Frankly, the ‘best Job’ in FFXIV Online is a debacle that’s as old as the game itself. Out of the 20 available Jobs within the hugely-popular MMORPG, every player holds their own opinions and experiences about each one, never coming to a definitive consensus. When you pair this with all of the frequent tweaks and updates FFXIV receives, the title of the best job changes on a fairly regular basis.
To make this guide as accurate as possible, I’ve tirelessly scoured through all five roles in FFXIV Online, weighing up each Job’s positive and negative traits across all types of content available in the game.
Warrior (Tank)
Unsurprisingly, the barbaric Warrior stands above all as the best tank and the best Job in FFXIV Online. Though, I suppose this makes sense, considering that it’s one of the canonical Jobs for the Warrior of Light.
To begin with, Warriors are the upgraded version of the axe-wielding Marauder class, which is one of the few starting classes you can pick from when first playing the game. Whilst it isn’t as fast as the Paladin or deals as much damage as a Dark Knight, Warriors beat them all in terms of survivability.
In terms of raw gameplay, this Job is extremely straightforward to use. There are only two single-target rotations to cycle through, Storm’s Eye and Storm’s Path. The prior one applies a 30-60 second damage buff and the latter restores a minimal amount of HP. On top of this, Warrior has access to an impressive amount of shields and regenerative OGCDs, such as Nascent Flash, Shake It Off and Equilibrium. If that wasn’t enough, its definitive action, Holmgang, has the quickest cooldown out of all the other tanks; allowing a Warrior to survive just about anything.
Regardless of the content, Warriors excel at virtually everything. This essentially makes them a one-man army, especially in more casual content, like dungeons.
Aggressive yet defensive, Warriors rule over all as the kings of survivability. .
White Mage (Healer)
Speaking of White Mages, there are very few Final Fantasy Jobs as iconic as them. Having a fragile but dependable healer who keeps the party’s health in check is a staple in any Final Fantasy game and FFXIV is no exception to that rule.
As the evolution of the nature-loving Conjurer class, White Mages are the purest form of a healer, making it a common choice for new players. In terms of healing, this Job is the best in FFXIV, but it lacks both the buffs and raid utility of Astrologian or the high potency shields of Sage/Scholar.
Overall, White Mages are amazing at healing and are capable of racking up a fair amount of damage if they need to. This makes it well-sought-after in literally every type of content available in FFXIV, especially in high-end content, such as Savage or Ultimate. A White Mage’s reliability and effectiveness are practically unmatched by the other healers but they do fall short in terms of raid utility and MP management.
As a staple of the Final Fantasy franchise, White Mages excel at keeping their party members healthy and supporting them through restorative spells.
Black Mage (Caster)
Known for their immense power and affinity for standing in easily-avoidable attacks, Black Mages are the iconic undisputed kings of damage.
Acting as an upgrade to the Thaumaturge class, Black Mages are powerful wizards who utilize the destructive power of black magic to obliterate all who stand before them. Whilst their damage is unmatched, their mobility is severely limited when casting. Black Mage is also difficult to use, especially when compared to the other casters, Red Mage and Summoner.
Playing Black Mage is no easy task and requires an innate understanding of the Job’s mechanics. They require you to cycle through two unique phases, Umbral Ice and Astral Fire. The prior is an ice-based rotation which allows the Black Mage to regain MP and the former is a fire rotation which uses a lot of MP, in exchange for an exorbitant amount of power. A good Black Mage must learn when to switch between these two phases as well as managing the Polygot Gauge, which grants allows the use of powerful skills over time, like Foul, Despair and Xenoglossy.
Black Mages are usually a welcome sight on any party, thanks to their reliable damage output. But at the same time, it’s very easy to have an unskilled one too, considering the high skill curve for the Job. Whilst it may not have much in terms of party utility or durability, Black Mage is still easily one of the best jobs in FFXIV.
Black Mages are the essence of the DPS class, frail and flimsy but able to dish out extremely high damage consistently.
Ninja (Melee DPS)
Ninjas are the epitome of swiftness and utility within FFXIV Online, always having an answer to whatever situation they find themselves in. Whether it’s weakening the enemy with Trick Attack or retreating to the shadows with Shukuchi, this agile warrior is a boon for any party.
Sharing some similarities with its prerequisite class, Rouge; Ninjas are always thinking at least two steps ahead of every other member of their party. Everything about them is complicated and precise; unlike some of other DPS like Samurai or Reaper.
Surprisingly, Ninja’s gameplay is rather formulaic when it comes down to it. It revolves entirely around a two-minute burst window, which starts by using the aforementioned action, Trick Attack. After doing this, the Ninja must string together all of their most powerful techniques, like Hyosho Ranryu, Dream Within a Dream and Phantom Kamaitachi. They are also pretty good at crowd control, thanks to their abundance of AoE skills and Ninjutsu; making trash mob pulls go by much faster than usual.
Overall, this Job is almost a must for most high-end content, the sheer potency of its raid buffs and utility is practically unmatched. However, Ninja is easily one of the most complicated classes in the game; thanks to its Mudra system. Unfortunately, this Job is highly dependent on Trick Attack which makes it fairly mediocre and repetitive outside of this two-minute buff window; making it a snooze fest for most of the fight.
Excelling at raid utility, Ninjas are light-footed, heavy-hitting warriors that rely on Ninjutsu and close combat to take down foes.
Dancer (Physical Ranged)
This chakram-wielding warrior is easily one of the best non-healer support Jobs in FFXIV Online. Being able to buff, heal and shield their allies, Dancers are always at the heart of the action, supporting their party members and dealing fairly decent damage to their enemies.
Being introduced in Shadowbringers, Dancers utilise a variation of dance steps and rhythmic movements to support their party members, whilst nimbly dancing across the battlefield. Compared to Bard and Machinist, Dancer seems can’t really compete but it’s strength lies in its incredible party utility and not in it’s lackluster damage.
Unlike the other Jobs on this list, Dancers do not have a set rotation. Rather, they rely on various procs to deal damage. These procs can only be activated after using the prerequisite actions, like Standard Step, Technical Step or Reserve Cascade. But allow me to introduce Dancer’s crowning feature: Closed Position technique; which allows them to buff, heal and shield a designated party member through a variety of dance moves.
Overall, this Physical Ranged Job is perfect at helping out their party members whilst dishing out a fair amount of damage. Naturally, they’re a boon for any team and are extremely easy to use, making a great choice for beginners who want to have the support of healers but don’t enjoy using their monotonous damage spells.
Acting more as a pseudo-support job than a DPS, Dancers are capable of heling, buffing and shielding their allies with ease.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, these Jobs are the best of the best for a reason.
Whilst they are all different in terms of gameplay loops, difficulty curves and Job Identity, these Jobs are a boon for any party, in any content. Naturally, they have a fair few negatives to them as well, but compared to the practically unending positives they posses, they are fairly minor.
(Credit goes to Lucy Pyre for the video & to UhhOlivia for the images)
