A swordsman of the east whose attack and defense are equally balanced. They are adept with two different forms of swordplay: using longswords, or dual blades. Depending on their weapon of choice, they have access to a different range of skills.
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— Website description.
"A multi-disciplined master of swordplay", Samurai is one of the eight classes of 7th Dragon III Code: VFD. It is based on the present timeline and available from the start.
The Samurai is a reoccurring class in the 7th Dragon series. In 2020 and onward, Samurai takes a modern twist compared to its predecessor. They are considered the all-rounder characters among all.
Samurai is a self-sufficient and versatile class with high physical damage and speed, but modest defense. Though not overwhelming in any particular combat situation, they have several tools that help them adapt to anything. They can equip two types of swords: single Sword and Dual Blades. Samurai use a separate set of skills for each weapon, with stylistic and tactical differences.
Strategy[]
One of 7th Dragon's major appeals lies in its spectacle, so your choice between Longsword or Dual Blades can certainly come just from aesthetics. There are functional differences that may sway your choice, or even invest in both and switch before battle:
Longsword Samurai: At the start, Power Bolt Drop is the mainstay for single targets and Whirlwind for multiple targets, but more especially Dragonsbane Seeds. Starting at Skill Development 1, Longsword further divides attack skills between Unsheathed and Sheathed Stances. Samurai normally start battle in Unsheathed Stance, which includes the aforementioned Power Bolt Drop and Whirlwind, and Garuda Whirlwind that dispatches multiple enemies better than Whirlwind. Sheathed Stance is essentially a setup move for the most devastating of Samurai's attacks, especially at high level when it debuffs its target's defenses. Unsheathed Stance conversely debuffs its target's attacks, exhibiting the Samurai's flexibility. Overall, Longsword is more Mana-intense and deals more damage to single targets, thus is usually the better choice against Dragons.
Dual Blades Samurai: This Samurai does not worry about Sheathed or Unsheathed Stance, but DUAL is displayed as its own stance in battle. Their first two skills, Aerial Slash and Maple Tear, introduce exploitation of weaknesses. Maple Tear also adds fire to autoattacks to continue the trend without spending Mana. Cyclone Dance is twice as good against Dragonsbane Seeds as Whirlwind, Windy Canopy is powerful when a Duelist, Mage, or Rune Knight is already exploiting an elemental weakness, Hidden Shadow can allow slow attacks from allies to fully execute before the target acts, and Poplar Admiral leverages overkill damage onto another enemy. Overall, Dual Blades relies much more upon circumstance to be effective.
Switch Samurai: The Samurai that change weapons before a fight according to foreknowledge. Note that this build will spread SP thin on both sides, making them even less specialized. The advantage of this build is to exploit weaknesses: if a boss is weak to some element or is flying, switch to Dual Blades, otherwise take the Katana. Key skills from Dual Blades are Maple Tear, Aerial Slash and Windy Canopy. Key skills from Katana are Sheathed Stance, Unsheathed Stance, and any single-target skill of your choice.
Samurai's other skills also help them perform among a variety of circumstances. When Fighting Spirit activates, it deals enough damage to one-shot most random encounters, ending them immediately. Though most battles in 7th Dragon III end long before Red Flame Exhale and Black Steel Inhale can reach their full potency, you can use random encounters to "kite" Dragons into battle to snatch a few spare turns to grant an extra edge. Solid Stance boosts the reliability of Power Bolt Drop, Maple Tear, and Hidden Shadow, or just the damage of a huge blow.
Jinka React stands out among these. It speeds up Samurai as they trade blows with enemies. It works like a counterattack that gets more reliable the stronger the foe. Dragons trigger it very frequently, sometimes every turn of its duration. Only one extra turn is reserved at a time, so triggering more each turn is tricky (the Samurai would have to take enough damage in one hit after starting their extra turn). Making the most of Jinka React is a careful balancing act between healing, incoming damage, and enemy targeting. The Samurai must lose at least 15% (at max level) of their Life, but will die from losing too much at once before healing. Manipulate equipment, buffs, debuffs, and even the Defend command to keep incoming damage within an optimal range. Boosting maximum Life has the same effect here as reducing damage taken. By the way, enemies prefer to target characters with the most current Life, so it is valuable to spend some extra turns topping it off with Invigorate, but healing from allies lets Samurai commit their extra time to attacks. If the Samurai isn't getting enough attention, use Moon Stance. Jinka React is easy to max out; don't pass it up if your Samurai fights Dragons.
Party Combinations[]
Samurai is a very independent class, but that does not prevent synergy with other classes:
Duelist: X Burn and Windy Canopy is a lethal combination given the right circumstances. X Burn, when maxed, has the potential to deal massive damage once 2 or more fire cards have been consumed. The disadvantage however is that X Burn requires a turn to set up, not to mention RNG-dependent.
Fortuner: Forest Poetry's constant healing keeps the Samurai in position to consistently trigger Jinka React, which the Fortuner can follow with Following React. Longsword Samurai's Destructive Sweep and Power Bolt Drop make it easier for the Fortuner to use their life-stealing Oracle skills.
Rune-Knight: Samurai move faster, so can pull off Focus Breathing first to substitute for Life Oath, allowing the Rune-Knight to skip straight into Brave Sword.
Stats[]
Base Stats at Lv. 99[]
LIFE
MN
ATK
MAT
DEF
MDF
SPD
364
156
216
159
100
79
127
MAX stats[]
LIFE
MN
ATK
MAT
DEF
MDF
SPD
500
300
500
500
300
300
255
Reclass[]
Class changing refunds 100% of SP.
Stat
Lv. 30
Lv. 40
Lv. 50
Lv. 60
Lv. 70
Lv. 80
Lv. 99
ATK
+0
+1
+2
+5
+5
+8
+15
Standby[]
Samurai charge 1 bar of their gauge every 2 turns.
Support Skill[]
Increase 1st Team ATK.
Multiplier of 1.2x. Lasts 1 turn.
Buddy Skill[]
Decrease enemy ATK.
Deals 150% melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to the target, and has a 100% chance of lowering their ATK (0.8x multiplier) for 2 turns.
Skills[]
Universal[]
Name
Description
Prerequisite
LIFE Bonus
Bonus to max LF.
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 150 SP.
Lv. 2: Max LIFE ↑. Cost 550 SP.
Lv. 3: Max LIFE ↑. Cost 1500 SP.
Lv. 4: Max LIFE ↑. Cost 3000 SP.
Lv. 5: Max LIFE ↑. Cost 5500 SP.
Formula
Lv. 1: 1.1x Life multiplier.
Lv. 2: 1.15x Life multiplier.
Lv. 3: 1.2x Life multiplier.
Lv. 4: 1.25x Life multiplier.
Lv. 5: 1.3x Life multiplier.
MANA Bonus
Bonus to max MN.
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 300 SP.
Lv. 2: Max MANA ↑. Cost 750 SP.
Lv. 3: Max MANA ↑. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 4: Max MANA ↑. Cost 4000 SP.
Lv. 5: Max MANA ↑. Cost 6000 SP.
Formula
Lv. 1: 1.1x Mana multiplier.
Lv. 2: 1.15x Mana multiplier.
Lv. 3: 1.2x Mana multiplier.
Lv. 4: 1.25x Mana multiplier.
Lv. 5: 1.3x Mana multiplier.
Longsword[]
Name
MN Cost
Description
Max Level
Prerequisite
Whirlwind
3
Unsheathed. Random attack x3: all.
5
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Base skill.
Lv. 2: Number of Random attacks 3→4. Cost 300 SP.
Lv. 3: Number of Random attacks 4→5. Cost 600 SP.
Lv. 4: Number of Random attacks 5→6. Cost 1500 SP.
Lv. 5: Number of Random attacks 6→7. Cost 2500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 3 hits. 60% damage per hit. Fills 1.75% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 2: 4 hits. 50% damage per hit. Fills 1.25% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 3: 5 hits. 45% damage per hit. Fills 1% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 4: 6 hits. 40% damage per hit. Fills 0.8% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 5: 7 hits. 40% damage per hit. Fills 0.7% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to random enemies a certain number of times.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to one enemy with a chance to cause Bleed for 4 turns.
Bleed damage is equal to [20 * Bleed Power + 3]. On the 2nd turn, a 1.2x multiplier is applied to the bleed damage, and on the 3rd onward, a 1.24 multiplier is applied.
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Garuda Whirlwind
6
Unsheathed. High dmg: all.
5
Skill Development 1
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 2500 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 3500 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 4000 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 5500 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. Cost 7000 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 250% damage.
Lv. 2: 260% damage.
Lv. 3: 270% damage.
Lv. 4: 280% damage.
Lv. 5: 295% damage.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to all enemies.
Fills 1% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Speed multiplier of 1.2
Serpent Thrust
10
Unsheathed. High dmg thrust attack: one.
5
Skill Development 2
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 3500 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 6000 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 8000 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 9000 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. Cost 9500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 400% damage.
Lv. 2: 425% damage.
Lv. 3: 450% damage.
Lv. 4: 500% damage.
Lv. 5: 550% damage.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Lv. 4: 4 Mana. 225% damage. 0.95x multiplier to target's ATK and MAT.
Lv. 5: 5 Mana. 250% damage. 0.9x multiplier to target's ATK and MAT.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage.
At levels 4 and 5, the skill has a 100% chance to inflict a debuff on the target that lowers their ATK and MAT for 3 turns.
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Speed multiplier of 1.5
Priority level 3
Earth Splitter
30
Massive dmg/Bleed: all.
1
Post Chapter 5.1
How to Unlock
After Chapter 5.1, Director Yoshida explain EX skills and give pointers to how to unlock them. The prerequisite is to first have a Lv. 50 character of respective class and set them as leader. Once all objectives are cleared, the EX skill is unlocked for all characters of that class.
Talk to Yoritomo in the Medical Floor.
Log in to 7th Encount and choose "Make your Samurai train alone."
Defeat the Dark Rabi as quick as possible.
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 9900 SP.
Notes
Using EX applies a 1.5x multiplier to the attack's damage output and infliction rate, if the skill inflicts any ailments. This also applies to EX skills, so the value listed below is simply the base damage value. Since the skill cannot be used without using EX, the actual damage and infliction rate will be listed as well. Using EX also provides priority to the skill, if it did not have it before. All EX skills have a critical hit rate of 0x.
Deals 900% (actually 1350%) ATK-based non-elemental damage to all enemies, and has a 100% (actually 150%) chance to inflict Bleed for 4 turns. The Bleed power is 1200%.
Has an accuracy modifier of 200%.
Only usable when wielding a katana in sheathed stance.
Dual Blades[]
Name
MN Cost
Description
Max Level
Prerequisite
Aerial Slash
3
Medium dmg: one. Strong v. flying enemies.
5
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Base skill.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 120 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 250 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 400 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. MN: 3→2. Cost 750 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 200% damage. 130% accuracy modifier.
Lv. 2: 210% damage. 140% accuracy modifier.
Lv. 3: 220% damage. 150% accuracy modifier.
Lv. 4: 230% damage. 160% accuracy modifier.
Lv. 5: 250% damage. 170% accuracy modifier.
Deals melee ATK-based aerial damage to one enemy.
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Maple Tear
5
Fire dmg/Burn: one. Imbue normal attacks w/ fire.
5
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 250 SP.
Lv. 2: Fire damage/Burn inflict rate ↑. Cost 500 SP.
Lv. 3: Fire damage/Burn inflict rate ↑. Cost 1300 SP.
Lv. 4: Fire damage/Burn inflict rate ↑. Cost 2500 SP.
Lv. 5: Fire damage/Burn inflict rate ↑. Cost 5000 SP.
Deals melee ATK-based fire damage to one enemy with a chance to cause Burn (Applies a 0.9x multiplier to the target's ATK, MAT, DEF, and MDF) for 4 turns. Changes the damage type of the Samurai's normal attacks to fire for 4 turns.
Burn damage is equal to [20 * Burn Power + 1]. While only the Samurai's regular attacks will deal fire damage, for the case of Agent's TROY: Fire, all the Samurai's skills are treated as fire attacks for the duration of the buff.
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Speed multiplier of 1.2
Cyclone Dance
3
Random attack x6: all.
5
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 150 SP.
Lv. 2: Number of random attacks: 6→8. Cost 300 SP.
Lv. 3: Number of random attacks: 8→10. Cost 600 SP.
Lv. 4: Number of random attacks: 10→12. Cost 1500 SP.
Lv. 5: Number of random attacks: 12→14. Cost 2500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 6 hits. 30% damage per hit. Fills 0.85% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 2: 8 hits. 25% damage per hit. Fills 0.65% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 3: 10 hits. 23% damage per hit. Fills 0.5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 4: 12 hits. 20% damage per hit. Fills 0.4% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Lv. 5: 14 hits. 20% damage per hit. Fills 0.35% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to random enemies a certain number of times.
When hitting enemies with this skill, the EX gain is halved. This matters when stacking the effect with a Mind Booster, which normally adds on +2.5% EX per hit. The numbers listed are the base EX gain, and cannot be seen under normal circumstances.
Speed multiplier of 1.05
Tips
Useful against Dragonsbane Seeds.
Windy Canopy
6
Follow up after ally elemental attack. Instant.
5
Skill Development 1
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 2: Follow-up damage ↑. Cost 2500 SP.
Lv. 3: Follow-up damage ↑. Cost 3500 SP.
Lv. 4: Follow-up damage ↑. Cost 5000 SP.
Lv. 5: Follow-up damage ↑. Cost 6500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 300% damage. 200% damage for AOE.
Lv. 2: 350% damage. 225% damage for AOE.
Lv. 3: 400% damage. 250% damage for AOE.
Lv. 4: 450% damage. 275% damage for AOE.
Lv. 5: 500% damage. 300% damage for AOE.
Activates on any enemy that gets hit with Fire, Ice, or Lightning MAT-based damage. This means Duelist, Mage, and Rune-Knight elemental skills only.
Activates from Duelist's X Burn and Rune-Knight's Berserk attacks.
Does not follow up counterattacks or Agent's TROY skills.
The follow-up attack deals melee ATK-based damage of the element followed up on.
Deals a different amount of damage after the first follow-up and if the triggering attack is single target or AOE. Hits all targets the triggering attack hit.
If used in combination with Solid Stance, only the first follow-up attack will be boosted.
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Continues after a Unison turn and into the extra turn phase.
Priority level 3
Hidden Shadow
7
High dmg/Stun: one. Instant.
5
Skill Development 1
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage/Stun inflict rate ↑. Cost 3500 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage/Stun inflict rate ↑. Cost 4000 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage/Stun inflict rate ↑. Cost 5500 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage/Stun inflict rate ↑. Cost 7000 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 300% damage. 50% infliction rate.
Lv. 2: 350% damage. 55% infliction rate.
Lv. 3: 400% damage. 60% infliction rate.
Lv. 4: 450% damage. 65% infliction rate.
Lv. 5: 500% damage. 70% infliction rate.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to one enemy with a chance to cause Stun (causes the enemy to act at the end of the turn).
Fills 5% of the EX Gauge per hit.
Priority level 4
Poplar Admiral
10
Very high dmg: one.
5
Skill Development 2
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 3500 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 6000 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 8500 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 9000 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. Cost 9500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv1: 510% damage.
Lv2: 540% damage.
Lv3: 560% damage.
Lv4: 580% damage.
Lv5: 600% damage.
Deals melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to one enemy. If this kills the target, a random enemy will take damage dependent upon how overkilled the initial target was:
After Chapter 5.1, Director Yoshida explain EX skills and give pointers to how to unlock them. The prerequisite is to first have a Lv. 50 character of respective class and set them as leader. Once all objectives are cleared, the EX skill is unlocked for all characters of that class.
Talk to Yoritomo in the Medical Floor.
Follow him to the Terrace and answer:
"Continue on to the ship."
"We have to take it down!"
"Focus on saving my family!"
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 9900 SP.
Notes
Using EX applies a 1.5x multiplier to the attack's damage output and infliction rate, if the skill inflicts any ailments. This also applies to EX skills, so the value listed below is simply the base damage value. Since the skill cannot be used without using EX, the actual damage and infliction rate will be listed as well. Using EX also provides priority to the skill, if it did not have it before. All EX skills have a critical hit rate of 0x.
Deals 950% (Actually 1425%) ATK-based non-elemental damage to one enemy.
Cannot miss.
Only usable when wielding dual blades.
Other[]
Name
MN Cost
Description
Max Level
Prerequisite
Fighting Spirit
-
Auto. High dmg at battle start: all.
5
Skill Development 1
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 1000 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 1500 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 2500 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. Cost 3000 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 150% damage.
Lv. 2: 200% damage.
Lv. 3: 250% damage.
Lv. 4: 300% damage.
Lv. 5: 350% damage.
At the start of each battle, the Samurai has a 25% chance to deal melee ATK-based non-elemental damage to all enemies.
Only 1 start of battle AUTO skill can activate at a time.
Places two separate buffs on the Samurai that last indefinitely and will not be used up until the Samurai makes an attack that fulfills the buff's requirements.
Multiplies the Samurai's ATK on their next attack.
Multiplies the infliction rate of the Samurai's next attack that can inflict ailments.
Support skills and Blade of Rage will not waste the charge. Can be used on their EX skills.
If used in combination with Windy Canopy, only the first follow-up attack in a turn will be boosted.
Due to how the game calculates damage, this results in much more than double damage.
Places a buff on the Samurai that increases their ATK and likelihood to be targeted by enemies for 3 turns.
Speed multiplier of 1.5
Priority level 3
Blade of Rage
-
Auto. Revenge attack if ally is defeated.
5
None
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 150 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage ↑. Cost 350 SP.
Lv. 3: Damage ↑. Cost 800 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage ↑. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage ↑. Cost 3500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: 200% damage.
Lv. 2: 220% damage.
Lv. 3: 240% damage.
Lv. 4: 260% damage.
Lv. 5: 300% damage.
At the end of each turn, if an ally was killed by an enemy during that turn, the one responsible will be dealt melee ATK-based non-elemental damage.
If the killer is an invalid target for whatever reason, or the ally died by some means other than from an enemy attack, such as damage from an ailment, then this skill will not activate.
If there are multiple killers, then a random killer is chosen to be attacked.
Not affected by Solid Stance, nor will it use up Solid Stance's charge.
Jinka React
2
Chance of + 1 turn when taking high dmg. 4 turns.
5
Skill Development 1
Progression
Lv. 1: Skill learned. Cost 500 SP.
Lv. 2: Damage required for activation ↓. Cost 1000 SP.
Lv. 3: Active turns: 4→5. Cost 1500 SP.
Lv. 4: Damage required for activation ↓. Cost 2000 SP.
Lv. 5: Damage required for activation ↓. Cost 2500 SP.
Notes
Formula:
Lv. 1: Activates at loss of 35% or more Life. Lasts for 4 turns.
Lv. 2: Activates at loss of 30% or more Life. Lasts for 4 turns.
Lv. 3: Activates at loss of 30% or more Life. Lasts for 5 turns.
Lv. 4: Activates at loss of 25% or more Life. Lasts for 5 turns.
Lv. 5: Activates at loss of 15% or more Life. Lasts for 5 turns.
Places a buff on the Samurai for a certain number of turns. If the Samurai loses a certain portion of their maximum Life from an enemy's attack, they will have a 100% chance to gain an extra turn.
The amount of Life has to be lost through one hit.
All react skills save only 1 extra turn at a time, and can only activate up to 3 times at most in a given turn.
Will activate even when confused.
Gallery[]
Samurai A-1
Samurai A-2
Samurai A-3
Samurai B-1
Samurai B-2
Samurai B-3
Male Samurai A-1
Female Samurai A-1
Male Samurai B-1
Female Samurai B-1
Artwork of female Samurai A-1
Male Samurai A-1 in Phantasy Star Online 2
Lounge
Videos[]
7th Dragon III Code VFD (JP) - All EX Skills (60fps)
Trivia[]
The official names of the Samurai class members are Yamato (Male A), Yaiba (Female A), Gin (Male B), and Kirika (Female B).
In the 7th Dragon III demo, Male Samurai A-1 and Female Samurai A-1 are playable characters.
Samurai (侍) were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan.
