and "Do I NEED /WHM?" threads, but one can hope, can't they? ^^; Y'arr, of course they can.

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First, what is Corsair?
Seems trivial, I know, but let's make sure everyone is on the same page, so we don't spend 2 pages convincing people why not to /THF in EXP.

Support - First and foremost, COR helps the party through its Phantom Roll party buffs. If you're not doing this... you're not doing your job, period. The best news is, this can be done equally well with any subjob. At all times, Phantom Rolling should be your primary focus. However, it should almost never be your sole focus. As rolling will only take a small fraction of your time, you have plenty of time left over to fill other roles, such as...

Damage Dealer - COR has access to nice guns and bullets, B marksmanship, and Slug Shot. Quick Draw can also be used as a nice magic-based damaging Job Ability. COR also has access to B+ daggers and B- swords, including Mercurial Kris and Joyeuse. In some situations (particularly T-VT mobs) you can melee for TP then step back to Slug Shot. On more difficult mobs (IT mobs), shooting for TP will give you better mileage. On tougher mobs still (like some HNMs), it might be best to rely solely on Quick Draw for damage, so as not to feed TP. For most situations, however, you should be able to equip enough ranged accuracy (or accuracy when meleeing) to land a solid hit-rate.

Puller - Hot topic of discussion; you either love it or hate it. Some people will shy away from pulling (or refuse) because it disrupts their Phantom Roll cycle, and because they are stuck using a high-delay gun to pull. Others love it; once COR gains access to the Peacemaker at 72, some believe COR to be the best puller in the game. I personally feel that before obtaining the Peacemaker, if you are doing a 4-roll cycle, you have plenty to attend to at camp and should not pull, unless as a last resort (which speaks poorly on the party's setup). Regardless, you will form your own opinion about COR pulling (or already have). At some point a party will ask you to pull, and you might accept the role.

Healer - Corsairs may occasionally be called upon for backup healing. This typically happens on tough fights where daggers and guns would not be effective, like HNMs. It may also be useful if your setup is severely lacking in healing. For experience points, most people here agree that DD subjobs will give you better results than healing subs. But it may be situationally useful while leveling, and it will certainly come up in endgame events. With a mage subjob, you can use Evoker's on yourself, and can access Cure III with the proper subjob. However, most MP gear will require sacrificing ranged accuracy, which will hurt your DD capacities. Typically, dealing damage while using a mage subjob (outside of Quick Draw) isn't very feasible, as you will either have a minuscule MP pool or terrible ranged accuracy. However, another interesting option is /DNC. See its section below for more details.

Soloer - Unless using /BST, don't kid yourself. The only thing in our favor is A+ parrying. No evasion, no defense, and no native healing. However, if you have BST leveled, COR/BST can be fairly potent. Check the BST section below for further details. /DNC also opens up a Corsair's soloing ability, much as with any job.

Tank - Also no, for the same reasons we can't solo. Additionally, no dependable native hate tools.

OK, got that out of the way. Now for the whole point:

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Subjobs!

Warrior
Perks - Provoke, Berserk, Double Attack, Warcry, Attack Bonus
Details - You can be a decent backup tank in the Dunes (like almost any job), but this ability fades quickly. All of /WAR's traits are great for damage dealing, as any melee job can tell you. However, the problem is that a) Double Attack goes mainly wasted, as it has no effect on ranged attacks, and b) this subjob gives no help to your ranged accuracy. Can be powerful, but requires the right situation. COR/WAR is further discussed here.

Monk
Perks - Boost, Counter, Dodge, Focus, Chakra, Max HP Boost II
Details - Basically no reason to touch this, for the same reason that most other jobs don't. Focus doesn't boost ranged accuracy, and nothing else here is worth it.

White Mage
Perks - Cure III, Curaga II, Raise, Reraise, Dia II, Barspells, -na spells, Erase, Protectra/Shellra II, Blink, Stoneskin, Sneak, Invisible, Teleports, Divine Seal, Auto Regen, Magic Defense Bonus II, Clear Mind II
Details - Tons of support abilities. As mentioned above, utilizing extra MP gear will require giving up ranged accuracy gear, so this mainly shines in areas where COR's gun won't be worthwhile (such as some HNM's). As far as mage subs go, this is a very safe bet, as you get Cures, Raise, -na's, and Blink/Stoneskin. However, unlike several mage subs, no Magic Attack Bonus for Quick Draw.

Black Mage
Perks - Bio II, Warp, Escape, Tractor, Magic Attack Bonus II
Details - Your spells are essentially worthless. However, this is the only job that will give you MAB II for Quick Draw. It's up to you and your linkshell as to whether the lack of utility is worth the boost. The situationality of /BLM is discussed here.

Red Mage
Perks - Cure III, Dispel, Dia II, Bio II, Blink, Stoneskin, Sneak, Invisible, Fast Cast II, Magic Attack Bonus I, Magic Defense Bonus I
Details - A nice, balanced mage sub. Single-target cures, a reliable Dispel to backup Dark Shot, Blink/Stoneskin, and particularly MAB. Very nice if you need healing, but not the special perks of /WHM.

Thief
Perks - Steal, Flee, Mug, Gilfinder, Treasure Hunter
Details - Good farming sub as usual, but as COR is a poor soloer, you're best served farming with another job (or perhaps, a better soloing subjob, like /BST or /DNC). SATA doesn't work with ranged attacks, nor any Weapon Skill you'd bother using, which makes it mostly useless for EXP parties. Don't bother. Yes, I know you feel like more of a pirate with /THF. Still don't do it.

Paladin
Perks - Cure III, Flash, Sentinel, Resist Sleep, Auto Refresh
Details - Healing, tank support, defense, Auto Refresh... everything is here but MAB. And a MP pool. You'll need a full MP build to make this work, and even then it's not significantly better than other mage options.

Dark Knight
Perks - Stun, Tractor, Last Resort, Souleater, Attack Bonus II
Details - Last Resort, Souleater, and the Attack Bonuses will boost your Slug Shot damage, sure. But Berserk from /WAR will likely serve you better in the long run, as it doesn't hurt you and can be used for gaining TP. Stun is nice, of course, but there better be a strong need to justify this sub over your other options.

Beastmaster
Perks - Charm, Leave, Wide Scan II
Details - If your BST is equal to (or higher than) your COR's level, this can work quite nicely, and even be a *gasp* strong soloer. You can charm nearly as well as a BST main, but can use your pet rolls to boost your pet's power, and Corsair's Roll to boost your EXP. For more information, see Nekio's post here.

Bard
Perks - Sword Madrigal, Sheepfoe Mambo, Valor Minuet II, Mage's Ballad, Advancing March, Hunter's Prelude, Magic Finale, Army's Paeon III, Raptor Mazurka, Resist Silence II
Details - The ultimate party-buffing job. Your song, while weakened, can give an additional bonus to accuracy, ranged accuracy, evasion, and (ranged) attack; as well as giving you a dependable +1MP/tic; as well as giving you a reliable Finale to back up Dark Shot; as well as giving you new buffs (Haste and Regen). Unfortunately, most groups will expect you to either use a sub to boost your damage dealing (e.g. /RNG) or healing (e.g. /WHM), leaving few opportunities to utilize this subjob. If nothing else, fantastic for BLM and SMN burns. Don't write this sub off.

Ranger
Perks - Sharpshot, Scavenge, Camouflage, Barrage, Wide Scan III, Alertness, Accuracy Bonus II, Gun Belt, Beater's Earring
Details - HERE we go! Ranged accuracy through Sharpshot and the job trait. Wide Scan and Alertness help somewhat for pulling. Camoflauge saves you some Prism Powders, and Scavenge can net you some Firesand for making your own Iron Bullets. B A R R A G E; this JA alone makes this sub amazing. Gun Belt and Beater's Earring are solid pieces that can last you until 75. This is the DD sub of choice, and will serve you well from the second you pick up a gun.

Samurai
Perks - Meditate, Seigan, Third Eye, Store TP II
Details - Nothing really going here. Hasso will give STR+5, and Seigan/Third Eye can block a few hits -- both of these require a two-handed weapon, such as a Fire Staff. Meditate and Store TP will help, but Barrage can likely keep up with TP as well as causing damage. If you need protection that much, stick with Utsusemi or Blink/Stoneskin. If you need damage, there's better options.

Ninja
Perks - Utsusemi: Ni, Tonko: Ni, Dual Wield II, Stealth, Resist Bind II, Genin Earring
Details - Has potential to have second-highest accuracy, if you dual-wield ranged accuracy dagger. Utsusemi is nice as always, but typically you won't pull hate often enough to matter, so this is generally only useful for pulling (/NIN is not always needed to pull in most situations, but is occasionally necessary -- particularly in meripo), or fighting AoE-heavy NMs. Dual Wield II might be nice for TP gain if you're meleeing, and reduces your weapon delay, but most people favor single-wielding a Joyeuse. (Of course, you could dual-wield Joyeuse and Mercurial Kris, but I digress).

Dragoon
Perks - Jump, High Jump, Attack Bonus, Accuracy Bonus, Wyvern Earring, Wyvern Targe
Details - Not too bad. Accuracy and Attack bonuses, and some jumps to help build TP faster. The 6% extra Haste gear when meleeing for TP is the main draw, particularly at 75 when they can be stacked with a Haste build. High Jump's hate shedding is nice, but in most of my usage, it's not been worth holding onto, and I've just used it whenever its recast came up. I wouldn't really recommend this until you have other Haste gear to combine it with (and certainly not without a Wyvern Earring).

Summoner
Perks - Aerial Armor, Shining Ruby, Whispering Wind, Auto Refresh
Details - The only real reason to sub SMN is to get Aerial Armor on the tank, a strategy that's not frequently implemented anymore. At 92 MP (plus summoning and perpetuation costs), some races may need MP gear to even use the ability. If you're that worried for your tank, stick with Cure III or Wild Carrot.

Blue Mage
Perks - Cocoon, Metallic Body, Healing Breeze, Wild Carrot, Auto Regen, Resist Sleep, Magic Attack Bonus I
Details - Now this is nice. Like RDM, you get Cure III (Wild Carrot) and MAB. However, you also get Healing Breeze, Auto Regen, and some protection through Cocoon and Metallic Body. A nice balance between /WHM and /RDM.

Puppetmaster
Perks - Activate, "Healer Puppet"
Details - Probably the best use for /PUP's half-level puppet is equipping the Stormwaker body with the Valoredge or Harlequin head, and using it as a curebot for soloing. But this is likely inferior to /BST or /DNC.

Dancer
Perks - Drain Samba II, Aspir Samba, Curing Waltz II, Divine Waltz, Healing Waltz, Quickstep, Box Step, Desperate Flourish, Spectral Jig, Accuracy Bonus I
Details - Dancer has proven itself to be fairly powerful as a subjob, and COR is no exception. Unlike mage subjobs, /DNC offers COR the ability to provide backup healing (or extensive solo capabilities) without giving up accuracy gear (and in fact, /DNC gives one level of Accuracy Bonus trait). You will be able to get some use of this sub if you are shooting for TP (as you can use this TP for Waltzes) but meleeing is required to get full use out of this subjob. You get HP restoration through Drain Samba, Curing Waltz, and Divine Waltz. Aspir Samba, when fighting aspirable mobs, provides a way to restore MP to jobs like PLD, DRK, and BLU either in tandem with Evoker's Roll, or in lieu of it. Healing Waltz gives much of the status removal available on /WHM. Best of all, /DNC gives COR access to some usable enfeebles -- defense down, evasion down, and Gravity effect. Limitations? You really ought to be meleeing if using this subjob, in order to get the full effect out of it. This will requires melee accuracy gear, if you haven't yet started to build for this. Also, every TP you spend on /DNC JA's is less TP that's applied toward Slug Shots. As a result, your damage will drop substantially (but not as much as, say, /WHM). It's a situational subjob, and a very busy one at that, but it's a combination worth investigating.

Scholar
Perks - Light Arts, Dark Arts, Strategems, most of the -na spells, Cure III, Regen II, Protect II, Shell II, Sneak, Invisible, Raise, Sleep, Dispel, Drain, Aspir, Sublimation, Conserve MP
Details - There's a number of good things about this sub. Light and Dark Arts, along with the first two Strategems, will help you stretch out your small MP pool, as well as speed up your casting. Regen II (with the bonuses of Light Arts and Conserve MP) is an incredibly MP efficient and virtually hate-free heal, which will let you stretch your MP further. As if that's not enough, you can switch to Dark Arts and use Drain to recover from AoE hits, as well as Aspir to stretch your MP further still. If all that is STILL not enough, you can use Sublimation to recover even more MP. That said... I believe I can safely say there is never a need for this sub, ever. There's always something superior. /DNC provides healing that doesn't require +MP gear to function, and thus doesn't cut into your damage as much. /WHM provides Blink, Stoneskin, Erase, and Curaga II, which is typically not as MP efficient as Regen II and carries more hate, but gets the job done fast. Even /RDM or /BLU will offer MAB to boost Quick Draw damage. There's typically never a need for a COR to squeeze as much healing out of her MP as possible, with no need for Erase, Blink, Stoneskin and no regard for her QD damage whatsoever. It's nice for what it does and all, but there's better options available.

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So what?
For experience points parties:
1-21: You won't be using a gun at this level. Darts might be worthwhile for pulling. Use /WHM and pies like a BRD, or get the best armor available and backup tank with /WAR.
22-59: /RNG will serve you fine the second you equip your gun. You'll receive Slug Shot at 56 (55 with merits); Gun Belt and /RNG will help you access it a level earlier. /NIN is ok, but you'll be missing some accuracy (Gun Belt, Beater's Earring, Sharpshot). Shadows will be mostly unnecessary, unless pulling fast-moving mobs (such as raptors) or fighting squishy mobs (such as colibri). Other subs, notably /DNC, may have selective usefulness.
60-71: Barrage makes this one-sided. You're doing yourself a disservice if you're subbing anything besides /RNG in a normal party.
72-75: /RNG is still the best for DD. However, other options such as /WAR and /DRG open up. If you're pulling for a meripo, Utsusemi from /NIN will be very worthwhile. /BRD is nice for BLM or SMN burns. /DNC is still a good option for backup healing, and enfeebling the already-squishy mobs.

For small adventures:
/RNG is still amazing for the usual reasons. /NIN is nicer here because damage mitigation is usually more important than in EXP. /WHM helps make you more versatile (healing, Raise, Sneak/Invisible), and the drop in ranged accuracy usually isn't as crippling as against IT mobs. /DNC, as is the case for all jobs, is extremely potent for adventuring as well.

For endgame:
/RNG is still great when it is feasible (Dynamis, Limbus, Salvage, Nyzul Isle Assault, lesser HNM's). However, damage dealing (save Quick Draw) may be infeasible against harder mobs, or you may be called upon to be more versatile (even at events like Dynamis). In this case, you'll call upon mage subjobs for healing (/WHM), MAB for Quick Draw (/BLM), or both (/RDM or /BLU). The choice of which subjob in this case will likely depend on the setup and needs of your linkshell.

In general, the priority of your subjob options should be Ranger > Ninja > White Mage > Red Mage = Blue Mage > Black Mage = Bard = Warrior = Dragoon = Dancer. At bare minimum, you will likely need Ranger, Ninja, and White Mage.

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But I am le tired...
Maybe you're lazy. Maybe you don't have tons of time to level subjobs. Maybe you don't think you'll need a particular subjob. Or maybe you just think I'm an idiot (take a number). Whatever the case, you don't want to level 10 subjobs. You know what? That's perfectly fine. I understand. However. Be aware that each subjob gives you a small edge in some facet of buccaneering. If you're not planning to level some of the above subjobs ~ especially if you plan on leveling only one subjob ~ be sure you're aware what you're missing out on. Here's a recap:

Ranger - This is, hands down, our best subjob for EXP parties. /NIN is acceptable until 60, but post-60 you're really doing yourself and your party a disservice by not having Barrage (unless pulling in meripo, but that's a different beast altogether). Your accuracy will be hurting with any other subjob. I strongly recommend leveling /RNG, and using it as your default sub for EXP.

Ninja - Much like Monk, you can go from 1-70 without ever really needing /NIN. Contrary to popular belief, before 70 you do not need Utsusemi to pull in most camps, and can do just fine with another sub like /RNG. At 70+, it starts to develop a niche. In the case of COR, /NIN is very useful for endgame pulling, and for HNMs with strong AoE attacks. You might never need /NIN per se, if you refuse to pull in meripo, and if you have mage sub(s) available for endgame. However, there will likely be peer pressure; parties may expect you to pull and refuse (or be unable) to invite another puller, and endgame linkshells might require you to have /NIN available. Furthermore, if you take another job to 75 (or already have), you'll likely use /NIN for it at some point or another. I strongly recommend you have /NIN available.

White Mage - You are really hurting your utility in endgame if you don't have at least one mage sub available. Depending on your selection of endgame activities, a mage sub may be necessary. Even if that is not the case, simply having /mage available as a precaution makes you tons more versatile, which is a boon for your linkshell. If you only choose one to level, it should probably be WHM for the sheer number of useful spells (see description above). In particular, the -na spells are helpful as it offsets this burden from the White Mages; in some situations, spells like Paralyna and Erase will be more useful for you than Cure.

Red Mage or Blue Mage - There is a decent amount of overlap between these two subs, to the point where you probably don't need to have both leveled (although you likely won't regret leveling both!). /RDM and /BLU have advantages and disadvantages over each other; if I had to pick only one, I'd probably choose /BLU, but that's a debate for another thread. Be careful on choosing to level neither, however. These jobs are useful, in that you have healing abilities coupled with a Magic Attack Bonus for your Quick Draw (which will likely be your only offense when using these subs). You'll be missing a very useful subjob niche by lacking both of these jobs. If you're sure, at least make sure that you have /WHM available, or else endgame linkshells might be inclined to pass over your COR.

Black Mage - As mentioned above, in some endgame events your only form of offense will be Quick Draw. In these events, your best damage dealing subjob will be /BLM, as it gives you Magic Attack Bonus II. Much like /RNG in normal EXP parties, you have no healing abilities, which may be expected from you in endgame, especially when you're not TPing off the mob. However, MAB II will do more for Quick Draw than any other sub. Naturally, /RDM and /BLU (with MAB I) are adequate substitutes than can also heal, so you can get by with one of these instead. If you're planning on not leveling /RDM, /BLU, or /BLM, I suppose it's not the end of the world, but it would be sorely missed (MAB I alone gives a 20% power boost to Quick Draw).

Bard - While COR/BRD has the most party buffs of any job in the game (possibly second to BRD/COR; I digress), it unfortunately has few situations that accept it (needing another sub for either accuracy, damage, or healing), and no situation that requires it. Still, March gives you access to Haste+3%, Paeon gives you access to 3HP/tic Regen, Madrigal is Acc+7, Minuet is Att+14, and there's other useful songs such as Finale and Mazurka. Ballad especially is useful, guaranteeing your party 1MP/tic during a double Bust, and 2MP/tic in most situations, up to 6MP/tic (XI on Job-Bonus Evoker's + Ballad). This fact makes COR/BRD the best support job for BLM and SMN burns, hands down. All that said, I reiterate that /BRD is never really needed, so this will likely be the best subjob that you don't level.

Warrior - No one will ever ask you to /WAR. Usage is situational, as this job gives no ranged accuracy, which is crucial for most EXP parties. That said, Berserk will give you a much-needed boost to ranged attack, and Double Attack will help your TP gain if you are meleeing. If you have the accuracy to spare, this is the subjob to use for pretty screenshot numbers. Unless you thrive on e-peen (in which case, why are you playing a support job in the first place?), you won't miss /WAR.

Dragoon - Same deal as /WAR. It's a good sub if you get the extra Haste gear, and it gives you an accuracy bonus trait, but it's by no means necessary. I personally feel it's a good bridge between /RNG and /WAR, but your milage may vary.

Dancer - Like /NIN, this is a pretty universal subjob, and you're bound to get use out of it on one of your jobs, if not COR. It will give your COR access to great healing and enfeebling without completely destroying your damage dealing. While no one will expect you to have this available for experience points, it could be a great fit for some parties. But it's main shining is in small groups, like missions or coffer key runs. It's a terrific sub, but it's by no means required for COR.

Other - There shouldn't be any strong need for any other subjob. Perhaps /THF for farming, /DRK for a desperation stunner, /SAM for Meditating outside the alliance and launching 300% Detonators... but these are few and far between.

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Conclusion
Hopefully, this has quelled your question your worries about subjobs, especially questions like "Is /XXX necessary?" and "Can I get by with only /YYY?" -- stop asking them ^^; Many thanks to those whose feedback has helped shape this guide -- further feedback is always appreciated. And of course, feel free to contact me on the forums or in-game if you have any questions.

~Pav Feira, Corsair from Fairy

Edited, Jun 9th 2007 9:26pm by Pikko

Edited, Mar 18th 2008 10:42am by PavFeira

I will be the 1st to say: STFU! Carrilei

Everyone here is sic of your Rant, do you have to jump on every single post thats not /rng.

My God is right.. I come here, simply looking to discuss which endgame things COR's DD is viable for (as to show it's not just /Mage for everything in endgame) - and I get called out personally. Again. C'mon guys -this is not the direction I -or I'm sure the OP- wanted it to go. Reread my initial post, please.

Edited, Jun 7th 2007 7:49pm by Carrilei

YOU'RE A @#%^ING MORON. I SAID


Nyzul Isle Assault, Salvage, Einherjar.. (as per endgame events where COR/RNG works well). I don't consider regular Assaults and Besieged real endgame.

Jesus Christ man. Well, I guess it makes sense from a guy who's made 156 posts without ever using paragraphs. You lash out at me, don't expect anything less back at cha.

Sorry OP, he's too thick.

I removed the: "I don't think regular Assaults and Besieged are true endgame events" after I saw you'd misunderstood it. If you can find one post of my 2,252 where I say anything other than Salvage/Nyzul Isle/Einherjar are endgame difficult events, I'll transfer to your server when it's available and give you everything I own.


Edited, Jun 7th 2007 8:15pm by Carrilei

Thanks for the feedback Carrilei ^^ Like you said, I want this to be a good reference for new CORs, and help dispel rumors or misconceptions about the job, so the more input from the community I get, the better.



Here's my logic (and I'll try to make the language in my OP more clear to this point): First, we agree that there is endgame stuff that is /RNGable, and endgame stuff that isn't. While the former does outnumbers the latter, it's not fair to say "You can be /RNG for most of endgame" because not everyone's endgame experience is the same. If all I do for endgame is camp CoP wyrms while on COR, I'll likely never use /RNG in my version of endgame. If, on the other hand, my endgame consists of nothing but farming Dynamis-Windurst (I really want shells, or something), I could do just fine without ever leveling a mage job. As they say (and I probably should in my OP...) your mileage may vary.

So why tell new CORs to have a mage sub available for endgame, when I just clearly indicated they may not need it? I'd rather they have it, than not, simply put. While /RNG might be fine for Dyna-Windy, not many healers logged on, and the WHMs aren't sure they can cover everyone. Bam, I switch to COR/BLU, grab a few pieces of MP gear, jump in a pt of WAR/NIN and RNG/NIN, and we're set. Sure, my accuracy and damage took a hit, but not nearly as much a loss as a WAR switching to /BLU, and the linkshell is better off for it. 72 hours later, all our healers show up, so I go back to my merry /RNG ways. By being versatile and able to sub /mage, even where /RNG *can* be sufficient, I'm more valuable to my linkshell. It's personal bias, sure, but it can only be good to have /mage available.

I certainly agree.. Though per your example if you as a COR have to make up the healing regularly in Dynamis it's really a poor situation for a COR to be in. I think the /Mage sub is mainly for instances where giving TP to the mob(s) is a big key to winning (like Tiamat/Cerberus). Outside of that, I've found our damage to be decent (viable) just about everywhere.

I know a COR on my server who pretty much only does HNMs. For him/her /Mage is the SJ of choice for endgame. However, I have never found myself wanting to use it though I've done Sky, Nyzul Isle, Salvage, Einherjar, etc. COR/RNG or COR/NIN has also been terrific in Sandy/CoP/RoZ/ToAU missions. So SJ's at endgame is highly dependant on the activities they do, yes^^

I think it's good advice though, to have a mage sub leveled even if you won't do HNM's. I have my RDM, WHM, and even BLM at 17-18ish ready to take to 37 if I find myself wanting to do an event where that sub would be better than /RNG or /NIN.

Edited, Jun 7th 2007 9:08pm by Carrilei

Excellent guide! Good info and very well formatted. Subjub guides seem to proliferate like Calculus textbooks, but there's always room for a good one.

Couple of points:

Pulling: I'd say pulling is not too bad on corsair at lower levels, but starts to interfere with roll rotation the more rolls you have in your rotation. Certainly by the time you're doing a four roll rotation (evoker's roll) it's better to have someone else pull.

XP parties: I think you meant 22-60 level range, from first gun until barrage.

Well done!

You and I are now best friends.

Alrighty onto actual pirating stuff. I love the guide, its a really nice reference for players who come to this forum asking about sub jobs. I can't think of any other questions to be asked honestly that wouldn't be covered.

I was not a huge fan of /whm at all before I started using my COR for fafnir camps. It became apparent how much stoneskin, blink, and the ability to curaga/II and cure III was 10x more useful than anything /nin or /rng could offer there. Even though RDM would boost QD damage I would probably remain /whm for the curaga reason.

In my experience on COR/RNG for HNMs, I am a little disappointed in my r.acc. I have 7/8 marksmanship (Dropped it one level for something) and with gun belt I have 269 Marksmanship skill. However on many end game mobs I have a lot more trouble than I think I should landing Slug Shot. I seem do okay at Kirin but its too shakey to rely on, so I'll usually just skillchain with a DRK or THF and rely on Detonator's better accuracy.

We fought King Behemoth not long ago as well, and I wasn't really impressed with my accuracy. I have a pretty big R.acc set up with gear, and honestly I wear more than most RNG do in their more Damaging stat set ups. I know they make up the difference in job traits but it has to be pretty close.

I still wouldn't sub mage for those events because honestly, I have way too much fun, and my linkshell seems to get a kick out of the corsair landing more WS's than some of our rng/war I have more STR than god rangers lol.

it's so useless SE gave it to cor as a native trait, so we don't get any additional bonus from /rng with this.





Thank you x 100000

I really hope this puts to rest most of the stupid arguements people make for both sides. This is the most accurate description of subjob choices. Just remember, 15% faster swings may sound small, but it's the only other thing from nin not really mentioned. (not a lot of people know DWII = 15% faster swings), it's quite nice with merited daggers or swords (especially daggers).

nice guide :p

Awesome. Hopefully everyone will now just reference or refer others to this to get the subjob question answered. Rate Up.

:D Thanks for nominating my thread Spikido!

I also got pretty curious about /WAR while writing this guide, as I really haven't seen it brought up since COR was introduced. I guess, what would be the optimal situation for /WAR to beat /RNG?

• You need to be able to afford about -30 r.acc hit (between gear and traits, ignoring Sharpshot since it's only up 20% of the time) without switching to sushi (I have to imagine /RNG eating meat > /WAR eating sushi).
• You probably want to be meleeing for TP. Double Attack will compensate for Barrage's TP gain hopefully. But this also means you're not using a r.acc dagger...

Basically, you can afford to burn tons of r.acc, and get tons of r.att in exchange. I know we get tons of r.acc gear options, but I'm not sure we can take that large a hit in many situations outside "non-puller in the Mire". Still, once I get up to 75, I'd love to experiment.

ok sub bard is not really an option. you can only create two buffs yourself. if you have two cor rolls up when you sing it drops. that's how it worked for me. someone fill me in cause i wish /brd was any good.

I took COR/BRD to a Dynamis Windy run (about a month and a half ago maybe) and I was able to keep 2 rolls up and one song. It was mostly Evoker's + Warlock's -or- Healer's and Ballad 1 -or- Paeon when most applicable.

I remember somewhere SE said they you will only be able to have two buffs, but that was not the case. You can have three buffs up /brd (2 rolls, 1 song) unless SE stealth changed it back to what they said it was originally supposed to be. /brd is reduced to one song so overwriting rolls was not possible (you would just overwrite the song).

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Edit:

I wanted to expand on COR/BRD. The OP stated it well, it is situational but should not be overlooked. It is lacking in overall support, but it's definitely the way to go if you just need a Refresh Whore.

Think about it for a moment. In an almost average scenario, the addition of Snake Eye gives us a reliable 2MP a tick. Ballad bumps it up to 3MP. Add a SMN and you have 4MP for everyone, 5 for Auto Refresh jobs (SMN, /SMN, PLD).

Best case scenario, you could have 7 MP/tick just from a COR alone! Realistically though, you will more than likely end up with 3-5 on a constant basis. Still not bad if all you need is refresh. Now, add Healer's/Warlocks and that's where it really pulls ahead.

Oh, and COR/BRD in an extended event like Dynamis is extremely boring. You eventually find creative ways to buff. Forget all of this if SE stealthed it.

Edited, Jun 11th 2007 12:01pm by sixgauge

I'd also like to mention that for beginning corsairs, /BRD makes a strong case for being the most effective subjob for the 10-20 levels. Neither /RNG or /NIN offer any benefit at that low level. So pretty much your best options are:

/WHM with pies for backup healing (but your usefulness is pretty much limited to Cure I and Poisona)

/WAR to play like a melee and have the the ability to backup voke

/BRD to throw more party buffs up there. Boost attack with Minuet, throw Minne up for situations where some extra defense is appreciated (say, Goblins who will use Bomb Toss), put Paeon on between fights for regen. The best part is that because you don't have too many rolls, you aren't really busy enough to be worrying about a cycle yet so you can just stand in there and melee while you make the party more efficient.

See Bolded

As I stated in above post



Now for using hunters roll to mainly boost yourself, that's another story...

COR/WHM - for the bard at heart

COR/NIN - cause they are making you pull

COR/RNG - accuracy bonus, sharpshot, barrage heeelloooo

COR/DNC - cause its sexy and new

COR/BRD - because you are a blackmage refresh whore

COR/BLU - a pirate that can throw bombs just looks cool

COR/BLM - to have fun with Quick draw

COR/WAR - because you suck, just kidding. uhhh Beserk warcry attack up w/e

/em sprays rum all over his monitor... They added new jobs? 'the hell did that happen?! o_O;

Updated primarily to add info on /DNC and /SCH. Also cleaned up wording in a lot of sections, and gave a more positive spin on some subjobs like /WAR and /DRG.

I'm not arguing the usefulness of COR/DNC in certain situations, but since when does a good RDM need backup healing support in a typical merit party?

LS merit party setup: Me as cor/dnc (5/5 denali now, the accuracy bonus helps alot), drk/sam with relic scythe, black belt mnk/nin, well geared pld/nin, brd/nin, and rdm/whm, mass murdering birds at the bottom colibri camp. This parsed at 27k/hour. I healed more as /dnc then the rdm, because me using curing waltz allowed the rdm the mp for a full haste cycle, myself included, and the drk relic scythe cures up the drk rather well.


Edited, Jul 9th 2008 3:53am by SamFiendish

Also forgot to mention that I was doing Chaos & Corsair rolls in that merit party. Cor roll makes better sense on birds since they die fast in a well set up & geared party. Also I had a good streak on random deals getting the rdm their convert back the few times they actually had to use it (3/5 Loaded Deck).

With the new level cap there are some new candies that come from subjobs!
One of them comes from rdm that now is definitely >blm. Since even at 99 MAB2 is the best we can get, the choice comes to healing/buffs vs nukes, and I think the former is way better. The only thing you would regret is Warp, but come on, can't you spend 750 CP/IS for a scroll? XD
I only talked about the sub of my choice, but there are a lot of other good things from other subs that you guys may like to point out :3