Subjob... opinions.Follow

I'm fairly new to DNC, about to go onto Yuhtunga and I was curious what DNCs around this level use for a subjob.

I was looking at NIN or SAM but do these have good enough benefits at these levels?

Thanks in advance. =]

It seems that most DNCs jump onto the /NIN bandwagon as soon as they hit 20. Dual wield won't help with TP gain, but it will help your damage per second, and since you shouldn't be using weaponskills at that level, that's all the damage you get. You'll also get shadows at 24, which will help if you pull hate with curing waltz.

Another decent option, if you have it leveled already, is to go /RNG up until level 30. You'll get the accuracy bonus job trait, which will give you a constant +10 to your accuracy and ranged accuracy. But it seems like /COR might be a better option for ACC if you have it leveled, since you'll get more ACC, and it will aid your party as well.

Yet another option, if you have it leveled, is to go /DRG. This will give you access to Jump, which is free damage and TP every 90 seconds.

SAM makes a great sub later, but you don't get much useful out of it until DNC60/SAM30 with meditate. Store TP is nice, but it's hardly noticeable with SAM as a sub.

Once you hit 30, you get two more decent options. Subbing THF will give you Sneak Attack, which stacks with your steps, so you can guarantee a step will land every 60 seconds (or get a hit for decent damage if you prefer). Subbing WAR will give you access to berserk, which will help if you consistently hit for 0 (though you should look into some new daggers if this is the case).

Edited, Mar 19th 2008 6:43am by KaishenRamuh

Was thinking about doing that. Honestly just forgot to switch last time I was in town

I've tinkered with a few subjobs but so far /nin has worked best for me personally.

Better results for what? I can see the merits of trying to DD as DNC once you are 60+ and have gear/weapon skills/flourishes that can help you be a decent DD. But I'm not sure I'd see that much benefit from Berserk for DNC in this level range. Double attack is amazing though.

1-14: I went DNC/PUP, because you can't beat /PUP for soloing at those levels.

15-19: I went DNC/MNK, using Hand-to-Hand.

20-29: I went DNC/RNG, for Accuracy Bonus.
I didn't think about /COR for Hunter's Roll, but it's actually an awesome idea, and I /slapped myself for not having thought about it when I read up on it.
I also soloed a bit as DNC/NIN after level 24.

Now, I'm 57, so I can't speak for 60+; but I think I'll sub SAM at 60.

But the point of this post is to advocate the use of the Dragoon subjob from level 30 to level 59.

I've always liked /DRG at levels 30-49 for jobs that don't have a native Attack Bonus (which /DRG gives at 30) and that can benefit from the Wyvern Earring.
The /DRG subjob isn't as powerful as /WAR in terms of damage, because nothing beats Berserk; but in terms of TP gain, it's awesome. Jump is very useful, and 5% Haste from the earring is nothing to underestimate, especially with paired with more Haste gear.
SAM/DRG is the ultimate TP machine, with Jump to fill in the gaps. MNK/DRG with Fuma Kyahan, Brown Belt and Wyvern Earring has 16% Haste at level 40, and is a beautiful thing to see, especially with the Haste spell from a WHM. Both jobs gain 16 Attack from Attack Bonus and a Wyvern Mantle, which helps compensate for the lack of Berserk.

I do not see Dancer as a damage dealer, especially before level 62 and Dancing Edge. I see Dancer as a healer and support, with damage as a secondary function. So, I'm not trying to maximize damage - I'm trying to maximize TP gain.
For TP gain, /WAR doesn't do anything before Double Attack. /NIN doesn't do much since Dual Wield reduces your TP gain. At those levels, /DRG is pretty much the best sub there is. I could have gone /SAM for Store TP, but /SAM doesn't offer anything else (apart from Third Eye, which is nice but not great) until 60, whereas you still have 16 more attack from /DRG, and I like jumping anyway. ^^
And Dancer, using a single-handed weapon, can also use the Wyvern Targe for 1% more haste - not game-breaking, but not bad.

So, I went 30-49 as DNC/DRG with a Wyvern Earring, Wyvern Targe and Wyvern Mantle. I liked it. I liked the feeling of 6% Haste with a low-delay dagger, especially when paired with Haste Samba after 45. Stab, stab, stab, stab.

Then I wanted to sub WAR after 50, for Double Attack, but then there was the update, and lo and behold, SE gave Dancer the Rapparee Harness.

Holy Cow.

I've never really understood the reasons for a haste build for THF, who are mostly limited by the timers on SA and TA anyway, so I had disregarded the Rapparee Harness as a fun, but secondary, equipment piece.
But for Dancer ?
This is the best thing since sliced bread, and I'm not sure about sliced bread.
Haste for Dancer is huge!
I had to have it. Fortunately, some LS friends wanted a JSE50 too, so we formed a small party and went on a rampage in Phomiuna Aqueducts. We came out with 4 subligars. Rapparee Harness was mine!

With the Swift Belt, that makes 8% haste at level 50.
With /DRG, that makes 14% haste at level 50.
Plus Haste Samba. And maybe Haste and/or March.

So, screw /WAR and Double Attack. I remained /DRG, and have been very happy with it until now.
Equipping a Crow Hose (instead of the nice, but over-worn, Republic Subligar, or my trusty, but ugly, Magna Chausses) at level 50 has allowed me to waltz a lot more without pulling hate. Dancer's Tiara helped a lot too. (The -enmity on the DNC AF is a real blessing.) And so, I've been solo healing colibri parties since 54.

My latest party was DNC, BRD, COR, NIN, WAR, MNK. You read that right, no mage. The BRD was /NIN and pulling, so there wasn't a single MP in the party. We made very close to 10k/hour.
Yes, having both a COR and a BRD is awesome, and helped a lot, but still, I wouldn't have been able to pull off solo healing without my haste build.

(Don't get me wrong, I'm a WHM first and foremost, and I love mages, but there's something delicious, a taste of forbidden, in setting up a 6-melee party and seeing it work so well.)

At 60, I don't think any subjob outperforms /SAM in terms of TP gain.
So, I'll put back the earring, targe and mantle into the mog locker.
This will be fun too, especially with Dancing Edge arriving soon, but still, I'm sure I'll regret the days of DNC/DRG and the almighty Fast Stabs.

Depending on the tank in the party, I'm using nin or drg as subjob from 30 (.
if the tank can do a good job (a war/mnk with Ga for example), I will sub drg and enjoy my +16atk + 6% haste with jump (minus bonues of the offhand dagger).

if the tank is a nin (or a shared hate still party), I will sub nin and help tanking.
Some people would argue that you can sub/war and be the main tank yourself, doesnt seem like a bad idea actually, anything can tank mandy anyway (and if you don't do gob before 30-31, gob will be ok as well)
Once in Garlaig, /nin all the way for me, since tanks start to take more damage, meaning less hate for them and more for me healing them. Every hit a dancer blinks/evades is that much mp/tp whatever saved to the whole team.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think critical hits have anything to do with TP gain, nor do I think that 1 or 2 points of extra DEX from subbing THF at low levels would have a significant impact on crits.

THF probably prosper more from a haste build than most other jobs for that reason alone. If you can get TP every 30 seconds, you can use a WS with both. What is commonly done by most good THF, if they will not wait for JA's and use SA/TA/WS at will. My personal rule of thumb is that if you have to wait for more than 5 sec for a JA or TP, use it and dont stack them. THF turns into a great DoT job in end game and uses haste just as well as anyone else.

As far as sub jobs go, use one that benefits you in a way you need it. If you need accuracy in the 20's, use /RNG. If you have the gear to make /DRG work, I think it works quite well. At lvl 1, /MNK is good because you actually get something out of it (martial arts 1), not many other jobs offer much. Using /WAR at lvl 1 does nothing for you at low levels, heck, /WHM will offer more. I have used /NIN from 25-36 (currently) because the stats offered on the daggers are decent, and shadows eat some damage.

Bst sub is a monster when soloing, better than pup at low levels, at least in my case. You have good chr to charm with, and you'll be using a decent/even pet which will tear through whatever you are leveling on.

I can't get over the idea of singin' and dancin' at the same time.

What do y'all thimk of the BRD as a sub or main with DNC?!

/WAR

DNC is the best tank in the jungles: instant cast AoE cure to wake everyone up keeps the exp flowing nicely.

My DNC is at 62.
I sub /BST.