Tips For Making a Bushi?

[WillowWolf]

I want to make a bushi, but I find their class to be strange outside of subclassing. I don't really know how to effectively use one, so I'd like some tips on how to build one.
Any advice on how to make and play the various kinds of builds is appreciated, as they will help me get one started .
I have a linksknecht sub runemaster, dancer sub nightseeker , and nightseeker sub arcanist up front, and a healcanist sub medic, and a sniper sub nightseeker (who I'll be replacing with either bushi or imperial later) in the back.

[Tumalu]

Well, Bushi pretty much needs to be a front row class. The only difference with maining it instead of subbing is you have to deal with pitiful max TP and use their class's TP regen abilities to make up for it, and that you actually use the bushi's skills as your main attacks.

Multi-Slash is bad if your hp isn't really low (it's good then, though!) and the mace attack is weaker or the one that paralyzes you, so you'll usually use Flash Slice after hitting lv40. The elemental strikes match Flash Slice against a weak-to-fire/ice enemy, without factoring in subclass stuff, so they're good too. Unfortunately Flash Slice isn't fast-casting like the description might imply, but w/e.

You can go B/R and use the elemental melee attacks if the Bushi was your only source of the Rune buff/debuff skill for protection/offense, but it's better to sub Landsknect, IMO. You lose durability with Vanguard but you get it back from Iron Wall and Weapon Parry, since you're already dual-wielding. Honestly, these are the only worthwhile builds (wimpy bushi tp and focus on offense=why dabble in support further, and b/i instead of i/b is a bad idea) and even then it's definitely better to sub Land if you don't really need Runes (which you don't even -need- to have in your party at all)

There's synergy with nightseeker since bushi regains HP and TP on normal attacks, and there's still Follow Trace for a damage increase, but really you don't need better normals, and Follow Trace isn't that exciting; and no, you don't get two charge-power attacks if you follow trace a Charge'd skill.

Most interesting part of maining bushi is probably the good proc on Auto-Surge and regaining tp with Deep Breath (or normal attacks) to keep spamming skills when you need'em. Shockwave is great on randoms and you have elemental strikes for coverage, and Endure is always awesome. Low max tp in boss fights can be a thing if you don't speedkill everything, though.

[WillowWolf]

Thanks so much for the reply. I was wanting to fiddle with classes I don't normally use, and bushi is pretty much the only one who I've never really played at all. Other than imperial, who is awesome, but requires so much down time it's almost ridiculous (if I hadn't seen the two turn kill on one of the über bosses post game).
Both of those classes are interesting, but super gimmicky, so I have a hard time actually picturing how to utilize them as a main class. So this will really help .