Samurai is a Melee Battle Job introduced in the second major expansion of the game after the relaunch of A Realm Reborn, the Stormblood expansion. They excel in powerful attacks using their Katana and building up Iaijutsu to execute their killer moves.

Samurai might be one of the Melee Battle Jobs that can be hard to get into due to the complicated combo and different gauges that they have. However, once a player has got the hang of it, Samurai is a really fun Melee DPS to play with how much damage one can deal to their enemies through their rotation and combo.

For that reason, this article exist to feature ten of the best Samurai’s skills in order to help players know which skills are used often.

10. Tenka Goken

A video demonstrating Tenka Goken skill.

Tenka Goken is the first skill as well as the first Iaijutsu introduced in this article.

Why Tenka Goken is Great:

• Tenka Goken is an Iaijutsu that can be executed when the Samurai has 2 Sen stored in their Sen Gauge.
• Tenka Goken is a powerful AoE attack that is often used in dungeons to deal with a lot of enemies and parties of mobs charging at them. It will deal a 280 damage potency attack to all enemies in a cone before the Samurai.
• Additionally, it will also grant the effect of Meditation, up to a maximum of 3 stacks.

Tenka Goken details. 

9. Third Eye

A video demonstrating Third Eye skill.

Third Eye is the second ability skill to be featured in this article. Unlike Tenka Goken, however, Third Eye is not an offensive attack skill, but rather a support one.

Why Third Eye is Great:

• Third Eye is a very useful support skill that has received a buff in Endwalker, and is a must-use for any Samurai who wants to build up their combo even more.
• Using Third Eye will grant a buff to the Samurai that will reduce the amount of damage taken on the next attack received by the Samurai by 10%. 
• Additionally, when the Samurai is hit under the Third Eye buff, they will increase their Kenki Gauge by 10, which allows them to be able to access a variety of skills that can only be executed using the Kenki Gauge.
• This makes Third Eye a very useful ability to be used before the boss will hit a raidwide on the Samurai, ensuring that the Third Eye will activate their second effect.

Third Eye details. 

8. Ikishoten

A video describing Samurai’s skills from level 1 to 90. See Ikishoten in action at 32:20.

Ikishoten is the third ability skill to be featured in this article. Similar to Third Eye, it is also a support ability skill, although they differ.

Why Ikishoten is Great:

• Ikishoten is a great support ability that can help build the Samurai’s combo and rotation and allows them to be able to do more skills and unlock higher damage combos.
• Ikishoten will increase the Kenki Gauge by a whopping 50 points upon being used, allowing the Samurai to be able to access their skills that need a high amount of Kenki Gauge without the need to do the prerequisite combo.
• Additionally, Ikishoten will also grant Ogi Namikiri ready for 30 seconds, allowing the Samurai to be able to use the most powerful skill available to them.

Ikishoten details. 

7. Higanbana

A video demonstrating Higanbana skill.

Higanbana is the fourth skill to be featured in this article, as well as the second Iaijutsu skill introduced. Just like Tenka Goken, it is also an offensive attack skill instead of a support one.

Why Higanbana is Great:

• Higanbana can be executed when the Samurai has exactly one Sen stored in their Sen Gauge. 
• Higanbana will deal an attack with a potency of 200, as well as a damage over time with a 60 damage potency for 45 seconds. This makes it a very powerful DoT that can be applied to damage the boss constantly throughout battle.
• Additionally, it will also grant a stack of meditation, up to a maximum of three Meditation stacks.

Higanbana details. 

6. Midare Setsugekka

A video demonstrating Midare Setsugekka skill.

Midare Setsugekka is the last original Iaijutsu skill introduced in this article, and is also the most powerful amongst the three and most often used against bosses.

Why Midare Setsugekka is Great:

• Midare Setsugekka can only be executed when the Samurai has three Sen, or all Sen ready, stored in their Sen Gauge. It will deal an attack with a potency of 640 to the targeted enemy.
• Like Higanbana and Tenka Goken, it will also grant a stack of Meditation, and Samurai can store up to three stacks of these.
• On top of that, Samurai can continue their attack after Midare Setsugekka with Kaeshi: Setsugekka, which will deal the same amount of damage potency to the enemy, allowing the Samurai to basically Midare Setsugekka twice. Kaeshi: Setsugekka can be used every 60 seconds.

Midare Setsugekka details. 

5. Meikyo Shisui

A video describing how to play Samurai as a complete beginner. See Meikyo Shisui in action at 1:08.

Meikyo Shisui is the next ability to be featured in this article. Similar to Ikishoten, Meikyo Shisui is a powerful support skill that can help the Samurai to have access to their combo.

Why Meikyo Shisui is Great:

• Meikyo Shisui is a very good support ability that will enable the Samurai to collect Sen gauge very easily, allowing them to be able to do their Iaijutsu quickly. 
• This happens because Meikyo Shisui will allow the Samurai to execute up to 3 weapon skills without meeting combo prerequisites. This will allow Samurai to use attacks that will grant them Sen gauge without the need to do their previous combo pattern attack.
• Additionally, successfully landing Gekko will grant Fugetsu, and landing Kasha will grant Fuka. Not only that, Samurai will have two charges of Meikyo Shisui, with every charge refilling evert 55 seconds, allowing them to be able to use this ability often.

Meikyo Shisui details. 

4. Shoha

A video demonstrating Shoha skill.

Shoha is the next skill to be featured in this article. It is one of the most powerful offensive attack skills that the Samurai has.

Why Shoha is Great:

• Shoha is a very great offensive attack skill as it will deal a whopping total of 520 damage potency to the enemy. It can be executed once the Samurai has accumulated three stacks of Meditation.
• Not only that, it also has the short cooldown of 15 seconds, allowing the Samurai to be able to use this skill repeatedly as long as they have the stacks of Meditation ready.
• On top of that, Shoha is also an offensive skill that can be weaved in between the Samurai’s usual GCD combo, basically allowing them to be able to use this skill without interrupting their combo, and only reap the benefit of being able to deal more damage to the enemies.

Shoha details. 

3. Hissatsu: Senei

A video demonstrating Hissatsu: Senei skill.

Hissatsu: Senei is the next offensive attack skill to be introduced in this article. It is a very strong attack skill that can deal absolute devastation on the enemy.

Why Hissatsu: Senei is Great:

• Hissatsu: Senei is one of the Samurai’s most powerful offensive skills and therefore must be used as often as necessary.
• This is because Hissatsu: Senei will deal a whopping 800 damage to the targetted enemy. It will cost 25 Kenki Gauge to be used.
• On top of that, just like Shoha, Hissatsu: Senei is another offensive attack that can be weaved in between the Samurai’s GCD, allowing a Samurai to be able to deal more damage through Hissatsu: Senei without having to interrupt their ongoing combo and GCD rotation.

Hissatsu: Senei details. 

2. Tsubame Gaeshi

A video demonstrating Tsubame Gaeshi skill.

Tsubame Gaeshi is the next offensive slash support skill that is featured in this article. It is an absolute must-use for any Samurai.

Why Tsubame Gaeshi is Great:

• Tsubame Gaeshi is a very powerful and versatile offensive skill that can help deal devastating damage to the enemy. 
• This is because Tsubame Gaeshi allows the Samurai to be able to repeat the previously executed Iaijutsu. So if the Samurai just executed Midare Setsugekka, they can then use Tsubame Gaeshi to execute another Midare Setsugekka.
• Not only that, Samurai will have two charges of Tsubame Gaeshi, with each one refilling every 60 seconds, allowing them to be able to use this ability often.

Tsubame Gaeshi details. 

1. Ogi Namikiri

A video demonstrating Ogi Namikiri skill.

Ogi Namikiri is the last offensive attack skill to be featured in this article, and is also coincidentally the last skill that the Samurai can learn currently in Final Fantasy XIV at level 90.

Why Ogi Namikiri is Great:

• Ogi Namikiri is a really powerful skill, it being a level 90 skill, which will ensure that the attack dealt by this attack will be a critical damage instead of a normal one.
• It will deal damage with a potency of 800 for the first enemy and 75% less for the remaining enemies. Because of this, Ogi Namikiri is a very good skill to be used against a group of mobs or against a boss.
• It can only be executed under the effect of Ogi Namikiri, which is granted by Ikishoten. However, upon using Ogi Namikiri, Samurai will also be granted a stack of meditation, up to a maximum of 3 stacks.

Ogi Namikiri details. 

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