Samurai

Another blade-wielding Dressphere with one of the strongest physical attacks and a set of situationally good Bushido skills, but very little in the way of defenses to help it withstand attacks.

RankD

Samurai Weapons
Lore

You may have caught it already, but Yuna and Rikku both wield swords that copy the same model as some of Auron’s swords in Final Fantasy X, while Paine wields her own unique sword not seen in the previous game. This same pattern holds true for their Warrior and Dark Knight weapons.

Overview

The Samurai hits about as hard as a Dark Knight but it has almost none of its protection. Its Strength is the second highest of any Dressphere, but its Defense sits near the bottom of the list, so it works best as a glass cannon that ends fights fast.

It does have some fairly strong Bushido attacks, which offer some unique utility for certain fights. Zantetsu attempts to instantly KO an enemy and Shin-Zantetsu attempts the same against every enemy on the screen. Neither works on bosses, of course, but these attacks can be helpful for ripping through regular fiends.

The rest of its attacks just tend to be odds and ends. Spare Change throws gil at an enemy for damage that ignores the usual rules (just like Yojimbo in Final Fantasy X), which can be the quickest way to end a few specific fights. Dismissal halts an enemy’s pending action, and it is one of the three delay strategies this guide recommends for the Chac fight on Cloister 80 of the Via Infinito.

Because the Samurai sucks at taking hits, you can use its self-buffing abilities to offset some of these weaknesses. These include Nonpareil which raises their Strength and Accuracy, No Fear which allows them to cast Protect and Shell on themselves, Hayate adds Haste and Evasion, and Clean Slate helps them heal themselves while clearing status ailments without needing to rely on a healer or items.

It lands low on this list because its strongest attacks have a good chance of failing, and because it requires a great deal of setup for more intense fights, which are weaknesses that other Dresspheres, like the Dark Knight, just don’t have.

How to Obtain It

You’ll find the Samurai Dressphere as a glowing sphere on the floor of Kilika Temple during Chapter 3, after the battle against the two Varunas:

31) Kilika Island
Walkthrough

Kilika Island in Chapter 3, with fiends pouring out of Kilika Temple, the treasure chests through the woods, and the Samurai Dressphere.

The Samurai Dressphere is not missable, though. If you walk past it, you can pick it up in a treasure chest in Kilika Temple on your next visit to Kilika Island in Chapter 5.

List of Abilities

Ability	AP	Prerequisites
Attack	0
Spare Change	20
Mirror of Equity	0
Magicide	30
Dismissal	30	Magicide
Fingersnap	40	Dismissal
Sparkler	40
Fireworks	60	Sparkler
Momentum	60	Sparkler
Shin-Zantetsu	100	Momentum
Nonpareil	20
No Fear	30	Nonpareil
Clean Slate	40	No Fear
Hayate	60	Clean Slate
Zantetsu	140	Shin-Zantetsu
SOS Critical	80	Fireworks

Stats

The Samurai’s stats are the same for Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. The table below shows how they grow at each level milestone.

Level	HP	MP	Strength	Magic	Defense	Magic Defense	Agility	Accuracy	Evasion	Luck
1	116	20	17	18	32	35	54	102	10	12
10	451	44	36	28	35	40	55	103	11	13
20	808	68	55	38	38	45	56	105	12	14
30	1151	91	74	48	41	50	57	106	13	15
40	1478	114	91	56	44	54	58	107	13	15
50	1791	135	107	64	47	58	58	108	14	16
60	2088	154	123	73	49	62	59	109	14	16
70	2370	173	137	80	51	65	59	109	14	16
80	2637	191	150	87	54	67	60	110	14	16
90	2889	207	162	95	56	71	60	110	14	16
99	3104	221	171	100	57	72	59	109	13	15