Final Fantasy XIV has a competitive multiplayer component worth caring about thanks to the complete revamp of all Jobs in PVP and the addition of the Crystalline Conflict mode. Both came alongside Patch 6.1 and put a spotlight on FFXIV PVP like never before. But with such a significant overhaul, some balance issues quickly surfaced. While nothing was necessarily gamebreaking or rendering PVP unplayable, you could see how there needed to be more parity between Jobs. Well, we didn’t have to wait long.
With the launch of Patch 6.11, FFXIV PVP Jobs got some major changes, all of which seem to improve balance to some degree. While these changes may not address every aspect of PVP necessary, as a first patch, it shows promise for the sustainability of PVP. With our shorthand reference below, you can see how these changes affected which Jobs based on whether they’ve been buffed, nerfed, or left untouched. And it’s quite close to what avid PVP players have been discussing with regards to the meta.
- FFXIV PVP Jobs buffed in Patch 6.11: Paladin, Dark Knight, Gunbreaker, Monk Ninja, Reaper, Bard, Machinist, Dancer, Black Mage, Scholar, Astrologian
- FFXIV PVP Jobs nerfed in Patch 6.11: Warrior, Samurai, Red Mage, White Mage
- FFXIV PVP Jobs unchanged in Patch 6.11: Dragoon, Sage, Summoner
Below, we have a breakdown of all the FFXIV Patch 6.11 PVP Job changes organized by role. If you’ve been meaning to dabble in PVP or want to improve your game, be sure to use our 14 tips to rack up wins in the new Crystalline Conflict mode. And if you want to check out the sweet PVP-exclusive rewards, you can use our guide on how to level in PVP fast and get yourself the menacing Archfiend gear, or stack Trophy Crystals for Virtu gear and Trophaios weapons. For more on changes outside of PVP, read up on the FFXIV 6.11 Job changes for the main game.
Tanks — FFXIV 6.11 PVP Changes
Warrior has been a menace with its utility and crowd control capabilities. If you’ve been enjoying that, there isn’t much to worry about since only one skill got nerfed. Other tanks should be excited with some important buffs to certain abilities. Gunbreaker, in particular, may start climbing the PVP tiers with some solid improvements to its damage output and utility, as well as a streamlining of its Junction feature.
Paladin
- Holy Sheltron: Damage reduction effect buffed from 10 percent to 20 percent.
- Atonement: Potency increased from 6,000 to 8,000.
Warrior
- Bloodwhetting: Damage-to-HP conversion reduced from 100 percent to 75 percent, and barrier effect reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent.
Dark Knight
- Shadowbringer: Potency increased from 4,000 to 6,000.
- The Blackest Night (TBN): Recast timer reduced from 20 seconds to 15 seconds.
Gunbreaker
- Double Down: Potency increased from 10,000 to 12,000.
- Rough Divide: Now includes a buff that increases movement speed.
- Draw and Junction: Junction Tank, Junction DPS, and Junction Healer status effects no longer dispel when knocked out.
- Relentless Rush: Potency increased from 3,000 to 4,000, and damage-taken debuff on target increased from 3 percent to 4 percent.
- Nebula: Duration of effect increased from 6 seconds to 10 seconds.
- Aurora: Potency increased from 6,000 to 8,000.
Melee DPS — FFXIV 6.11 PVP Changes
Anyone who has played enough PVP since the Patch 6.1 overhaul knows how devastating a good Samurai can be. Well, they’re still going to be devastating, but just a bit less so — their protection and stun have been nerfed. Their damage output? Untouched. Reaper probably needed improvements the most and it’s good to see its utility and Limit Break get buffed in some capacity.
As a part-time Ninja, I can appreciate the increase in Bunshin’s window, which will make things less stressful. Monk can probably use improvements in other areas, but for now, at least the enhanced Enlightenment can be more effective in the right hands.
Monk
- Enlightenment: Potency increased from 8,000 to 12,000 while under the effect of Pressure Point.
- Enlightenment bug fixed where targets would sometimes not take the additional damage from Pressure Point effect.
Ninja
- Bunshin: Duration of effect increased from 15 seconds to 30 seconds (same number of charges).
Samurai
- Hissatsu Chiten: Damage reduction effect nerfed from 50 percent to 25 percent.
- Mineuchi: Duration of stun effect reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
Reaper
- Arcane Crest: HP covered by barrier effect increased from 8,000 to 12,000, and cure potency of Crest of Time Returned effect increased from 4,000 to 6,000.
- Tenebrae Lemurum (Limit Break): Reaper’s Limit Break gauge now fills faster.
Ranged and Magic DPS — FFXIV 6.11 PVP Changes
Dancer was the ranged DPS that needed improvements the most, and that has come in the form of a few damage increases and a boost to its healing support. As a Machinist main in PVP, I’m pretty happy about buffs to its crowd control ability and party utility. If you play Bard, congrats on the Limit Break buff.
While Summoner remains untouched for now, the other magic DPS casters got notable tweaks. First off, a decent Red Mage can make short work of enemy teams with its wild damage output — its effectiveness has been slightly reduced with changes to its damage-over-time abilities. Its Silence utility has also caused headaches, and I suspect it still will, but at least its duration has been shortened. Black Mage needed something to improve the experience because it’s a hard one to wield. With increases to damage output and a few refinements, fumbling with cast timers in PVP might be more worth it.
Bard
- Final Fantasia (Limit Break): Damage buff for party members in range increased from 5 percent to 10 percent.
Machinist
- Scattergun: Potency increased from 4,000 to 6,000.
- Aether Mortar: HP covered by barrier effect for you and party members increased from 2,000 to 4,000.
- Wildfire bugs fixed: Ticks from Bioblaster no longer counted toward Wildfire trigger, and unintended damage from certain conditions fixed.
Dancer
- Starfall Dance and Saber Dance: Potency increased from 8,000 to 10,000.
- Honing Dance: Potency increased from 2,000 to 3,000.
- Curing Waltz: Recast timer reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds.
Black Mage
- Fire and Blizzard: Potency increased from 3,000 to 4,000.
- Flare and Freeze: Potency increased from 6,000 to 8,000.
- Night Wing: Potency for the additional damage (on enemies under the effect of Sleep) increased from 6,000 to 8,000.
- Superflare: Targets caught in the radius will still be hit and afflicted with its effects even if they’re not in your line of sight.
- Soul Resonance (Limit Break): Duration of Polyglot has increased from 30 seconds to 60 seconds.
Red Mage
- Enchanted Riposte, Enchanted Zwerchhau, and Enchanted Redoublement: Potency of damage-over-time effect (from Black Shift) reduced from 4,000 to 3,000.
- Resolution: Duration of Silence status effect on targets (from White Shift) reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
Healers — FFXIV 6.11 PVP Changes
Since the Patch 6.1 revamp of FFXIV PVP, the White Mage has been a thorn in the side of those it faced. While it remains a top-tier Job, the Patch 6.11 changes soften the blow slightly. The stun from its Limit Break got a duration reduction, but I’d still expect it to disrupt enemy teams the same way it has been. And say goodbye to that quick-cast Cure II exploit. In other healer news, the status effects of Scholar’s abilities got slight buffs while Astrologian’s big AoE ability gets a nice damage boost.
White Mage
- Afflatus Misery: Potency reduced from 12,000 to 10,000.
- Afflatus Purgation (Limit Break): Duration of stun effect reduced from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Cure II exploit has been fixed, no longer can you negate the recast timer.
Scholar
- Adloquium: Duration of damage buff effect has been increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds.
- Biolysis: Duration of damage debuff effect has been increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds.
Astrologian
- Macrocosmos: Potency increased from 8,000 to 12,000.
