Strengths and Weaknesses<\/div><\/h2>\nAs a katana class, the Samurai draws immediate comparisons to the Ninja and Kensei. The advantages that Samurai has over the Ninja include the ability to wear heavy armor and superior ATT and DEF caps. The combination of heavy armor and higher base DEF makes the Samurai more resilient than Ninja, at the cost of lacking the dexterity bonuses provided by leather armor. Compared to the Kensei, the Samurai still has higher ATT. However, the Samurai has inferior SPD, DEX, and WIS caps compared to Ninja, along with less balanced DPS stats than the Kensei, which ultimately makes him slower and gives him inferior DPS. Although Samurai has an above-average VIT cap of 60, which he shares with the Kensei, his natural health regen is still lower than that of Warrior and Knight, and pales in comparison to Paladin's HP regen under his Seal buff. As a result, he is more reliant on health potions, healing pets, and other players to keep him alive in rough situations.\n\nIn spite of his drawbacks, the Samurai is arguably the least disadvantaged by his weapon's short range of all melee classes. Sword classes such as the Warrior need to get much closer to their target to land hits and incur a greater risk of tanking shots, while the Ninja and Kensei need to rely on their immense speed to dodge enemy shots as their inferior defense makes them more prone to damage. In that respect, the Samurai provides a combination of the attack range available to Ninja and the relative tankiness of a heavy armor class, while sacrificing primary DPS compared to other melee classes. The waki's immense burst damage and defense-reducing effect both help to compensate for some, if not most, of the Samurai's lack of DPS. However, Samurai is also reliant on mana in order to be able to match the DPS of other melees, and he can be crippled substantially by the effects of quiet or silent shots. A Samurai should take as much advantage of his weapon's range as possible, as he is not quite as tanky as other heavy armor classes.\n\n
Group Role<\/div><\/h2>\nThe ability of the Samurai to cripple his enemies' defense is a big help to any group. Lower enemy defense means
each shot<\/b> will deal more damage to an enemy affected by the waki's Exposed status effect, and this increase in damage will add up rapidly in large groups. Since the ability to inflict Exposed is very accessible, featured on most tiered and all untiered waki, a group of two or three Samurai are easily capable of keeping an event or dungeon boss permanently exposed, especially with good magic heal pets. The Exposed debuff can be combined on enemies with {{template-armor-broken}} (provided by a Knight that has a [Shield of Ogmur](\/wiki\/shield-of-ogmur) or an Assasin with the [Crystallised Fang's Venom (Pogmur)](\/wiki\/crystallised-fang-s-venom)) to reduce enemy defense to negative numbers, and it also stacks with the effects of {{template-curse}}, allowing for even more damage to be done in a short amount of time. However, the downside to this strategy is the relatively short Exposed duration of most waki.\n\nEvent and Dungeon Bosses<\/div><\/h2>\nBecause all wakizashi have a shorter cast range than the range of tiered katanas, there is a risk-reward element to using it. Being daring enough to get up relatively close to the enemy pays off well because of the waki's high burst damage. Ryu's Blade allows Samurai to attack enemies from a long distance should he so desire the safety afforded by it. The Samurai is capable of utilizing the high burst damage and exposure to make short work of some dungeon bosses like [Stheno the Snake Queen](\/wiki\/stheno-the-snake-queen). It also makes the Samurai capable of playing effective hit-and-run against event bosses like [Cube Gods](\/wiki\/cube-god), [Skull Shrines](\/wiki\/skull-shrine), and [Avatars of the Forgotten King](\/wiki\/avatar-of-the-forgotten-king).\n\n
Summary<\/div><\/h2>\nThe Samurai stands as a middle ground between the tankiness of a sword class and the attack range of a katana class. Although he lacks DPS and SPD compared to other melee classes, the katana and heavy armor combination, combined with the high burst damage and exposure of waki, can allow him to safely take on challenges that would be more risky on other melee classes. If you want a safe melee class that has a piercing weapon, can do fairly decent damage, and can provide a benefit to a group, then the Samurai is for you."],[[],[]]);initializeCookieConsentBanner("e");