Final Fantasy is a series widely known for its wide variety of unique classes and jobs, and Final Fantasy XIV carries on that tradition by featuring classic staples like Black Mage and Dragoon, while also innovating with novel additions like Reaper or Astrologian. Each expansion released only further increases the number of jobs available, so FFXIV players have no shortage of options to choose from.
Learning about all the possibilities and making an informed decision on which job to start with or level next can be a daunting task. For those stuck in decision paralysis, here are some quick overviews of each job and role to get you out of character creation and into Eorzea.
All jobs are able to clear even the hardest content, so making a decision based on personal preference is strongly recommended. Those looking to choose their job based on our writers’ opinions, check out Fanbyte’s tier lists for melee DPS, physical ranged DPS, caster DPS, tanks, and healers.
Choosing your DPS job
The DPS role focuses on dealing damage while providing varying degrees of party support, and is split into three categories: melee DPS, physical ranged DPS , and caster DPS. All DPS roles are included in a typical 8-person party, so don’t be afraid to pick whichever job looks most interesting to you.
Each of the following sections are ordered from easiest to hardest job to play for new and unsure players.
Melee DPS
Reaper: Unlocked from the quest “The Killer Instinct”, Reapers supplement their attacks with a summoned voidsent avatar, and fuse with it to enter fast-paced burst windows. Reapers can additionally support their party with a raid-wide damage buff and light AoE healing.
Dragoon: One of two melee DPS jobs available at character creation, Dragoons channel the power of dragons using jump attacks, and expend it to enter powerful burst damage phases. Dragoons are additionally able to buff the damage of their party as well as a single selected party member. Dragoons extend from the Lancer class at level 30.
Ninja: Unlocked from the quest “My First Daggers”, Ninjas generate Ninki with their basic attacks before spending it to activate various abilities and buffs, and their unique Mudra system unleashes devastating Ninjutsu via the combination of various symbols. They are also able to provide offensive support by increasing the damage their target takes. Ninjas extend from the Rogue class at level 30.
Samurai: Unlocked from the quest “The Way of the Samurai”, Samurais generate Sen and Kenki with their basic abilities, spending it to unleash powerful Iaijutsu and Hissatsu attacks. While they lack any utilities to support their party, they compensate with their exceptional personal damage.
Monk: The other melee DPS job available at character creation, Monks generate different forms of chakra with their attacks, spending it to empower their martial arts. Besides their damaging capabilities, Monks are also able to boost the healing and damage of their party. Monks extend from the Pugilist class at level 30.
Physical ranged DPS
Dancer: Unlocked from the quest “Shall We Dance”, Dancers use a variety of dances and randomly activated flourishes to deal damage and support their party. Dancers are uniquely support-oriented, dealing less personal damage in exchange for being able to empower a selected partner. They are able to increase the damage of both their partner and the party, as well as provide modest healing and party-wide damage mitigation.
Bard: The only physical ranged DPS job available at character creation, Bards rotate through a variety of songs to both support their party with passive bonuses and boost their own archery. Bards additionally provide their party with damage mitigation, healing buffs, and a unique debuff shield. Bards extend from the Archer class at level 30.
Machinist: Unlocked from the quest “Savior of Skysteel“, Machinists deal high amounts of personal damage using an arsenal of technological gadgets, hypercharging their weapon to enter fast-paced burst windows and supplementing their damage with a summoned mech. Machinists additionally support their party via various damage mitigation abilities.
Caster DPS
Summoner: One of two caster DPS jobs available at character creation, Summoners call upon iconic primals to unleash flashy attacks and empower their spells. Summoners are one of two DPS jobs able to revive fallen teammates, and can further support their party with light healing and a party-wide damage buff. Summoners extend from the Arcanist class at level 30.
Red Mage: Unlocked from the quest “Taking the Red”, Red Mages use static and randomly activated spells, balancing between black and white magic to empower their acrobatic melee combos. Red Mages are one of two DPS jobs able to revive fallen teammates and are able to further support their party by boosting their damage or providing damage mitigation and supplemental healing.
Black Mage: The other caster DPS job available at character creation, Black Mages generate mana in Umbral Ice phases and burn through it in Astral Fire phases to deal devastating damage. While they lack any utilities to support their party, the damage they can deal when allowed to cast more than compensates. Black Mages extend from the Thaumaturge class at level 30.
Choosing your tank job
Tanks are responsible for holding the enemy’s attention by generating enmity and providing defensive utility to keep themselves and the party alive. While each tank has defensive abilities unique to them, all are well-equipped to handle everything the game has to offer.
Warrior: One of two tank jobs available at character creation, Warriors utilize primal rage known as Inner Beast to empower their attacks, building Beast Gauge with their basic abilities before spending it to activate destructive attacks. Warriors specialize in self-healing and are able to sustain themselves for short durations without intervention from a healer. Warriors extend from the Marauder class at level 30.
Paladin: The other tank job available at character creation, Paladins alternate between physical phases using a sword and shield, and magic phases using holy magic, providing damage, protection, and healing. Paladins offer additional defensive cooldowns for themselves and their party, and are able to provide modest healing in emergencies. Paladins extend from the Gladiator class at level 30.
Dark Knight: Unlocked from the quest “Our End”, Dark Knights combine imposing greatswords with their inner darkness, building Blood Gauge and restoring mana with their basic attacks before spending both on dark magics to deal impressive damage in busy burst windows. Dark Knights feature powerful single-target shielding potential, as well as a variety of defensive abilities focused on protecting against magic damage.
Gunbreaker: Unlocked from the quest “The Makings of a Gunbreaker”, Gunbreakers wield unique gunblades, charging cartridges with their basic abilities before firing them off to deal superior damage in fast-paced combo attacks. Gunbreakers additionally provide some light healing and party-wide mitigation against magic attacks.
Choosing your healer job
Healers focus on supporting their teammates with a combination of utilities to heal and mitigate damage. They are separated into pure healers that specialize in healing, and shield healers that specialize in damage mitigation.
White Mage: The only healer job available at character creation, White Mages use nature and holy-themed white magicks to provide potent heals. Their unique Lily gauge allows them to heal while simultaneously generating resources for a powerful offensive burst. As a pure healer, White Mages excel at providing healing both instantly and over time, as well as tools for light party-wide damage mitigation. White Mages extend from the Conjurer class at level 30.
Sage: Unlocked from the quest “Sage's Path”, Sages wield a technological array of flying armaments called nouliths. They passively generate Addersgall stacks to provide restoration and mitigation to their party, and use shields to generate Addersting stacks to deal damage on the move. As one of two shield healers, Sages excel at providing shields and damage mitigation for their party, while passively healing a selected party member with each damaging spell they cast.
Scholar: Unlocked from the quest “Forgotten but Not Gone”, Scholars summon faeries to assist them in healing and protecting their party, using Aetherflow stacks to either support their party or damage enemies. As the other shield healer, Scholar excels at providing large amounts of shielding and damage mitigation, while also providing unique party-wide movement speed and critical hit rate buffs. Scholars extend from the Arcanist class at level 30.
Astrologian: Unlocked from the quest “Stairway to the Heavens”, Astrologians attune to the energy of the stars to control fate, providing support to their party with randomly drawn cards and Arcana They then utilize seals corresponding to the cards drawn to empower their healing and damage. As the other pure healer, Astrologians excel at utilizing a variety of unique healing abilities to provide potent restoration both instantly and over time, as well as a party-wide damage buff.
For those ready to begin leveling their newly selected job, be sure to check out Fanbyte’s guide on quickly leveling alts which features great advice even for players leveling their first job.
