Community Corsair Guide

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This article is a community collaborative guide.
Please keep in mind that guides are works of opinion.
The editing of collaborative guides should keep the overall direction and general opinions the same.
If major changes are required or equipment sets are being altered, please utilize the "Discussion" tab or Discord.

Latest Updates

  • Changing the format and styling of the page and adding some info! Most of the info I'll be adding to playstyle/gear sections is heavily influenced by my "new player" experience, so I'd like to eventually add more newbie specific stuff. --Mieiki (talk) 17:33, 23 June 2026 (UTC)
  • Filled out AF/Relic/Empy gear set and recommendations. A lot of these recommendations were pulled from the Corsair guide on ffxiah.com. Please refer to the following link for the guide notes: https://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/52018/luck-of-the-draw-a-corsairs-guide-new --Rockzilla (talk) 3 October 2023 (EST)

General Information

Introduced in TOAU expension, COR is one of FFXI's support class with DD ability.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses
▲ Ability to fit in all the setups
In FFXI, there are primarily 4 different setups depending on DD type: pet setup, melee setup, mage setup and ranged setup. COR is one of a very few job that fits into all 4 setup and still have the ability to contribute as a support job and DD job.
▲ Versatile DD playstyle
COR has access to magical, ranged, melee and none elemental damage, plus the ability to gain tp without having to engage the NM. This gives the job incredibly wide range of tools to counter NM mechanics and contribute in different situations.
▲ Strong lowman job
With the ability to self buff, COR is a pretty efficient lowman class in a party size smaller than 3.
▼ RNG dependent
While Corsair has ways to mitigate this downside, its utility is still heavily dependent on having good RNG, and managing your risk carefully.
▼ Weaker DD than other jobs
Corsair does good damage, but not as good as other DDs.

Roles

Hybrid Support DD

Food and Medicines

Food

  • Grape Daifuku
    • Duration: 30 minutes
    • Stats: HP+20 STR+2 VIT+3 Acc.+10% (Max. 80) Atk.+10% (Max. 50) Rng. Acc.+10% (Max. 80) Rng. Atk.+10% (Max. 50) "M. Atk. Bonus"+3 Pet: HP+20 STR+2 VIT+3 Acc.+10%
    • Price: 4,000 Gil ea. / 48,000 Gil stack from Curio Vendor Moogle.

Abilities and Traits

Phantom Roll

Phantom Roll is probably Corsair's most iconic and recognizable Job Ability. Rolls are the first thing every Corsair needs to learn, as knowing how many buffs you can provide, what each one actually does, and when and how to use them effectively is essential. The minigame revolving around them looks simple (and fun, probably what draws so many people to the Job) but the system has surprising and interesting depth behind it.

The Basics Phantom Roll Minigame
Phantom Rolls are Area of Effect offensive, defensive and utility buffs the Corsair can provide.
  • A total of 31 Rolls can be learned permanently by consuming the associated Die. While some Rolls have more niche uses than others, it is recommended to learn all of them.
    • Once learnt, they can be found under the Job Ability → Phantom Roll sub menu.
  • The Rolls are cast around the Corsair. Their base range is 8 yalms, which can be extended to 16 yalms with gear.
  • Up to 2 Rolls can be active at the same time. When 2 Rolls are currently active, using a 3rd one will remove and replace the oldest Roll.
    • Ex: Chaos Roll → Samurai Roll → Fighter's Roll = Fighter's Roll will replace Chaos Roll.
    • It is possible to have more active Rolls if multiple Corsairs are in the party, but only if they roll different buffs.
  • The Rolls' base duration is 5 minutes. This duration can and should be extended with Job Points, Merit Points and gear. The max duration achievable is 11 minutes.
  • All 31 Rolls share a recast timer under Phantom Roll. This recast timer can and should be decreased with Merit Points and gear.
 The way Corsair buffs is quite unique: our buffs do not have a fixed value, we instead play a Blackjack minigame to determine the value.
  • Our goal is rolling an 11 for best value, or as close as possible to it, without going over.
    • Each number, 1 to 11, provides a different value. Generally, the value of the Roll increases the closer you get to 11. Each Phantom Roll has a specific Lucky number (2nd best value) and Unlucky number (lowest value,) but 11 will always be the highest for all of them.
  • Going over 11 will result in a Bust. Busting will afflict the Corsair with a negative effect depending on the Roll used, while the rest of the party will lose the Roll effect. Additionally, each Bust will take up a Roll slot, preventing the Corsair from using their Rolls.
    • Busts can be (randomly) prevented with Job Points, and removed with Fold.
  • Upon using a Phantom Roll, a number from 1-6 is randomly rolled. After this initial roll, you'll be able to use the following Job Abilities for the next 45 seconds to gamble increase your roll number!
    • Double-Up, which will add a random 1-6 to your previous total.
      • You can Double-Up as many times as you like during those 45 seconds, or until you Busts.
    • Snake Eye, which will force a 1 on your next Double-Up.
      • With Merit Ranks, it will have an increased chance of automatically rolling an 11 if your current roll is 5 or higher.
      • Snake Eye has a 5min recast. Therefore, you can generally only use it once... unless you manage to reset it, of course.

The explanation above is (very) simplified for clarity. Please keep reading for all the details!

Double-Up Fold Snake Eye Crooked Cards
Lv.5
Recast: 00:00:05
Lv.75
Recast: 00:05:00
Merits
Lv.75
Recast: 00:05:00
Merits
Lv.95
Recast: 00:10:00
The purpose of this ability is to help us achieve a Roll higher than 6, and hopefully an 11.

After using a Phantom Roll, the Corsair will receive a 45s status effect called Double-Up Chance.

As long as this effect is active, Double-Up can be used as many times as needed, or until a Bust happens.

Each time Double-Up is used, a number between 1 and 6 will be added to the previous Roll total.

The purpose of this ability is to remove Bust and unwanted active Phantom Rolls (on the Corsair, not the party).

Bust will have priority over Rolls. If two Rolls are active at the same time, the most recent Roll will be prioritized.

This ability grants the Corsair a 1min status effect of the same name which will force a 1 on the next Double-Up, Phantom Roll or Wild Card used (consuming the status effect in the process).

It can be used to: get off an Unlucky number when Double-Up is too risky to use on its own, to achieve a Lucky number or to achieve an 11.

With each Merit Rank after the first, Snake Eye will have an increased chance of automatically rolling the number necessary to reach 11, if your current roll is 5 or higher.

This ability grants the Corsair a 1min status effect of the same name which will boost the effect of the next Phantom Roll used by 20% (consuming the status effect in the process).

The penalty for Busting will also increase by 20%.

All Phantom Rolls

The total cost of all Phantom Rolls is 1,819,836 Gil.

List of All Phantom Rolls
Level Roll Job Bonus Lucky Unlucky Effect Acquisition
5 Corsair's Roll COR 5 9 Increases CP/EXP gain rate Corsair Die Free Luck of the Draw
8 Ninja's Roll NIN 4 8 Increases Evasion Ninja Die 600 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
11 Hunter's Roll RNG 4 8 Increases Accuracy/Ranged Accuracy Ranger Die 1,300 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
14 Chaos Roll DRK 4 8 Increases Attack/Ranged Attack Dark Knight Die 2,205 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
17 Magus's Roll BLU 2 6 Increases Magic Defense Blue Mage Die 3,525 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
20 Healer's Roll WHM 3 7 Increases Cure potency White Mage Die 5,000 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
23 Drachen Roll DRG 4 8 Increases Pet: Accuracy/Ranged Accuracy Dragoon Die 9,216 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
26 Choral Roll BRD 2 6 Decreases Spell Interruption Rate Bard Die 12,780 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
31 Monk's Roll MNK 3 7 Enhances Subtle Blow Effect Monk Die 22,400 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
34 Beast Roll BST 4 8 Increases Pet: Attack/Ranged Attack Beastmaster Die 26,600 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
37 Samurai Roll SAM 2 6 Increases Store-TP Samurai Die 35,200 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
40 Evoker's Roll SMN 5 9 Grants Refresh Effect Summoner Die 40,000 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
43 Rogue's Roll THF 5 9 Increases Critical Hit Rate Thief Die 50,400 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
46 Warlock's Roll RDM 4 8 Increases Magic Accuracy Red Mage Die 62,000 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
49 Fighter's Roll WAR 5 9 Increases Double Attack Rate Warrior Die 68,000 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
52 Puppet Roll PUP 3 7 Enhances Pet: Magic Attack and Magic Accuracy Puppetmaster Die 82,500 Gil Jajaroon, Nashmau (G-7)
55 Gallant's Roll PLD 3 7 Increases Defense Paladin Die 90,750 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
58 Wizard's Roll BLM 5 9 Increases Magic Attack Black Mage Die 108,000 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
61 Dancer's Roll DNC 3 7 Grants Regen Effect Dancer Die 63,375 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
64 Scholar's Roll SCH 2 6 Enhances Conserve MP Effect Scholar Die 68,250 Gil Chayaya, Al Zahbi (J-8)
67 Naturalist's Roll GEO 3 7 Increases Enhancing Magic Effects Duration Geomancer Die 69,288 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
70 Runeist's Roll RUN 4 8 Increases Magic Evasion Rune Fencer Die 73,920 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
76 Bolter's Roll None 3 9 Increases Movement Speed Bolter's Die 99,225 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
79 Caster's Roll None 2 7 Enhances Fast Cast Effect Caster's Die 85,500 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
81 Courser's Roll None 3 9 Enhances Snapshot Effect Courser's Die 97,350 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
83 Blitzer's Roll None 4 9 Reduces Melee Attack Delay Blitzer's Die 100,650 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
86 Tactician's Roll None 5 8 Grants Regain Effect Tactician's Die 109,440 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
89 Allies' Roll None 3 10 Increases Skillchain Damage Allies' Die 116,568 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
92 Miser' Roll None 5 7 Grants Save-TP Effect Miser's Die 96,250 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
95 Companion's Roll None 2 10 Grants Pet: Regain and Regen Effects Companion's Die 95,800 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)
97 Avenger's Roll None 4 8 Increases Counter Rate Avenger's Die 123,744 Gil Chichiroon, Nashmau (G-7)

Quick Draw

Merits

Group 1
Name Description Upgrades
Phantom Roll Recast Shorten recast time by 2 seconds. 5/5
Quick Draw Recast Shorten recast time by 2 seconds. 5/5
Quick Draw Accuracy Increase the accuracy of Quick Draw by 2. 5/5
Random Deal Recast Shorten recast time by 40 seconds. 0/5
Bust Duration Shorten the duration of the Bust penalty by 10 seconds. 0/5
◆ For Group 1 merit category:
  • 5/5 » Quick Draw Recast is a must have.
  • 5/5 » Phantom Roll Recast or 5/5 Quick Draw Accuracy, or split between them.

Element: Light Light and Element: Dark Dark shot usually need Quick Draw Accuracy a lot more than damage dealing elemental shots.

Group 2
Name Description Upgrades
Snake Eye Next roll will automatically be a 1. Recast: 5min. When current roll is 5 or higher, increase chance of rolling an 11 by 10%. 3-5/5
Fold Erases one roll or bust effect. Targets self-cast effect with the longest remaining duration. Recast: 5min. Increase chance of resetting Phantom Roll recast timer by 10%. 1/5
Winning Streak Extends the duration of Phantom Roll effects. Increase duration of effect by 20 seconds. 3-5/5
Loaded Deck Focuses effect of Random Deal on abilities waiting on recast. Has a chance to fail if only one ability is waiting on recast. Reduce chance of failure by 10%. 1/5
◆ For Group 2 merit category:
  • 1/5 » Fold
  • 1/5 » Loaded Deck
  • 3/5 » Snake Eye
  • 5/5 » Winning Streak

...is more useful in endgame event because it allows COR to full time Crooked Card bonus on one roll, and jump between different parties and give rolls for different roles.

  • 1/5 » Fold
  • 1/5 » Loaded Deck
  • 5/5 » Snake Eye
  • 3/5 » Winning Streak

...is more useful in short spammable fights such as Ambuscade and Hard Mode Mission Battles in which extra roll duration isn't relevant. This is because Double-Up on 6 and Bust is not ideal in these fights due to how time consuming it is to reroll, instead it's more ideal to Snake Eye on 6+ for a chance to get No.11. With 5/5 Snake Eye merit, there is higher chance to get a free No.11 from Snake Eye.

Support Jobs

Pre-November 2021 Update, these subjobs are commonly used. The introduction of Master Levels may affect viability of certain subjobs.

◆ Damage Dealers
These support jobs are used for DD purpose.
◆ Supports
These support jobs are used when COR is expected to fulfill some of the support duty in party.
◆ Situational
Other situational support jobs.

Playstyle

As a Corsair, you're expected to maintain a number of buffs for your party while still keeping your DD duties under control.

Luck of the Draw: Phantom Roll

There are two major schools of thought when it comes to using Phantom Roll and Double-Up: 11 or bust, and Lucky Numbers.

11 or Bust

In high-end optimization, it's an improvement to go for 11s on your phantom rolls wherever possible, because 11 has the highest possible bonus for each die.

This strategy comes with a major risk, which is that if you end up with 12 or higher you get the Bust status effect for the die you rolled. Busting both gives you a penalty to that die's attribute and takes up a roll slot that you could be using to apply buffs.

However, the payoff for getting an 11 is huge. The instant you roll that 11 your Phantom Roll recast timer is reset. Additionally, you are immune to bust effects as long as you still have the effect of that 11 roll on your character. Finally, the recast timer for Phantom Roll is halved, allowing you to dig for more 11s to keep your streak going.

Lucky Numbers

This is going to be your bread and butter in more casual group play situations, as well as playing solo.

Each die has a lucky and an unlucky number. Rolling the Lucky number of your chosen die is the second best value you can get on it, and is generally sufficient for casual content. You're going to use Double-Up just to dig for that lucky number. If you overshoot, make a decision about how much risk you're willing to put your party through, and double up to that risk tolerance.

Bust Odds
Current Total Chance to bust
1-5 0/6 (0%)
6 1/6 (16.6%)
7 2/6 (33.3%)
8 3/6 (50%)
9 4/6 (66.6%)
10 5/6 (83.3%)
11 6/6 (100%)

Job-Specific Equipment

Laksamana's Attire (Artifact)


Laksamana's Attire Set
Item Upgrade? Notes

Laksa. Tricorne +4366px link= 		Probably Best in slot for Magic Accuracy for Quick Draw. Helps sleeps and dispels from Light Shot and Dark Shot, and when you want those you really want them.

Laksa. Frac +4366px link= 		MUST Ranged WS body with Rapid Shot for Flurry builds and Recycle as icing. Stronger than Nyame Mail! (But this has no DT. Just be aware of that.)

Lak. Gants +4366px link= 		No What were they even thinking?

Laksa. Trews +4366px link= 		Yes Best Snapshot in any slot. Allows AF body and Empy head to be utilized more easily.

Laksa. Bottes +4366px link= 		Maybe This Quick Draw buff is a damage boost. Great Magic Accuracy, if eventually obsoleted by Ikenga's Clogs R30 - but see the Empyrean feet below as well, because those only have 2 less MAcc and do something different to Quick Draw. (Personally, I did not make this to save a single Wardrobe slot.)

Lanun Attire (Relic)


Lanun Attire Set
Item Upgrade? Notes

Lanun Tricorne +4366px link=
Increases base roll duration by +6 seconds per Winning Streak merit level
for a maximum of +30s roll duration. 		+1 Get this to +1 for the Phantom Roll duration augment and item level 119. You don't care about its actual stats, so any further reforging only provides you with Magic Evasion for the brief instants you get hit by an AoE in your Phantom Roll set. That's not nothing, but it's certainly not something to prioritize.

Lanun Frac +4366px link=
Reduces the chance of "one ability" Random Deal failure by 10% per merit. 		MUST Premiere magical WS/Quick Draw piece at +4. Makes up for its lack of WSD by having more than twice the Magic Atk. Bonus of Nyame Mail

Lanun Gants +4366px link=
Clears both Phantom Rolls (or Bust) 20% of the time per merit level
for a maximum of 100% of the time. 		Probably Turns Triple Shot into Quad Shot 50% of the time. Combine with Empy Body and enjoy.

Lanun Trews +4366px link=
Gives Snake Eye a 4% chance of having no recast per merit level
for a maximum of a 20% chance. 		+1 Reforge to +1 for the Snake Eye augment and item level 119. Like the Tricorne, reforging this further only boosts defensive stats for a set you're wearing for half a second, so it's a very low priority.

Lanun Bottes +4366px link=
Gives Wild Card an invisible re-roll if the initial roll lands on a 1 or 2
changing the odds in your favor. 		MUST The most ridiculous magical WSD piece for the job. Has 0 Attack, so this is strictly a piece for Leaden Salute and such. Luckily for it, that's exactly what every Corsair wants. Beats even R30 Nyame Sollerets.

Chasseur's Attire (Empyrean)


Chasseur's Attire Set
Item Upgrade? Notes

Chass. Tricorne +3366px link= 		Yes 18 Rapid Shot is good for Flurry builds. 10 DT is comparable to Null Masque, so it's nothing groundbreaking for an idle set but still a relatively easy DT option. (9% at +2 is great for how early you can get it!)

Chasseur's Frac +3366px link= 		Yes Activates Triple Shot 14% more often (combine with Relic Hands and enjoy) and gives 10 TP more Regain with Tactician's Roll.

Chasseur's Gants +3366px link= 		MUST A strong WSD piece if you don't need DT, only lacking normal Attack. Also Phantom Roll duration, which would justify reforging this even if it had no other stats.

Chas. Culottes +3366px link= 		Yes Lovely Store TP piece with 12 DT for idle sets and durable engaged sets. May create (solvable) issues with gear haste - think about Alabaster Earring and/or Gleti's Knife.

Chass. Bottes +3366px link= 		Yes Possibly COR's most misleadingly worded piece of gear. This does not boost Quick Draw's potency! Instead, the next hit of the same element as the Quick Draw (if Quick Draw successfully hit - you do have to dispel something with Dark Shot!) landed on the target within 10 seconds will deal +31% damage. Examples of relevant hits would be your Leaden Salute or someone else's Tachi: Jinpu. Hint: Those do a lot more damage than Quick Draw does! This is also only 2 Magic Accuracy behind the AF feet, so you can just fulltime these and save the Wardrobe slot if you're not truly dedicated to Quick Draw's damage.

Equipment

New Player sets

Entry Single-Wield TP  
  26% Gear Haste
-11% PDT
+3% Double Attack
+3% Triple Attack
Exit-Level Melee TP  

I recommend this build to start with for a number of reasons: It's non-trivial to obtain two iLvl 119 weapons that COR can wield, not to mention the dearth of early-119 Dual-Wield gear. There's also the consideration that Savage Blade is very strong, and the Tokko Sword can be upgraded all the way to Naegling, which is arguably the best 1h sword pound for pound, across all classes that can wield it.

This is about the lowest amount of gear where I would consider moving on to doing higher level content with other people. Keep doing ambuscade and gathering currency, by the end of your progression you're gonna need between 6 and 10 differently augmented capes from this, plus the 26k and change Hallmarks you need to get Naegling.

TP Sets

Melee 1h  
Magic Haste Magic Haste (subbed Dancer + Haste Samba)
0% 10% 15% 30% Cap 0% 10% 15% 30% Cap
DNC 59 55 52 41 21 57 52 49 35  9
NIN 49 45 42 31 11 47 42 39 25  0
/nin DW  
  Max Haste
/dnc DW  
  Max Haste + Samba

Weaponskill Sets

Multi step skillchains:
Wildfire → Wildfire = Darkness
Leaden Salute → Viper Bite or Requiescat (Distortion) → Leaden Salute (Darkness) → Wildfire = Darkness
Slug Shot → Savage Blade (Distortion) → Leaden Salute (Darkness) → Wildfire = Darkness
Slug Shot → Savage Blade (Distortion) → Last Stand (Fusion) → Savage Blade = Light
Last Stand → Savage Blade = Light

Hot Shot  
Leaden Salute  
Wildfire  
Last Stand  
Savage Blade  
Aeolian Edge  

Ability Enhancing Equipment

For new players: Some of these items are easy to obtain early, and you *should* get some... otherwise you'll have to constantly roll and re-roll short buffs and it will get tedious.

Roll Duration +
Item Notes
Compensator
Camulus's Mantle
Chasseur's Gants +1
Lanun Tricorne Enhances Winning Streak effect by an additional 6 seconds per Merit level.
Regal Necklace
◆ Additional Notes
Additional notes go here.
Roll Effect +
Item Notes
Lanun Tricorne 50% Chance at providing the Job bonus to a roll without having the Job in the party.
Merirosvo Ring There is no real reason or excuse for using this ring, it doesn't stack with Barataria Ring (or Regal Necklace)
Barataria Ring Effect doesn't stack with Merirosvo Ring or Regal Necklace.
Regal Necklace Effect doesn't stack with Merirosvo Ring or Barataria Ring.
Rostam Path C for Roll Effect +8.
Chass. Tricorne Enhances Blitzer's Roll.
Chasseur's Frac Enhances Tactician's Roll.
Chasseur's Gants Enhances Allies' Roll.
Chas. Culottes Enhances Caster's Roll.
Chass. Bottes +1 Enhances Courser's Roll and Quick Draw.
◆ Additional Notes
  • Roll Effect doesn't stack and only the highest "Phantom Roll +n" value is applied.
  • Choosing Merirosvo Ring (+3) over Barataria Ring (+5) is not recommended, the latter can be bought on AH for (relatively) cheap.
Roll Range
Item Notes
Luzaf's Ring Increases the range of Phantom Roll and Double-Up from 8' to 16' while equipped.
◆ Additional Notes
  • Some QOL, but can be annoying to get if you haven't progressed Assaults before.
Roll Recast -
Item Notes
Desultor Tassets Phantom Roll ability delay -5.
◆ Additional Notes
Additional notes go here.
Quick Draw Recast -
Item Notes
Mirke Wardecors Quick Draw ability delay -5.
Blood Mask Quick Draw ability delay -1~5.
◆ Additional Notes
Additional notes go here.
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