No love for Dragoons?Follow

Alauce, u forgot about me >.< LoL Jubon, if you invite me, i'll show you wat a drg can do. I'm also another DRG that is sticking it out to 75.

Lol, another one that went to the DRK side. Yeah DRK is a very versatile job. They have alot more to contribute to the party than just damage. DRKs can interrupt mobs with Stun, Sleep adds, Tractor a dead party member, Bio to enfeeble, Absob-Stats to turn mobs into a weakling, and pull with both magic and most ranged weapons. DRKs could even heal themselves using Drain or replenish their own mana supply using Aspir.

DRKs are very good at tactical support on top of being a damager, which unfortunately more people overlook.

The only real complaint I have heard about Drg.....

Near endgame, when most of the mobs people fight are skeleton. Skeloton monsters resist polearms.
Polearms cripple flying monsters.
Not alot of flying monsters endgame.

This is just what some people have told me...

There are four glaring DRG flaws IMO. Lack of skillchain versatility, lack of overall utility, the wyvern, and playing essentially the exact same role as a RNG in all circumstances.

On skillchains, from Double Thrust all the way to Vorpal Thrust and Skewer DRG is never really going to be asked to do something else; Pentathrust is a good WS with lots of +ACC or a BRD but it's terrible for fitting into workable renkeis. So you spend all the way to 65+ opening Distortion with Double/Vorpal/Skewer. After that you open light with Wheeling, which is fusion property and still not so hot, and WAR, RNG, and SAM can all open with fusion also, while doing other things besides just DOT.

This leads to versatility, which all those jobs have more of. WAR, RNG, and SAM can all pull, WAR and SAM can both off-tank, WAR can maintank, WAR and SAM can both sub /THF to close some renkeis extremely well, and RNG has obvious RNG advantage of doing the most damage. SE in my opinion threw DRG a giant tease saying COP was adding ranged stuff for DRG, which would have meant adding a pulling capacity, but no, they meant pebbles and Optical Needles. Yeah, feel free to pull with those.

On the wyvern, DRG is the only job without a bailout, they need their 2hr just to be fully functional. They have nothing that compares to a PLD busting Invincible in a bad spot, or a WAR popping 2hr Rampage/Raging Rush to save the day or try and make a chain 6+, or a RNG popping Eagle Eye for the same reasons. And so on. They have to pop their 2 hour just to be a full character, no one else has to. Also as others have said, Spirit Link has to be the most irritating thing in the game. That they are inherently irritating to have in a group because Square gave them a flawed 2 hr then added a flawed ability to fix it isn't fair to them. Also it's worth noting that the mobs DRG does best on tend to be the mobs most likely to rape the wyvern. Fly Cursed Sphere/bird Great Whirlwind = lates, 2 hr. This is pretty contrary, doesn't help DRG any, and makes it more apparent that DRG wasn't thought out very well before being shoved into the game. Remember getting onto a choco and killing your wyvern? Even now if you do Dismiss even a hair wrong, lates 2 hr.

Finally RNGs do the exact same things, but better, with more features. RNG usually opens renkeis as DRG does, but with far more damage; they can also pull, and have the exact same bonuses and penalties on mobs as DRG. No one should have to compete directly with RNG because it's not a winnable fight. RNG on IT flying mobs can nail Sidewinder/Slugshot for 1500+, non-flying mobs 800+, even on piercing penalty mobs like bones they can use Holy ammo and still do OK.

In the end all this means is that right now the only time you might actively seek out a DRG before anyone else is if you have a THF closing the skillchain; DRG can be nice because you just SATA onto them instead of bothering with turning the mob for the skillchain, and then they can jump the hate off. Of course the flipside to that coin is that RNG > THF would flip the mob anyways so it's not like turning the mob would be an issue, and the mob's more likely to be dead.

In summary right now DRG does fine DOT but lacks the utility of other jobs that can fill the same role and then some, and lacks the overall damage of ranger, their mirror job. It's sad that Square responds to obvious flaws by cockteasing DRGs and then doing not much. As a DRG friend put it after update, "PEBBLES!!!" This was before he went into Sauromogue to try the new, improved Wheeling Thrust and it missed on a Tabar Beak.

None of these flaws were as obvious, or mattered, when DRG could just spam two Pentas between every skillchain. Remember how popular DRG was at one point. Since then, of course, the flaws are more apparent and SE doesn't seem too concerned. As it stands DRG can be fine in parties but realistically very often there is a job available that will do the same DOT but bring other things to a party as well.

Oh, and another flaw is terrible EQ selection options but I've rambled enough already. XD

Edited, Fri Oct 8 21:06:38 2004 by Uroboros

I've never even loaded the Dragoon forum. My opinions are based on 100+ levels of exping with a dragoon in sets. And RNG can hit IT for 1500. Sig says you're 60, that's when a disparity starts forming. See how you feel in ten levels. And just because you've never seen a RNG never hit that much dmg consistantly doesn't mean they can't, just because you haven't seen one that hit 9/10 Sidewinders doesn't mean they don't exist. RNG can easily nail 1500 damage Sidewinders on flying mobs. Find where I was dissing DRG in my post. I wasn't, just answering the thread's question.

Edited, Sat Oct 9 02:34:15 2004 by Uroboros

There are other alternative to bones like Weapons and gollum in sky or cocktrice/tigers/ladon early 70

Yes dragoon can do all those things zariko but what they have to offer later on can be comparable to other jobs, but other jobs can do more than just damage.

Edited, Sat Oct 9 05:40:34 2004 by Bowser

No, thats why they get alot of respect from me

There is a lance with an unseen blunt effect for this, but I forgot the name.

I think what a lot of people miss is that many different classes can perform the same role in a party. People see DRG as not being as "versatile" and such and dismiss them. They think other classes are better for that roll and only invite them. As has been discussed on this thread DRGs are not much worse than the other main DD classes and should fit very well into most parties. I know when I have a drg in the party he fits in nicely, barring bad players (all classes have those). If a class works well in a party who cares if there is something better, chances are it won't effect the party quality enough to warrant insulting another player.

If you think drgs get no love try leveling a war/mnk past 30. Everyone buys into the war/nin hype and thinks /mnk is usless. For the same reason a lot of people are saying drg is usless and not actually giving it a chance. Just a war/mnk's 2 cents.

This post sort of bothered me. One, because it's a dragoon that is keeping info about a nice weapon from other dragoons.

And second, because it really doesn't make much sense. Usually the rarer the item the more that people will jack up the price. And, if you know how to get it you're not going to be dependent on the AH in the first place. :\

Anyhow, this lance Bourdonasse drops in a Kindred Seals BC. You need 30 Kindred Seals to trade for a Lachesis Orb that you trade to the BC in the Chamber of Oracles. It's a 6 person BC with no level cap. The fight is vs. 4 wyverns.

The polearm is in the blunt weapon category and will do good damage to skeleton and pots, but it also comes with a penalty to weapon skills of 50%. It may not be as good as it's made out to be, unless the regular melee damage is really high.

I've never seen a Dragoon use a staff in an XP party. Staff weapon skills are terrible for damage. Some say Full Swing is good, but only at 300%TP.

By the way... I did XP off a couple dragons in Kuftal. They're called Ladon. :D My PT was a little low, but we managed to cap off some chains with big numbers fighting them.