Hello whoever is reading this (^_-) How is it going? Hope it's going well! If I may trouble you to respond and help me with this matter I would be grateful :3

I like both phantom and braver as classes. I don't mind their gameplay and if I did I would've just kept playing with em to get used to 'em. So, my question is which is best damage wise? Br/Ph? Or just Ph? I often can't find help or others to depend on when i do hard quests and even when I do my main goal is to be as good as possible melee dps so I don't want to be failing at that. And if possible could a good dps build be shared to know how to best use whichever has the better dps whether it's Br/Ph or Ph?

I can never really tell how good my dps really is on Phantom due to its dependence upon slow-to-build marks that need a ring to reliably detonate in the proper places. But I am fairly sure they are close enough that it doesn't matter which you pick. Pick what you enjoy!

But there is also a third option: You could play both. The correct gear for Br/Ph and Ph are pretty much interchangeable, with at worst you possibly needing to switch out units or a ring. At that stage, it is straight up "what playstyle do you want to play today"? It's such a small price to pay for variety that that is what I'd do in your situation.

In this game all classes are viable for dealing damage so it really comes down to what you prefer and what you like.

The Phantom and Braver have largely the same equipment between them outside of rings (you will want the "Phantom Marker Lock-on Bomb (L)" ring and the "Brave Power (L)" ring for the Braver if you use both weapons) and if you have a DEX Mag for both you are even further set.

Having both to use when you feel like it is definitely a plus as the two classes are similar and each class has tricks and advantages that the other cannot do. I am personally not a very big katana user for either so for me the Bow-Braver playstyle is one I like for simplicity since most of the attacks you use are relatively safe but costly and in comparison the Rifle-Phantom playstyle is a very fluid, flashy, and more "calculated" style that can't attack nearly as quickly but allows your less-frequent attacks to have a more noticeable impact.

The one thing I really love about Katana Phantom is how easy it is to stick to targets and yet weave around their attacks. At its best, it feels like you're dancing through the sky, totally untouchable, and your individual hits just feel good.

So you guys are sure there is no or little difference in dps?

@Sigh9191 Even if there was one I am on the side of the fence that believes that what you enjoy playing and what you enjoy using will facilitate "more DPS" just because you can have fun with it as well. The playstyles between the two are vastly different that even if you threw up calculators and put them through rigorous tests it really comes down to how you as a player handle the classes rather than what numbers on paper say.

@Sigh9191 I honestly have no idea and would agree with the previous responses about going with your favorite playstyle. But if I had to guess, I'd bet that if you're focused purely on melee damage then katana Br/Ph would beat katana Ph. However, if you're also open to Rod and Rifle gameplay then Ph would win. Again, purely a guess based on how I've seen people talk about Ph.

For Braver numbers, you can check out Ahri's Katana Braver guide. He goes through an in-depth analysis of everything Braver (including builds) and in section 2 you'll find subclass analyses, including a breakdown for Br/Ph dmg multipliers. Naturally, your own DPS will depend on things like whether you're countering often, whether your weapon has access to an S5 (counter edge), how optimal your crafted Cherry Blossom PA is, whether you're running S4: Precise Balance, your Max PP (for crit rate %), etc.