Introduced in Build X.28, the Samurai is the first new class introduced in nearly six years and the first new heavy armor class since the Paladin was introduced in January, 2010. The Samurai is a combination of sword class tankiness and the attack range of a Ninja, while sacrificing weapon damage-per-second compared to those classes. As a katana class that wears heavy armor as opposed to leather, the Samurai class marks the first time that a weapon type was paired with a second armor type. Unlocking him requires level 20 with Knight and Ninja. See his stat gains, averages, and caps here.
The most exceptional stat that the Samurai possesses is an attack cap of 75. This allows them to do considerable damage with each individual shot. A wisdom cap of 60 allows the Samurai to recover mana quicker than most classes. On the other hand, their speed, dexterity, and vitality are all average (cap at 50, 50, and 40, respectively). The Samurai also possesses a lower HP capacity than the other heavy armor classes (average and cap are 625 and 720, instead of the usual 675 and 770). The Samurai’s stats and equipment give them considerable survivability, at the cost of having inferior damage per second.
The Samurai’s weapon of choice is the katana. Katana are similar to swords except that they have weaker damage, longer range, and most importantly, the ability to pierce enemies. Piercing makes the katana very effective against closely clustered enemies and bosses that surround themselves with damage-soaking minions. The drawback to the katana is that they have a relatively short range, meaning that the Samurai has to risk taking hits in order to land hits. The combination of katana range and heavy armor makes range anxiety less of a problem for Samurai compared to other melee classes. The nature of the katana options allow for the Samurai to fulfill a variety of playstyles.
The Muramasa and Masamune are the best tradable tiered katana, dealing high damage to multiple enemies due to the Samurai’s high ATT cap. With a range of 4.75 tiles, the Samurai can stand a decent distance from enemies while still doing damage.
The Ray Katana is an untiered katana that drops from the Eye of the Dragon. This katana has a 6.12 tile range, allowing the Samurai to fight from much farther away than tiered katana allow, and gives the Samurai the longest range of all heavy armor classes. However, the bump in range comes with a price of significantly lower (albeit consistent) damage output than most other katana.
The Sullen Blade is a unique katana that fires 3 projectiles in an arc pattern, similar to that of tiered bows. It has the highest DPS of all katana. However, it possesses a very short range of 3.75 tiles (the spread of the shots reduces its “true” range to 1.37 tiles), lacks the ability to pierce, and is affected by enemy defense moreso than other katana. Its ludicrous DPS is particularly useful in the hands of a Samurai as their heavy armor makes it slightly safer to approach enemies and unload a devastating shotgun of firecrackers. Do be wary of your circumstances; getting up close to enemies capable of lethal attacks (such as Oryx 2) is not recommended. This katana is dropped by Feargus the Demented.
The Doku No Ken is an interesting untiered katana that can be found in the Crawling Depths. The Doku is probably the most practical katana for the Samurai. It has a range of 5.2 tiles and a 120% rate of fire. Its DPS curve follows the Masamune very closely; it has a slightly higher DPS than Masamune against enemies below 40 defense, but thereafter loses its edge by a similarly small margin. Its increased range can make it an upgrade over tiered katana. The shots fired from the Doku travel in a wavy pattern similar to a staff’s shots, which for some players makes it more difficult to land hits. The shots true up in the middle and at the end of their range, allowing you to attack at maximum range without drawback.
The Void Blade is an odd katana that can be found in the Toxic Sewers. In a similar vein to the Wand of the Bulwark, it has a slow rate of fire but high per-shot damage. Its DPS is higher than all tiered katana as well as the Doku, and it edges out the Sullen Blade after about 40 defense. However, the catch to this powerful DPS is that this katana has a range of 0. The projectiles fired by this katana float in place for roughly 4.2 seconds before disappearing, and any enemy that runs into them will take massive damage (although one shot will not hit the same enemy twice). This katana is very effective against enemies with certain predictable movement patterns, such as fast chaser enemies. It has the potential to make short work of certain dungeon bosses such as Limon the Sprite Goddess. It can also kill many godlands and quest enemies in a single hit, especially in Samurai’s hands. In short, if you can manage to exploit enemy movement patterns and stack projectiles for maximum damage, this is a great swapout.
The Kazekiri is a special themed katana that is part of the Akuma Slayer set. It fires two shots that spread out slightly and converge at the end of their 4.5 tile range. Because of the second shot, it outdamages tiered katana and the Doku against enemies with lower defense. It has the unique ability to pierce through certain obstacles as well as retaining its ability to pierce enemies. Its slightly shorter range compared to other katana might compromise its practicality where keeping distance from enemies is paramount. This katana can be dropped by Daichi the Fallen.
The Samurai’s ability is known as the wakizashi (or waki for short). The waki allows the Samurai to perform perpendicular slashes that intersect with the crosshair (up to a reach of 4.4 tiles). Tier progression gives the waki increased damage and the ability to inflict a debuff on enemies called Exposed (which reduces enemy defense by 20 points). The drawback to the waki is that they are less effective in confined areas (especially if there are walls near the origin of the shots). The waki will not cast if there is an obstacle, which would block the shots immediately after casting, near the spawn point of the projectiles. It is best to use the highest tiered waki available, as lower tiers do not inflict Exposed nor are they as mana efficient for the damage. The Samurai can take advantage of the exposed status effect (as well as any other ability that reduces enemy defense) to maximize his DPS if he happens to have the Sullen Blade, Doku, or Kazekiri.
The Jade-Imbued Wakizashi and Royal Wakizashi are the best tiered waki, exposing enemies for the longest period of time as well as providing very high burst damage. Like all tiered waki, the shots come from the left and sweep to the right.
The Wakizashi of Eastern Winds is a UT waki obtainable from the Murderous Megamoth. Compared to a tiered waki, this untiered ability trades consistent damage output for a 4.6 tile cast range and a longer Exposed duration, making this waki best suited for Samurai that prioritize keeping foes exposed consistently, and for as long as possible. Keep in mind that the shots sweep from the right to the left with this waki.
The Wakizashi of Crossing Fires is a UT waki obtainable from Shaitan the Advisor. This is the polar opposite to the Wakizashi of Eastern Winds, possessing massive damage output at the cost of having only a 4 tile cast range. This waki has the potential to outperform most Wizard spells! However, this waki demands Samurai to get closer to his target in order to deal that heavy DPS. Compared to the Eastern Winds, this is a waki best suited for Samurai that prioritize raw damage over anything else. The shots from this waki come from both sides, and at ±75 degree angles, effectively making it the least suitable waki for confined areas.
Ryu’s Blade is the ST waki that is part of the aforementioned Akuma Slayer set. The shots of this waki are angled at ±165 degrees, which means that the shots will spawn far away from the Samurai and move toward him. The crossfire of this waki is always centered at 3 tiles away from the player in the aimed direction. Ryu’s blade has lower damage than high tiered waki, but the shots will armor pierce. This waki has the most shallow attack angle available, making it slightly more practical in straight, narrow corridors. It also allows Samurai to attack and expose enemies from well beyond the reach of any katana. Ryu’s Blade shares its expose duration with the T6 wakizashi, and its ability to expose from a long distance comes at a slightly higher mana cost. This waki can be dropped by the old chest inside the Mountain Temple.
The Samurai wears heavy armor, which usually amplifies only his defense but at far greater thresholds than robes and leather armors. This makes the Samurai more resilient than other classes and allows them to take hits that would otherwise be crippling to a class that wears robe or leather armor.
The Abyssal Armor (Abyssal) and Acropolis Armor (Acrop) are the primary armors for the Samurai. These heavy armors significantly improve the Samurai’s DEF stat, which allows them to tank hits far more safely than other classes. These armors are ideal for tankiness, but they do not provide any additional benefits besides a boost to defense.
Samurai excel at dealing massive amounts of damage to single targets and groups of enemies thanks to their waki and piercing katana. The ring that Samurai wears should reflect this specialization, and one will find that many of the rings that are best for Wizard are also best for the Samurai.
The Ring of Unbound Health (UBHP) and Ring of Decades (Deca) are the best HP rings, perfect for increasing the Samurai’s health and increasing his endurance. The Ring of Unbound Defense (UBDef) provides Samurai with a high boost to defense, useful since Samurai does not gain additional DEF bonuses from his equipment besides his armor. These rings are the best single-stat boosting rings to prioritize when survivability is the prime concern.
The Experimental Ring (Expo) is an untiered ring found in the Mad Lab. The Expo can prove to be a valuable general-purpose ring because of the bonuses it provides. It provides bonuses to both HP and DEF, albeit to a lesser degree than a straight tiered ring would. In addition, it also provides a boost to MP, which almost if not allows Samurai to make one more use of his waki before needing to recover mana.
As a katana class, the Samurai draws immediate comparisons to the Ninja. The advantages that Samurai has over the Ninja include the ability to wear heavy armor and a superior ATT cap. Heavy armor makes the Samurai more resilient than Ninja, at the cost of lacking the dexterity bonuses provided by leather armor. However, the Samurai has inferior SPD, DEX, and WIS caps compared to Ninja, which ultimately makes them both slower and gives them inferior DPS. The Samurai is the only heavy armor class that lacks both a high VIT cap and some form of healing ability. As a result, they are more reliant on health potions, healing pets, and other players to keep them alive in rough situations.
In spite of their drawbacks, the Samurai is arguably the least disadvantaged by their 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 needs to rely on his immense speed to dodge enemy shots as his low vitality and inferior defense make him 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 his stablemates, and he can be crippled substantially by the effects of quiet shots. A Samurai should take as much advantage of their weapon’s range as possible, as they are not as tanky as other heavy armor classes.
The ability of the Samurai to cripple their enemies’ defense is a big help to any group. Lower enemy defense means each shot 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. The Exposed debuff can be combined on enemies with armor breaking (provided by a Knight that has an Ogmur shield) to reduce enemy defense to negative numbers, and it also stacks with the effects of curse, allowing for even more damage to be done in a short amount of time. However, the downside to this strategy is the waki’s relatively short Exposed duration.
Because all wakizashi have a shorter cast range than the range of tiered katana, 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. The Samurai is capable of utilizing this to make short work of some dungeon bosses like Stheno the Snake Queen. It makes the Samurai capable of playing effective hit-and-run against event bosses like Cube Gods, Skull Shrines, and Avatars of the Forgotten King; however, his slow speed and low health regen hinders his capability of using that strategy. The waki also provides Samurai with the niche potential to land the killing blow on a boss (which is useful for earning the Oryx Slayer fame bonus).
The Samurai stands as a middle ground between the tankiness of a sword class and the attack range of a katana class. If you simply want a safe melee class that has a piercing weapon, can do fairly decent damage, and can provide benefits to a group, then the Samurai is for you.
