Best classes to play in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

Dawntrail saw major changes to many of the classes in Final Fantasy XIV, with all the changes now live, here are the best classes to pick in Square Enix’s MMORPG.

There are plenty of classes to choose from in Final Fantasy XIV, whether that be a stalwart Paladin, a sneaky Ninja, or even a blessed White Mage. Of course, not all classes are made equal, with each one offering unique traits that may make them more sought after by players.

It’s worth noting that every class in Final Fantasy XIV is viable, and you can clear any content on any job. However, these are the classes that have benefitted the most from the Dawntrail changes and still proceed to be great tools for any party.

Tanks

Gunbreaker

Square Enix

Released in Shadowbringers, Gunbreaker is the heavy hitting flashy tank job of your dreams. Complete with a gunblade, Gunbreakers deal fantastic amounts of damage thanks to their various combos and expenditure of cartridges, which they build up in their on two three combo.

Then they use up all of this with moves like Double Down and their Lionheart combo under their No Mercy damage buff to dish out immense amounts of damage.

The main issue for Gunbreaker is that with single heavy-hitting abilities like Double Down, there’s a pretty big gap for damage if you do or don’t critically hit. That and if you’re optimizing your damage, fitting all of your big hitting buttons into your No Mercy window, you don’t have much room for error, making it punishing to mess up.

Gunbreaker doesn’t just do well when it comes to damage though, it’s got great utility with party-wide mitigation like Heart of Light. Heart of Corundum and Aurora are both great tools for single-target mitigation and healing, which can also help during dungeon pulls or if you need to help your tank buddy in a raid setting.

If you like big numbers, gunblades, and flashy moves, Gunbreaker is the job for you, just don’t ask the party to wipe if you don’t direct crit your Double Down.

Warrior

Square Enix

Warriors are the simplest tank in Final Fantasy XIV. Being released all the way back in the base game, Warrior makes up for its simplicity in the form of its raw healing power. Warriors are the best tank in the game for soloing content, thanks to their Bloodwhetting ability, which heals them for every weaponskill hit.

What’s great about this ability is it works on multiple targets, meaning you’re the best job for pulling large amounts of dungeon packs.

On top of that, Warrior’s simple rotation and two-minute window make it easier to focus on mechanics in Savage and Ultimate content, as it eliminates one part of the problem. Warrior primarily revolves around using Fell Cleave through building up their Beast Gauge or by using Inner Release.

Warrior remains one of the most reliable and simplistic tanks in Final Fantasy XIV, but it is still an incredible power to be reckoned with. If you like big weapons, big heals and Fell Cleaving, Warrior is an ideal pick for you.

Healers

Astrologian

Square Enix

There is much to be said about Astrologian. It is arguably the most potent healer on the roster, with good Astrologians able to bring so much to a party. They have great healing as long as you plan ahead. In addition, their mitigation for a regen healer is ridiculous, providing both shields with Neutral Sect, and a party-wide mitigation and regen from Collective Unconcious and Sun Sign.

Not only that, but they have party damage buffs with Divination, the Spear, and the Balance. Add that in with the other cards that provide mitigation, regeneration, shielding, and a healing buff, there’s so much flexibility in Astrologian’s kit, meaning that those who can use it well will prosper.

But because there is so much going on in Astrologian, it’s easily the more difficult regen healer and requires intimate knowledge of any fight to get the most value out of it. If you’re new to healing it might not be recommended to pick up Astrologian first, as you can easily get lost in the sheer amount of tools in their kit.

However, if you’re looking for a challenge and think you’re up to the task, Astrologian provides so much to a party and is easily a welcome addition to any party.

Sage

Square Enix

Sage and Scholar are both pretty great mitigation healers. They both excel at providing smaller amounts of healing, but give shields and damage mitigation to the party, letting you survive some of the heavier-hitting raid wides in the game.

With that being said, Sage is a lot less clunky than Scholar and provides a smoother shield healing experience. They’re able to provide their shields while moving, while Scholar has to stand painfully still casting. Their 10% party mitigation (Kerachole) can be instantly cast and doesn’t require you to place down a field the party has to stand in.

Sage doesn’t have to interact with a pet to heal the party either, which can be quite frustrating and troublesome to micro around at times. While Scholar’s Faerie is pretty neat, it can make certain parts of their kit harder to utilize.

Sage’s Dawntrail changes were arguably weaker than Scholars, as Chain Stratagem was boosted to 20 seconds, while Sage still lacks any form of party buff.

Both shield healers are in a pretty good spot for Dawntrail, which means you can really pick your poison. However, Sage is definitely the easiest of the two options, which is why it’s more recommended for general use.

Melee DPS

Viper

Square Enix

The poster child of Dawntrail, Viper is one of the first jobs that came through with changes aimed at simplifying the amount of buttons each job has. As such, the job ends up being a bit easier to play, as you aren’t having to scroll across your keyboard to get to the buttons you need to hit.

Viper also had its DoT completely removed in Patch 7.05, making the job even less punishing now. Now instead of needing to maintain a DoT, you just need to alternate between your two opening moves. You do have two buffs that you need to maintain, but these are integrated into your combo, making it a non-issue.

Aside from that, Viper is mainly building up their Serpent Offerings Gauge, which they can unleash in their Awakened Form. This gives them access to a powerful burst combo that is great for aligning with your other team’s raid buffs.

It’s clear Viper is one of the easiest melee DPS that you can pick up in Dawntrail. It deals great damage and, while not offering any raid buffs to its team, is still perfect for anyone looking to pick up the role in general.

Ranged Physical DPS

Bard

Square Enix

Bard is exactly the right DPS if you’ve got a good party. They have immense amounts of utility for every party, including an ongoing buff from their songs, two two two-minute raid buffs in Battle Voice and Radiant Finale, and these all apply to the entire party. Bard also has great mitigation and healing tools in the form of Troubadour and Nature’s Minne.

While Bard’s damage is rather low, they do make up for it in their utility. But of course, if your party isn’t as strong then the performance of the job will suffer. Therefore you’ll want to ensure you have a strong party to bring Bard into, as its primary utility buffs the entire party.

Dancer

Square Enix

While Bard has utility for all of the party, Dancer focuses on a single target with Dance Partner. While Dancer does have Technical Step as a partywide buff, Standard Step can be shared with your Dance Partner, giving them a consistent damage buff that’s great at amplifying a good DPS player. This is the same for their other buff Devilment, which increases critical hit and direct hit rate by 20%.

Dancer also has decent party utility with Curing Waltz and Shield Samba, which can always help out against heavy-hitting raid wides. Their kit also contains Improvisation, which is a great downtime tool that grants the party a shield and regeneration, as an added benefit.

Magical DPS

Pictomancer

Square Enix

It’s no surprise Pictomancer is on this list. Pictomancer, also released in Dawntrail has swiftly become one of the best classes to pick up. Not only does the job out damage the previous king of Magic DPS Black Mage, but Pictomancer also has a raid buff and more mitigation with Tempera Grassa.

Pictomancer also didn’t receive any nerf in Patch 7.05, leaving it in one of the top spots for DPS options. While the job isn’t as simple as Summoner or Red Mage, it also has the added benefit of reduced button bloat thanks to it being released in Dawntrail. This makes the job a bit easier to pick up and play, and a tad less stressful under challenging mechanics.

Pictomancer will likely remain the top Magical DPS until Black Mage receives buffs in a future patch, but until then, the class is just so damn strong, there’s no real reason not to play it.

Red Mage

Square Enix

Red Mage is still the king of utility for magic DPS in Final Fantasy XIV. More commonly known as Rez Mage, Red Mage can use their Dualcast trait to quickly bring a party member back to their feet, without needing Swiftcast like healers or Summoner. This makes them ideal in early raid progression when picking up dead party members can be the difference between wiping early and seeing more mechanics.

Red Mage also has Magick Barrier, which is a great mitigation spell that other magic DPS lack.