Samurai DPS Rotation, Openers, and Abilities — Dawntrail 7.1
On this page, you will learn how to optimise your opener and rotation in both single-target and multi-target situations. We also cover the use of your cooldowns, to ensure you can achieve the best use of them every time as a Samurai DPS in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (Patch 7.1).
Samurai Rotation Overview
Please note this page covers the Samurai rotation at level 100. For what to do at lower levels while working your way up, please check out our Leveling Guide.
The single-target Samurai rotation at level 100 at a basic level functions as a loop, with alternating odd and even minute bursts. This is made up of your opener, the "cooldown" phase where we wait for our cooldowns to come back up, and then the respective minute's odd or even burst.
There are two options for this rotation based on what GCD tier you are playing at - the 2.14 rotation and 2.08 rotation. The 2.08 rotation functions as perfect 29 GCD loop - barring any downtime your bursts and everything in between will be the same each time. Because of this it's a great starting point for new players to the job looking for something more consistent while they learn the fundamentals of the job. The 2.14 rotation however will slowly fall behind by two GCDs every two minutes. Because of this you will have less room for recovery and enter your bursts at different points of your rotation as the fight goes on.
The Opener
Thanks to Meikyo Shisui's ability to give us buffs from combo finishers,
Samurai only has one standard opener. This opener uses a pre-pull
Meikyo Shisui
in order to get our buffs up as soon as possible, and then unloads a flurry of high potency attacks
under our potion and the party's raid buffs.
If you are unable to weave after Iaijutsu casts such as Tendo Setsugekka
and/or have difficulty double weaving, it is fine to move around some of the oGCDs such as
Hissatsu: Senei
and
Shoha to accomodate this as long as they still land under party buffs. In some fights,
this may also allow more opportunity to double weave
Tengentsu. The main buff windows for most
jobs are active just before our first cast of
Tendo Setsugekka and should end either right before
or right after the
Gyofu at the end. It is also fine to flip the later uses of
Kasha
and
Gekko without overcapping on Sen based on your ability to hit certain
positionals. The first GCD, however, depends on the boss' phasing - if using
Kasha
first will allow you to use an extra GCD that you would not normally get by using
Gekko
first, it is worth swapping them around. If not, stick to using
Gekko
first for the guaranteed damage bonus.
Meikyo Shisui when there is 14s left on the countdown
True North when there is 5s left on the countdown
Gekko →
Grade 2 Gemdraught of Strength
Kasha →
Ikishoten
Yukikaze
Tendo Setsugekka →
Hissatsu: Senei
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka →
Meikyo Shisui
Gekko →
Zanshin
Higanbana
Ogi Namikiri →
Shoha
Kaeshi: Namikiri
Kasha →
Hissatsu: Shinten
Gekko →
Hissatsu: Gyoten
Gyofu
Yukikaze →
Hissatsu: Shinten
Tendo Setsugekka
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka
Both Meikyo Shisui and
True North may be used closer to
the pull without any real detriment - these early timers are just to maximize any potential
uses during the fight. Depending on kill time or mechanics, neither may make any difference
at all.
Cooldown Phase
This phase of the rotation is where all of your burst is on cooldown, and you are left to just rotate through your combos until they come back up again. In a full uptime scenario, this should be about two full sets of three Sen.
Kenki and Meditation spenders are
not listed, but be sure to spend gauge on Hissatsu: Shinten and
Shoha
as needed to prevent yourself from overcapping on resources. These combos are also able to
be swapped around relatively freely, as long as you do not overcap Sen or drop your buffs.
However, it is recommended to end the second set on either a
Gekko or
Kasha combo to catch any early buffs.
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Gyofu
Jinpu
Gekko
Gyofu
Shifu
Kasha
Midare Setsugekka
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Gyofu
Jinpu
Gekko
Gyofu
Shifu
Kasha
Adjusting the 2.14 Rotation
As previously mentioned, 2.14 falls behind by two GCDs every two minutes. In order to keep our burst and Higanbana reapplications on time, we have to use
Meikyo Shisui to rush Sen and skip ahead. Below is one example of how that might look:
- During the second half of cooldown phase...
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Gyofu
Jinpu
Gekko →
Meikyo Shisui
Kasha
- And then lead into your respective burst, skipping the usual
Meikyo Shisui as you have used it early.
Roughly around the 6-minute Even Burst window, if you used Meikyo Shisui pre-pull you will have generated an additional charge. You will want to use this charge at the end of this burst to effectively "reset" all the GCDs you've fallen behind back to 0. Below is how that would look:
- During your Even Minute Burst, after
Kaeshi: Namikiri with 0 Sen
Gyofu
Yukikaze →
Meikyo Shisui
Gekko
Kasha
Tendo Setsugekka
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka
Gekko
- And then continue on with the rest of your Cooldown Phase into your 7-minute Odd Burst window.
Odd Minute Burst
During our odd minute burst, Ikishoten is still on cooldown, which
locks us out of using
Ogi Namikiri. As such, this burst is shorter and
does not hit as hard as our even minute burst. As with the Cooldown Phase outline, the
below bursts do not list any Kenki and Meditation spenders,
but be sure to keep
Hissatsu: Senei on cooldown and spend gauge on
Hissatsu: Shinten and
Shoha as needed
to prevent yourself from overcapping on resources. Both odd and even minutes flow directly from the end
of the cooldown phase, which is why they will begin with the
Kaeshi: Setsugekka carried from the middle of the Cooldown Phase and followed by a
Tendo Setsugekka.
The Odd Minute Burst is slightly different between the 2.14 and 2.08 GCD Tier rotations, both examples are listed below:
Odd Minute Burst - 2.14 Rotation
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
Meikyo Shisui
Tendo Setsugekka →
Hissatsu: Senei
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka
Gekko
Higanbana
Gekko
Kasha
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Midare Setsugekka
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
Odd Minute Burst - 2.08 Rotation
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
Meikyo Shisui
Tendo Setsugekka →
Hissatsu: Senei
Gekko
Higanbana
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka
Gekko
Kasha
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Midare Setsugekka
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
Even Minute Burst
The even minute burst is effectively identical to our opener, minus the Meikyo Shisui
required to set up buffs and Sen. As with the Odd burst, we want to lead with a
Kaeshi: Setsugekka held from the Cooldown Phase. However, due to wanting to lead the burst with
Tendo Setsugekka and
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka.
Ikishoten is not listed here, as some
players may prefer to stockpile Kenki going into this phase to unload extra
Hissatsu: Shinten
under raid buffs with a late usage, while others may not be able to perform the double weaves
that playstyle requires or may not wish to manage their Kenki so closely. You may use it
prior to this burst or in the middle of it as necessary as long as you do not overcap on
Kenki and will be able to use
Ogi Namikiri and
Zanshin under raid buffs.
The Even Minute Burst is the same for both 2.14 and 2.08 rotations.
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
Meikyo Shisui
Tendo Setsugekka →
Hissatsu: Senei
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka
Gekko
Higanbana
Ogi Namikiri
Kaeshi: Namikiri
Gekko
Kasha
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Midare Setsugekka
Kaeshi: Setsugekka
At the end of all of this, you should result in a rotation that looks like this:
- Opener
- Cooldown
- Odd Burst
- Cooldown
- Even Burst
- Cooldown
- Odd Burst
- etc...
At 2.14, the first minute has two extra GCDs due to the second charge of Meikyo Shisui providing a second use of
Tendo Kaeshi Setsugekka and the one usage of
Kaeshi: Setsugekka. This
will cause you to drift two GCDs, however it has been shown to not be a
loss compared to fixing it according to tests run using rotation tools. It is still worth
mentioning as you will see your
Higanbana fall off early for the first
reapplication.
Repairing the 2.08 Loop
Over the course of the fight, you may lose one or more GCDs as you are forced to disconnect
from the boss to resolve a mechanic. One optimization would be to use the same thing that makes the 2.14 rotation possible -
using Meikyo Shisui early at the end of the cooldown phase
in order to hit 3 Sen in time for your burst. Doing this will push you ahead by two GCDs per
usage of
Gekko or
Kasha, providing room for as many as
four missed GCDs. This does come at the cost of a weaker burst, however,
as you will be forced to manually build combos after expending your three
Meikyo Shisui
charges. An example of this is below:
- During the second half of cooldown phase...
Gyofu
Yukikaze
Gyofu
Jinpu
Gekko →
Meikyo Shisui
Kasha
- And then lead into your respective burst, skipping the usual
Meikyo Shisui as you have used it early.
Samurai Multi-Target Priority
Two-Target Priority
At two targets, Samurai uses a slight mix of AoE skills into the single target rotation.
- For combos, build to 3 Sen with single target combos for
Yukikaze,
Gekko, and
Kasha.
- Spend Sen on
Midare Setsugekka and remember to use the followup
Kaeshi: Setsugekka.
- Spend Kenki on
Hissatsu: Guren and
Hissatsu: Shinten.
- When using
Meikyo Shisui, spend charges on
Gekko and
Kasha.
Three (or more) Target Priority
At three or more targets, Samurai goes full into the AoE toolkit.
- For combos, alternate between your
Mangetsu and
Oka combos to keep buffs up.
- Spend Sen on
Tenka Goken, and remember to use the followup
Kaeshi: Goken.
- Spend Kenki on
Hissatsu: Guren and
Hissatsu: Kyuten.
- When using
Meikyo Shisui, spend charges on
Mangetsu and
Oka.
Changelog
- 13 Nov. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.1.
- 01 Aug. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.05.
- 16 Jul. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.01.
- 30 Jun. 2024: Updated for Patch 7.0.
- 16 Jan. 2024: Updated for Patch 6.55.
- 15 Oct. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 24 May 2023: Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 10 Jan. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 23 Aug. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.2.
- 20 Apr. 2022: Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 28 Feb. 2022: Guide added.
Guides from Other Classes

This guide has been written by boxer, a FFXIV enjoyer since late ARR and Samurai main/theorycrafter since the addition of the job in Stormblood. Self-proclaimed as the "Fast Samurai" for his love of high Skill Speed, he is a Samurai Mentor on The Balance Discord and can be reached there or directly at boxer#7326. He can also occasionally be found streaming prog or optimization on Twitch.
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