1. Solo Master: A good player can get to 75 as a BST/NIN. In fact, as a challenge, you might even be able to get to 75 without ever swinging your weapon (except at Maat as needed). Consider that. Now, it does help if you attack.
2. Flexible Leveling: While you can solo, a BST/NIN can also party using Call Beast after 23. This had led me to soloing in some places while Looking For Party. Other times, when the XP was faster than a Party would offer, I leveled without Looking For Party. The strength here is that it is your choice.
3. Farmer Extraordinaire: If an area has charmable mobs, you'll be able to farm there. Period. You might not have Treasure Hunter 2+, but anytime you gain XP, you'll end up gaining a ton of items. Perhaps even more important, though, you'll gain a ton of Beastmen's Seals and Kindred's Seals along the way. Which leads to the next strength...
4. BCNM-itude: There are certain BCNMs that call for speed-killing, Sleepga-based strategies, or major spike damage. However, a large number of BCNM and KSNM30s can be done by BSTs in a group or just done better with BST/NINs in the mix as kiters.
5. Cheap: BST/NIN has several different needs for equipment. However, you tend to get a lot of mileage out of some of it and a lot of the other gear tends to be optional. If people keep telling you to get certain, incredibly expensive gear or they won't invite you, ignore them and solo past the point where you would have needed the gear. As a larger bonus, solo XP sessions tend not to cost you anything except transportation costs and Shihei.

1. No Spike Damage: You will never ever be called upon in the same way that Ranger, Warrior, Monk, etc to absolutely zerg an enemy. BST/NIN is hard to kill and very very diligent in wearing down enemies but not someone that can omgwtfpwn mobs.
2. Steep Learning Curve: You are leveling by yourself. You can't ask your party members for advice on how to kill a mob or if your gear is nerf. As such, you get less input on your performance. Unless you have a BST LS (and many exist on each server), your only metric will be xp/hour and your only input will be fatalities.
3. Dirt-Connoisseur: As a BST, regardless of sub-job, you should expect, and are expected, to die. A lot. As in multiple times per level on average. Learn to appreciate and distinguish between the taste of dirt in many many different zones. There are three causes of this: error = death, bad luck = death, and the worst, "99% chance of success equals 1% chance of failure" = death. The last one is also called "SE's anti-BST button" that applies when you are <100 XP tnl.
4. Poor Invites: Yes, I did write that a BST/NIN is great DoT in party situations and is a great kiter. However, not everyone shares this opinion. Those who do not will not invite you. Those who do share it, will invite you quickly. If the opinion is shared 50-50, you have a 50% chance of never getting an invite and a 50% chance of competing for a DD spot with SAM, MNK, BLU, etc...

Meh. Quote me on it.

In order of importance:

• Charisma: This is the stat that BSTs should focus on. It determines the success rate of Charm, your primary ability. Every BST is advised to have a set that maxes this stat out. In fact, even as a BST/NIN that is constantly Looking For Party, your default gear will be built around CHR and you have extra gear that is melee/DD-oriented on top of the CHR gear and not the other way around.
  
• Dexterity: BST has a naturally high DEX to begin with. /NIN adds some extra to the point that at 75, your DEX is almost as high as your CHR. This is a good thing as Accuracy should be your focus for melee. Lots of little hits are better than fewer bigger hits; it generates less hate and lets you solo without requiring Sushi.
  
• Strength: This is your third consideration on gear and builds, but in both directions. For solo play, you want to avoid adding to this stat unnecessarily. For party play, this is a stat you really need to enhance to compensate for a middling natural STR and no Attack Bonus.
  
• Mind: A distant fourth. This stat helps when healing your pet. In parties, especially from about 24 onward, a lot of enemies you fight in party have either cone or AoE TP moves that will injure your pet and you'll need to heal them to keep them alive. Keep this stat in mind when doing so and macro in a few pieces, or at least macro out -MND gear.
  
• Agility: When soloing, you will be fighting a lot of Even Matches, Toughs and the rare Very Toughs when soloing, so your Evasion skill actually matters a bit more than in parties, where tanks have to work at boosting this skill to have enemies miss them a lot. However, your gear will tend more towards +Evasion rather than +AGI, but it's stll something to consider.
  
• Vitality: If you are being hit a lot, you are doing something wrong (or just unlucky). But when in doubt and lacking better alternatives, this might as well be a consideration.
  
• Intelligence: It is rumored that this stat is connected with your Tame ability based on your AF Helm having +INT. That un-proven rumor and resisting Black Mage spells aside, there's no other reason to give this stat a thought.
  

Path to BST/NIN

This, of course, assumes a brand-new, Level 1 Character. If you have leveled a lot of jobs, then feel free to ignore these steps.

• MNK to 18: Start off as a MNK, level it to 18 as possible, and complete one of the two Support Job quests: The Old Lady or Elder Memories.
• WAR/MNK to 30: Switch your main job from MNK to WAR and proceed to level it up. Keep your Axe, Great Axe and Sword skills up along the way. Shield will proceed up as well if you tank while using Axe or Sword but that's less important. Once at 30, you can unlock Extra Jobs.
• NIN/WAR to 37: This is where you find people flagging, because NIN/WAR is not a great tank until in my opinion. It's also expensive, requires some exotic scroll-quests, dies frequently in parties, and is constantly asked to do more than it can in parties. However, once you hit 37 and cap Ninjutsu for your level, you will never ever have to return to it.
• BST/NIN: Finally, you never have to change jobs ever again, if you don't want to. Go get 'em!

BST Abilities

• Charm: Your first and most imporant Job Ability. This will be your primary weapon and defense. It is, in essence, a Light-based Generic attack (non-magical, non-physical), with a strong modifier of CHR. However, since it is an attack, relative level (yours vs. the target's) determines the base resistance and the duration of the effect. Resistance to Light and Resist Charm are also factors in the success rate, but have not been reported as factors in the duration.

• Familiar: Your 2-Hour ability. It does one of two things. It either juices a pet summoned with Call Beast (exact mechanics unclear but increased Attack, Defense and HP most likely), or it extends Charm to 30 minutes. The former is great for Battlefield-events or parties; the latter is great when grabbing a great pet for soloing (especially Slimes) or fighting NMs with a VT/IT pet (many NMs can be soloed/duoed/trioed by BSTs with VT pets).

• Gauge: This is /check for Charm. It takes into account all factors, including (or especially) Equipment and spits out a probability of success. Probability is the key term there.

• Reward: Uses Pet Food Biscuits (Alpha through Zeta) to heal your pet and grant it a regen-effect. With certain equipment, this effect can be enhanced and/or augmented to cure for more, give a stronger regen effect, or remove certain status effects. There are two new but relatively-rare (the components aren't commonly-farmed or -fished) that either grant just the regen-effect or remove status ailments.

• Call Beast: Uses a type of ammo called a "jug" to summon a pet known as a "jug-pet". This is when BST/NIN becomes helpful in parties as the jug-pet is 0-2 levels beneath you and doesn't gimp experience points. However it lacks a subjob, so it isn't as strong or as accurate as a charmed pet but does has a longer duration (30 or 60 minutes). There are primarily 3 uses for them:
  • Party-situations to help you DD without having to run-around looking for pets and having to Charm and Re-Charm constantly.
  • Emergency situations where you need to get enemies off of you ASAP. This is especially true when you get Snarl.
  • Clearing zones/Farming in areas full of Easy Prey/Too Weak mobs.

• Tame: Pacifies a mob after a failed Charm attempt. Nothing more than that, so don't use it after being aggroed by an uncharmable mob, or after attacking a mob unless you just tried to Charm it. It has a 10 Minute recast, so it's not used often and you shouldn't really count on it. It is rumored to be influenced by INT, based on Beast Helm having INT +4.

• Leave: You de-charm or de-summon your pet. This is the second biggest ability that a BST gains, except for purely party-oriented ones for two reasons. First, de-charming a pet outside its natural spawn area will de-spawn it for about a minute only to have it re-spawn just as if you killed it. This process, known by BSTs as 'Converting', will reset a mob's level, so you can turn Tough mobs into Even Match mobs, for better pets. Second, if you use Leave on a pet within its spawn radius, it will begin healing rapidly. You can, through both methods, effectively recycle pets in an area and take down tougher mobs through attrition.

BST/NIN Traits

• Wide Scan: The big one first. This is what makes BST an excellent farmer and friend to Sky LSs. It's an option on your map screen and shows you the position and name of every NPC/mob in range. The range increases at certain levels. You can also track mobs that you select. Really, I feel blind without this now.
• Dual Wield: NIN 10 gets this, so BST/NIN of 20 gets this, and it's a doozy, with a weapon in each hand and a reduction in delay (different from Haste, reduction in delay affects TP per hit), you can credibly be a great DoT party member, especially with a good jug pet.
• Resist Slow & Resist Bind: The two resistances that BST/NIN obtains. Like all Resist X traits, marginally useful but nothing to write home about.
• Subtle Blow: As /NIN, this is a so-so deal. Basically, your hits give your target less TP than they would without this trait, which translates to less TP moves. However, a BST/NIN will be hitting mobs a LOT, so you were never gonna avoid giving mobs a lot of TP anyway.
• Killer Effects: As BST, you get all but 4, and you can get items for the remaining effects if you really want to. Each affects a different Ecosystem by Intimidating it for a single action. It's really great when it activates, but, like many nifty traits, don't count on it to make a difference in a fight, even if it works out that way.

Pet Commands

• Fight: Exactly what it sounds like. Your pet is sent to attack the target. However, having sent your pet to attack, it still has to reach the target (giving you time to recall it) and it doesn't only attack that target. Damaging AoE attacks from linked mobs, mobs claimed by your party/alliance, or Campaign/Besieged mobs can pull your pet's attention away. However, you, as BST, will only have hate from the mob you attacked and any mobs that can't be de-spawned (event mobs and party-wide hate NMs usually).

• Heel: Recalls your pet to your side. This command is most commonly used to pull mobs away from possible links or to where you can safely fight along side your pet, or for kiting purposes. In party situations, use this if the mob is being slept, shadowbound, or otherwise shouldn't be damaged/attacked.

• Stay: Fixes your pet in place and promotes a healing effect like it was resting. Good for kiting, creating separation from your pet before you get Leave, or resting jug pets between fights.

• Sic: Your pet will perform a randomly chosen TP attack from its family's list of moves designed to cause you the most problems. When the pet's TP is >100%, this is immediate. When the pet's TP is <100%, it will either cast a spell (generally worms and hecteyes only) if a mage, or wait until a random time after 100% to use it. There are no jug pets that use spells, for reference.

• Snarl: Relatively new but very very potent if used right. With a pet summoned via Call Beast, all your hate is shifted to your pet. You are still on its hate list, in case everyone else in your party and your pet dies, it will come after you, and it doesn't work if you just have aggro but not hate. All that being said, this will let you tank to a limited extent after 74 (and you get Utsusemi: Ni) while using Call Beast against EM-T mobs. It's incredibly useful for kiting and events, such as BCNM/KSNM. Keep in mind that Call Beast has a 5 minute recast timer, so in XP parties, only use it in those instances where you draw hate.

Continued...

Continued at Guide to BST/NIN by Ctownwoody/Page 2 for more information on actually being a BST/NIN...