Dragoon Guide by Reinhardt

Category:Guides 
 
== Almost Everything You Need to Know ==
Congratulations! You are a Dragoon, one of the most fun jobs in the realm of Final Fantasy 11!!! What is the purpose of this job? What are its benefits? What are its disadvantages? What is a good subjob? We will discuss some of the finer points of this job in this guide.
== Dragoon Basics ==
You are a Damage Dealer plain and simple. If you are asked to tank, you should do 2 things: 
*1. Refuse to do so.
*2. RUN AWAY!!!!!!
A Dragoon is not meant to tank in any way. Why you ask? Plain and simple, our Defense sucks! We make as good a tank as a Dark Knight does, and it's even worse for them. The only situation we would tank is when we are a Sneak Attack/Trick Attack partner. Basically "Provoke" first, after the Thief SATAs, use your jumps. It's a good idea not to use Berserk at the beginning of these battles since it drops our defense.
== Pros/cons == 
Like most jobs in Final Fantasy 11, Dragoon has its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
* Great DoT(damage over time)- Dragoon is pretty good at wittling away at an enemy's hit points, especially since the wyvern adds to our total damage we do. 
* Soloing- a common known fact is that Dragoons can solo well. Slap on a mage subjob and your wyvern becomes your own personal healer. 
* Piercing Damage- since we are able to use polearms, basically anything with wings is dead meat. Mostly flies, giant bats, bird type (big and small) and trio bats are great prey for Dragoon's. 
Disadvantages
* Party Invites- too few and far between, since Dragoon has to compete with so many other melee type jobs, Dragoon is typically overlooked.
* Delay- As nice the damage we do looks, it takes so long because of the fact it's a two-hander. 
* lolDRG- This has nothing to do with the job itself, it's more of the stigma Dragoon received a looooooong time ago. Dragoon is considered the neglected child by Square Enix, but they of course will say likewise. Originally we were limited to our Call Wyvern ability as a 2 hour, we also had Ancient Circle, Jump, High Jump and Super Jump as well as the only job traits which are still currently, Attack Bonus, Dragon Killer and Accuracy Bonus. I also found all this originated from when RMT first started popping up in game, a lot of them picked Dragoon as a melee job. There are other factors but unfortunately I don't know what the others were.
== Subjob Dilema ==
There a number of subjobs that Dragoon can use and here are a few. 
 
Melee Subs
*Monk -- MNK is a good sub in the early going namely for Boost. A lot of early DRGs will use MNK as a sub up until level 30 and swap it out for WAR or THF. 
*Warrior -- typical defacto sub for DRG. WAR sub benefits for more damage added on to attacks as well as weapon skills with Berserk and later Warcry. Also has Provoke for SATA parties. Best advantage in my opinion is Double Attack which is of course always active.
*Thief -- the advantages to this sub mainly revolve around Sneak Attack for added damage to your weapon skills. Later on (post level 60) you will aquire Trick Attack so you can then become a SATA machine, just make sure you have someone you can SATA off of. 
*Samurai -- This is mainly for the DRGs above level 60. Mainly because of Meditate and the Store TP trait. Third Eye is a handy skill to have as well. At DRG50/SAM25 and DRG70/SAM35 you also gain the new two-handed-weapon enhancement abilities, Hasso and Seigan.
*Dark Knight -- using DRK makes DRG a massive damage whore. Use Last Resort and/or Souleater to boost damage, then use Jump abilities afterward to shed the hate. Watch mobs fall like dominoes.
 
Mage Subs
*White Mage -- a lot of DRGs have used this as a solo sub. Pop a Dia on a monster and voila, activated Healing Breath.
*Red Mage -- not as many magic points, but still a good mage sub mainly because RDM has Fast Cast as well as Poison which is only 5 magic points to cast.
*Black Mage -- popular mainly because of a higher yielding magic point pool. 1 Poison then instant Healing Breath
*Blue Mage -- apparently this is a nice solo sub as well. Mainly because you can use Cocoon which greatly increases Defense and Head Butt which can in some instances Stun a monster.
== You and your Wyvern ==
With Dragoon you get to be a little bit like a Beastmaster. We get a Wyvern, though unfortunately we cannot directly control what it does via commands as with a Beastmaster. A Wyvern's main role is to back us up; they will attack a mob if we are engaged in battle with that mob and can even assist us with the Wyvern ability Healing Breath.
*Activating Healing Breath
**Healing Breath is activated when a Dragoon casts any spell while at a certain amount of Hit points. It is typically at 1/3 max HP, or if you have your Drachen Armet equipped at 1/2 HP. Your best way to figure when it would go off is either experimenting, or dividing your max hp by 3 or 2. A thing to note is that 50% of your HP is when your HP turns orange.
Another good thing to do when partying is to keep your Wyvern alive. Spirit Link whenever they are at 50% hp is the best way to prevent you from being a wyvern abuser. Some White Mage's will complain, but the extra OOMPH! from the Breath Attacks plus a Wyvern's meleeing is worth it.
== Abilities ==
As most jobs do, Dragoon gets a few abilities. 
*Call Wyvern-self explanatory, you can call your friendly little Wyvern.
*Spirit Surge-The Dragoon 2 hour, what happens is our wyvern "merges" with us to add Strength, Hit Points, Accumulated TP Etc. Another Added effect is applied to our jumps in the frame of time Spirit Surge is activated, I will detail those along with the jumps.
*Ancient Circle-Any other members of the party are granted the Dragon Killer trait for a brief period of time. 
*Jump-When used the Dragoon goes off screen and falls on top of the target to do a decent amount of damage.
**Jump + Spirit Surge=additional damage on Jump and lowers the targets defense for a small amount of time.
*Spirit Link-Restores some of the Wyvern's HP at the cost of some of your own, in some instances it will also remove negative status effects on Wyvern.
*High Jump-The Dragoon jumps off screen to fall on the target causing damage as well as shedding some "hate."
**High Jump + Spirit Surge=additional damage on High Jump as well as dropping the target's TP down to zero.
*Super Jump-Dragoon Jumps off screen for a few seconds shedding all "hate" accrued by the player, in some instances the wyvern will gain the direct focus of the target.
**Super Jump + Spirit Surge=Super Jump as well as any party members behind you will have their "hate" reset.
== Party Time!!! ==
So you want to level up a little do you? Most of us do, we can't all level in the entry-level areas or second tier forever. A few things to consider, equipment is important. Make sure you have the best equipment you have possible, though Dragoon is a great job, it's typically overlooked due to the the fact we are not good at pulling and we cannot back up tank when necessary. 
If you think you're spending too much time looking for a party, it's time you start your own. In my own experience, I make more parties then I join. This is a bonus since we get to control how the party interacts. You can keep the annoying Monk or get rid of him, you listen to the White Mage whine or tell him to STFU. (These are only examples and in no way are any way what I think of the aforementioned jobs)
== Soloing ==
Getting tired of looking for parties? Here's an idea. Make sure your WHM/RDM/BLM/BLU/DRK/NIN/PLD/BRD are all at a decent level and head out to do some soloing. Those experience bonus rings come in handy for these purposes. Next you'll want to head to a zone where the mobs con from Easy Prey up to Even Match and in some cases Tough (make sure it is weak to piercing when taking on a Tough mob).
== Dragoon Parties ==
As if partying wasn't fun enough, try doing it with several other Dragoons! The best part of multi Dragoon parties is the fact that several Healing Breaths can go off at a time. The basic set up is typically 5 DRG/mage + 1 refresher type job with Corsair and Bard being favorites. The idea is to have the five Dragoon's attack the targeted mob. When one of the Dragoons hit points gets to half every Dragoon uses a low mp costing spell (dia, poison or a low cost bar- spell) to activate simultaneous Healing Breaths fully replenishing the low hp Dragoon to full HP. Most of the time the mobs will be Very Tough to create experience chains. Dragoons can also create a polearm specific skillchain by using Skewer and Penta Thrust. 
== Maat Fight ==
I will go over a strategy for fighting the old guy, Maat. 
Things To Bring
*X-Potion X 3 
*Hi-Potion X 1 
*Selbina Milk (stack, only 2 really needed better safe than sorry) 
*Blink Band 
*Opo-opo Necklace 
*Icarus Wing 
*Sleeping Potions (bring a stack just in case you have a brainfart and change gear)
*Tavnazian Taco 
The Fight
A few things to consider. Number one being at a decent level would be something to consider. Remember this is NOT like a typical fight, you're basically fighting a MNK/DRG who CAN summon a Wyvern. Maat uses Hand-to-Hand weaponskills as well as mostly hand-to-hand fighting, he will throw in the occasional kick in with his normal melee hits. He hits very HARD. Be advised a lot of Dragoons do not win the first fight (it took me 3 times). I'll actually go over my strategy for the fight which is not balls to the wall all out meleeing.
Strategy
*Get your Dragoon's Testimony and trade it to Maat. Let him know when you are ready and he will teleport you to Chamber of Oracles. Approach the Shimmering Circle, (rumor has it getting naked is rumored to put him at a disadvantage since Maat supposedly matches your stats) and trade the paper. And then comes the real fun.
*(Get your gear back on if you removed it)Equip the Opo-opo Necklace and pop 4 Sleeping Potions. Also Equip the Blink Band and use it (it takes a while to use it). Then eat your food (DEF food is recommended). And fianlly summon your wyvern (you can do this in front of Maat if you want but it really doesn't make a difference).
*CHARGE!!!!! Go in through the Cermet Door and engage the old geezer. Lay a Penta Thrust on him. Use a Selbina Milk. At this point he will summon his wyvern more than likely, if he doesn't use Jump and High Jump on him. Then use some of those potions you brought along. 
*Kill the Wyvern (his not yours). Remember the Icarus Wing I suggested? Use it now! without disengaging Maat, just target the Wyvern and lay a Penta Thrust. You WILL one shot the Wyvern. 
*Get out of Dodge. After murdering Maat's Wyvern untarget Maat then turn around and use Super Jump. Once you land get out of range of Maat and let your trusty Wyvern tank him. It's possible your Wyvern will either win this for you but if your HP get to low, use Spirit Surge. Once the next update occurs you will be able to use both offensive jumps right away for sure victory. Now once you 2 hour you should have a full TP meter and some HP make sure you use your remaining potions ASAP, let out a final Penta Thrust for a win.
Points of Interest 
*Pay attention to your HP as well as your Wyvern's HP.
*If you have a full TP meter use it.
*Before using a Weapon Skill make sure you have at least half your HP. 
*Make sure you are at least at 50% HP throughout the fight, if you get hit with Asuran Fists with less than half hp, you're either dead or damn near close and then only 1 melee hit will take you out.
*10 minute timer, so make sure you use the bathroom get a drink or eat before you enter the circle.
*** Just a quick edit reinhardt i hope you don't mind i found it best to go into the fight as subjob whm or any other defensive sub. True you don't get subjob abilities in the fight but the trigger for your wyvern to do a breath attack will remain. Of course you will have no magic as a drg so your wyvern will just store tp for your spirit surge which i found more useful than the sometimes unpredictable breath attacks i killed maat in 28 seconds from the first blow to the last. All the same preparation then in your go: Penta > icarus wing > Penta > jump > high jump > spirit surge > jump > high jump > penta and the old man should fall. i used sole sushi for food *** Bigslow/Seraph 75 drg.
== Impulse Drive == 
Here I will discuss the finer points of acquiring Impulse Drive. 
Beginning
For starters read up on Methods Create Madness. Basically Balasiel will give you the Spear of Trials to use. You need to assess 300 Weapon Skill points. Here's a breakdown:
*1 point for using a Weapon Skill, as well as opening any level skillchain.
*2 points for closing a Lv.1 Skillchain.
*3 points for closing a Lv.2 Skillchain.
*5 points for closing a Lv.3 Skillchain.
For more Skillchain info please refer to the Skillchain page. Once the latent effect is no longer active you are ready to trade it back to Balasiel.
Sea Serpent Grotto
Once you turn in the spear he will give you a piece of paper to trade to a ???(which doesn't really get traded) in Sea Serpent Grotto. This part gets tricky because you'll need a Sahagin Key to get through the Ornamented Door. Once you have the key get behind the Ornamented Door. Head to the ??? at [H-6] and click the ??? when ready. A party with a 75 Ninja and 75 White Mage is more than sufficient but be sure to bring a few melees to make this fast. Once you are ready spawn the Water Leaper to begin the fight. Once you are done reexamine the ??? to obtain a key item. Head back to San d'Oria.
Completion
Easiest part, speak to Balasiel for your reward, Impulse Drive. Now go kill something with your new weapon skill.
==Once You Hit 75==
Rejoice!!! Now you can start meritting (a good thing to do would have a decent experience point buffer first). I'll go over some of the finer points.
Angon
This is one of the most useful merit abilities and if you are into endgame is a must. Best to use before either you or an alliance member uses a weapon skill.
Deep Breathing
If you like soloing, you'll love Deep Breathing. Created specifically to pull a Dragoon out of a pinch. 
Strafe
Increases breath accuracy. I don't have it, I think it's a waste from what I've been told from friends. We'll see.
Empathy
Adds one buff to the wyvern. Read the description left in it's section nothing much to add.
Crit Hit
Pretty useful to have. Either go with this or Polearm.
Polearm Skill
Increases damage output and accuracy with a polearm type weapon. You can add a total of 16 aditional combat skill points. It's worth the effort.
==Endgame==
So much to do, yes even as a Dragoon. Of course you'll be the linkshell Angon whore. Don't expect too much. But the following is some things you should try to get. Just remember to always be patient, you will eventually get what you desire. A good endgame linkshell can definately help, in most cases your endgame linkshell will take place of your social shell if you feel you fit in nicely (BringeroftheDawn being mine and am a proud member).
*Love Torque
By far (in my opinion) the most important endgame piece. Adds 7 Polearm skill and 5 DEX, which is great since it is rumored that DEX is a Penta Thrust modifier.
*Flame Gorget
Try getting this as soon as you get sea. It's great for Wheeling Thrust. Begotten from mobs in sea. Not easy to get since you have to farm quite a few organs. Get some friends to help, especially on the Yovra.
*Love Halberd
More than likely you will receive this before your Love Torque, but don't be discouraged it's worth it. Adds 5 DEX and occasionally attacks twice with a virtue stone equipped (try getting torque first). One point about Love Halberd's usefulness, while you won't get the spike damage like you would with Thalassocrat, Skystrider or even a Wyrmyrie's Fork]], it is extremely useful for a "zerg" situation (the following is extremely debatable but I have tested myself). 
Basically you would want to be DRG/SAM with the Halberd equipped as well as a haste set. Swift Belt or Velocious Belt, Homam Corazza Set (If you can magically get the Wyrm Mail +1 sub that for Homam Corazza also Walahra Turban, Ace's Helm or Askar Zucchetto for the Homam Zucchetto), Blitz Ring. As well as Double Attack gear, Brutal Earring and Pole Grip. And of course Virtue Stone in the ammo slot. Once you have the gear equipped get buffs on: Hasso, Haste (the spell duh) and double March. Make sure your wyvern is summoned then use Spirit Surge. Once you have done all the prior steps, let 'er rip. You won't be attacking as often or as hard as a Kraken Club Dark Knight, but you'll still be able to pull off impressive numbers. Don't believe me? Give it a try.
*Homam Corazza Set
An awesome Haste and Accuracy set. Not only is it sexy but it's free for the most part. Just have to have a good Limbus group.
*Limbus
A very fun endgame activity, from what I've noticed Dragoon tends to shine in Limbus more-so. Once you get Sea access I'd highly recommend getting into Limbus. I personally have been doing Limbus with the same group for a little over 2 years and have had a lot of fun, especially since we have such a solid line up (yes I'm giving a props to my Limbus shell FriendsofFalak). The only area I've noticed Dragoon is kind of hard to fit in is on a Proto-Ultima fight (very tough son of a bitch). Here you would get the materials necessary for the Drachen Armor +1 Set as well as the coveted Homam Corazza Set.
*Einherjar
Another fun endgame activity. Einherjar is very fast paced, if you have a short attention span, I wouldn't recommend participating. For most of the lower Tier zones leading up to Odin's Chamber you might want to sub NIN. Yes I know, "DRG subbing NIN makes no sense" I've been through the argument already, but it is a good idea to help mitigate the healing your mages will do on you. Most part your DRG will be damage dealing through out the entire battle whereas Angon will be needed on the boss of the chamber for sure.
Only instance where I'd recommend a different sub (that being SAM) is for Odin. Meditate, Jump and High Jump get up close Angon (if it is ready) then unleash your best Weapon Skill available. Just don't be in his cross hairs when he decides to use Zantetsuken (ability) (his 2 hour) because most likely, you're dead meat. I personally have been doing Einherjar for quite some time (no Valkyrie's Fork sadly) and it is a blast(ApkalluVendetta represent!).
*Dynamis
And of course Dynamis. Very long, no that is an understatement. Depending if the group you go with is good (mine is :P Beacon and ApkalluVendetta) you will be there a while, unless it is a Dreamworld Dynamis zone. It seems DRG does generally fine in most of the Dynamis zones, Dynamis - Xarcabard being the exception since it appears the demon type mobs are resistant to piercing. You will want to participate for getting the Wyrm Armor Set and of course the Chains Of Promathia zones for the -1 gear to make the +1 versions and of course if you are working towards Gungnir the Holy Grail of polearms. Might want to make sure you have an adequate experience points buffer cause you will die on occasion make sure you bring a Reraise item or scroll with you since most shells have a Raise 1 only policy when it comes to forgetting reraise. 
...more to come, perhaps Salvage...
If you feel there is anything I should include in this article please mention it on the talk/discussion page. I'm always open to suggestions.