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Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai Guide & Review

Samurai is one of the classes in Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT). There are a ton of classes in FFT and it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which is the right one. Which skills and abilities are good? Which classes are good? This guide will tell you everything you need to know about the Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai Class.

Samurai
Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT)

final fantasy tactics samurai class guide

Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai Quick FAQ

How do you unlock the Samurai class in Final Fantasy Tactics?

Samurai requires Knight level 4, Monk level 5 and Dragoon level 2 to unlock.

How much total JP does it take to master the Samurai class in Final Fantasy Tactics?

It takes 8,000 total JP to master every single skill in the Samurai class.

What skills does the Samurai class unlock in Final Fantasy Tactics?

Samurai learns a variety of attack, healing and buff spells that are cast in an area around the Samurai. All Samurai skills require a katana to be used as a reagent.

What kind of stat growths does the Samurai class offer in Final Fantasy Tactics?

Samurai has mediocre stat growths across the board.

Stat Growths

(Lower is better)
HP: 12 MP: 14 SPD: 100 PA: 45 MA: 50

There’s nothing particularly compelling here.

In Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai’s stat growth is generally bad across the board with the only thing being at all above average being PA.

However, even Samurai’s above average PA growth is not competitive. Almost all of the physical classes boast better PA growth.

Moveset: Iaido

Ability NameJP Cost
Ashura100
Kotetsu200
Osafune300
Murasame400
Ame-no-Murakumo500
Kiyomori600
Muramasa700
Kiku-ichimonji800
Masamune900
Chirijiraden1000

The Iaido moveset is where the Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai shines. Despite all the mage classes in the game, Iaido makes the best use of MA. It’s great as a secondary subclass on any character who has high magic attack power. Its damaging abilities are instant and hit in a huge AoE.

Chirijiraden, if you can collect enough of the sword to feel safe using it, deals 4th level Black Mage spell damage with zero charge time in a large AoE without any friendly fire.

Iaido also boasts incredible healing and buff skills. Masamune grants everyone in the AoE Haste and Regen, while Kiyomori gives everyone Protect and Shell. In two turns you can give your whole squad all the best positive buffs.

Compare that to Bard and White Mage, both explicitly buffing and support classes, neither of whom can accomplish anything similar.

Reaction Abilities

Ability NameJP Cost
Bonecrusher200
Shirahadori700

Shirahadori (Blade Grasp in the original FFT) is one of the best defensive skills in the game. It basically turns your brave value into your dodge chance for physical attacks and abilities. So, if you have 97 brave (as you should), everything will have a 3% chance to hit you. It doesn’t get much better than that.

There are a few contenders for this slot – Chemist’s Auto-Potion, Ninja’s Reflexes, etc – but Shirahadori is the top of the top tier in terms of reaction abilities. Given how the AI tends to play, if you have Shirahadori and 97 brave, your character is basically invincible.

Support Abilities

Ability NameJP Cost
Equip Katana400
Doublehand900

Neither of these abilities are particularly good. Certainly not top tier, probably not worth learning. Doublehand doesn’t boost anything except the standard attack command, and you lose out on a shield by equipping it.

Directly comparing it to Geomancer’s Attack Boost, which is cheaper and better in almost all situations, it comes up short in every way.

Movement Abilities

Ability NameJP Cost
Swim300

Allows you to retain your ability to act in deep water. This ability is terrible. Don’t bother. It’s incredibly situational, and even in the specific situation where it may be useful, Ninja has Waterwalking which is better because it also prevents water from restricting your movement.

Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai Overall Assessment

The Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai class is very bad. Its support and movement skills are bad. However, Iaido, as a secondary skillset, is among the best in the game, especially for mages. It is, in fact, almost certainly the best secondary skillset for mages.

Shirahadori is an S Rank reaction skill. It’s incredible.

You can’t go wrong picking up the skills in the Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai class, but unlock the class, get the skills, and get out as quickly as possible.

You don’t want to level any more than you have to as a Samurai, and Samurai is one of the worst classes to be in if you want to use Iaido — put it on a Black Mage or, better yet, Reis.

That about covers it for the Final Fantasy Tactics Samurai Class. Be sure to check out the Games Section for more content like this and click here for more game guides related to FFT.

Final Fantasy Tactics Class Guides:
Squire Chemist Knight Archer Thief Monk Geomancer Dragoon Ninja Samurai Dark KnightWhite MageBlack MageTime MageMystic Summoner OratorBard Dancer Arithmetician Mime Onion Knight

Author

  • Ryan Night

    Ryan Night is an ex-game industry producer with over a decade of experience writing guides for RPGs. Previously an early contributor at gamefaqs.com, Ryan has been serving the RPG community with video game guides since 2001. As the owner of Bright Rock Media, Ryan has written over 600 guides for RPGs of all kinds, from Final Fantasy Tactics to Tales of Arise.

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