Are you ready to plunge into the thrilling world of PvP combat in Final Fantasy XIV? From versatile healers and durable tanks to DPS powerhouses and support roles. This guide will help you make an informed choice. Each job comes with its own set of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, and understanding their roles is vital for strategic success. Let's delve into the dynamic world of PvP and uncover the secrets of every job in FFXIV.

 

• Astrologian (AST)
• Sage (SGE)
• Scholar (SCH)
• White Mage (WHM)
• Dark Knight (DRK)
• Gunbreaker (GNB)
• Paladin (PLD)
• Warrior (WAR)
• Dragoon (DRG)
• Monk (MNK)
• Ninja (NIN)
• Reaper (RPR)
• Samurai (SAM)
• Bard (BRD)
• Dancer (DNC)
• Machinist (MCH)
• Black Mage (BLM)
• Red Mage (RDM)
• Summoner (SMN)

 

 

↖ Astrologian (AST)

Supportive healer with the ability to buff the team and provide healing. Strong AOE damage and utility.

• Abilities: AST uses skills like Draw to buff their team and Aspect Benefit to provide heals. They have AOE damage abilities like Gravity and Microcosm, which also offer utility.
• Limit Break: Celestial River greatly increases the damage of nearby allies while reducing it for enemies. Its effectiveness diminishes over time.
• Pros: Excellent party support, AOE crowd control (CC), and a formidable limit break.
• Cons: Heavily reliant on the team, lacks mobility.

 

↖ Sage (SGE)

Damage-focused healer that heals and shields by dealing damage and offers damage buffs to the team.

• Abilities: Utilizes skills like Cardio for single target and Numa for AOE damage. Toxicon inflicts an AOE debuff, increasing the enemy's damage taken. Flègma provides strong but short-ranged AOE damage.
• Limit Break: Mesus places a circle preventing damage from outside and inflicts a potent debuff if enemies enter.
• Pros: Great party utility, good damage output, and a powerful limit break.
• Cons: Lacks crowd control, short-ranged AOE, and limited kill potential.

 

↖ Scholar (SCH)

Defensive healer who provides shields, mitigation, and debuffs while punishing heal-heavy jobs.

• Abilities: Uses skills like Adloquium and Expedient to provide shields and mitigation. Also, applies damage and debuffs through Bosis and Mummification.
• Limit Break: Summon Seraph provides two buffs to nearby party members, including purify and a small heal. Seraph lingers to heal and shield allies.
• Pros: Great utility and durability, punishes heal-heavy jobs.
• Cons: No crowd control, mobility, or kill potential. Reliant on the team.

 

↖ White Mage (WHM)

Damage-focused healer with powerful crowd control abilities.

• Abilities: Miracle of Nature transforms a single target, preventing actions. Aqua Veil provides a shield, doubled if used to remove a crowd control effect. S.F. Shar offers damage and mitigation.
• Limit Break: Aflatus Purgation is a hard-hitting line AOE that stuns enemies and boosts the team's damage.
• Pros: Incredible crowd control, surprising durability, and high damage output.
• Cons: Lacks crowd control outside of limit break.

 

↖ Dark Knight (DRK)

Zone control tank with abilities to pull enemies and sacrifice health for damage.

• Abilities: Salted Earth creates a lingering field damaging and controlling enemies. Shadowbringer lets you trade health for damage. Quietus is a healing AOE.
• Limit Break: Ever Tight reduces enemies to 1 HP, with damage based on health expended. Gain a buff preventing health drop and causing attacks to heal.
• Pros: Zone control with Salted Earth, high survivability, good AOE damage.
• Cons: Requires resource management, vulnerable to anti-healing.

 

↖ Gunbreaker (GNB)

Versatile tank with the ability to switch abilities and bonus effects. Mostly DPS-focused.

• Abilities: Use Draw and Junction to change abilities and bonus effects. Cartridge Continuum combos offer damage, a personal shield, or AOE healing.
• Limit Break: Relentless Rush grants mitigation and a flurry of blows. It builds stacks for an AOE stun with Terminal Trigger.
• Pros: Great damage, versatility, and party utility.
• Cons: Lacks crowd control, relatively easy to kite, and less durable than other tanks.

 

↖ Paladin (PLD)

Incredibly durable tank with a wide variety of survival tools and party utility.

• Abilities: Use skills like Shield Oath, Holy Sheltron, and Confidia for mitigation and healing. Intervene is a gap closer, and Shield Bash stuns enemies.
• Limit Break: Fell Cleave grants mitigation and the Hallowed Ground effect, preventing damage.
• Pros: Exceptional durability, fantastic party utility.
• Cons: Lacks kill potential and relies on team coordination.

 

↖ Warrior (WAR)

AOE control tank with abilities for crowd control and self-sustain.

• Abilities: Use Primal Rend for AOE stuns and Onslaught to increase the target's damage taken. Pla can slow and pull enemies.
• Limit Break: Primal Screen removes and prevents guards, grants immunity to CC, and doubles damage.
• Pros: Fantastic crowd control, high mobility, and good AOE damage.
• Cons: Vulnerable when enemies refuse to group, and anti-healing can affect durability.

 

↖ Dragoon (DRG)

Burst-heavy DPS with a combination of abilities for massive damage.

• Abilities: Utilize combos like Gearskyle, High Jump, and Heavily Thrust to deal massive damage in a short time.
• Limit Break: Sky High removes soft CCs, allowing you to become untargetable, deal massive AOE damage, and gain a hefty shield.
• Pros: Great damage potential, durability with Horid Roar, and an incredibly powerful limit break.
• Cons: Vulnerable when not using Horid Roar, and kill power is reduced outside of the combo.

 

↖ Monk (MNK)

Single-target DPS using a combo system to ramp up to a massive finishing hit.

• Abilities: Use abilities like Thunderclap to speed up combos and Six-Sided Star to knock down enemies.
• Limit Break: Medor Drive dashes to a target, removing their guard or dealing double damage if they aren't guarding.
• Pros: Incredible single-target damage, high mobility, and the ability to remove guard.
• Cons: Weak AOE and struggles against multiple opponents.

 

↖ Ninja (NIN)

Versatile and elusive DPS with a complex toolkit and the ability to swap between roles.

• Abilities: Use three mudras to transform normal skills into various effects, including CC, gap closers, heals, and damage.
• Limit Break: Saon Tinu charms all nearby enemies, extending the effect when attacking those under the charm.
• Pros: Incredibly versatile toolkit, elusiveness, durability, and a fantastic limit break.
• Cons: Difficult to play and learn due to the complexity.

 

↖ Reaper (RPR)

Durable and mobile DPS with the unique ability to use their limit break frequently.

• Abilities: Plentiful Harvest allows you to use your limit break often. Death Warrant is a key damage tool, and Arcane Crest offers a shield and healing.
• Limit Breaks: Bahamut for damage or Phoenix for healing. Bahamut attacks enemies, while Phoenix provides healing.
• Pros: Frequent limit breaks, durability, and the ability to remove guards.
• Cons: Reliant on Death Warrant for single-target damage and vulnerable if the enemy guards well.

 

↖ Samurai (SAM)

Mobile DPS focusing on single-target attacks with potent finishing moves.

• Abilities: Utilize Hasatsu Sotin to enhance the combo, Oi Namiri for high damage, and Chatin to compile damage on the enemy.
• Limit Break: Marksman's Spite is a massive single-target attack.
• Pros: Great AOE and mobility, potentially game-changing limit break.
• Cons: Challenging to execute a successful limit break, vulnerable to kiting.

 

↖ Bard (BRD)

Support-focused DPS providing various party buffs.

• Abilities: Apex Arrow and Blast Arrow grant reduced cast time and increased damage to nearby allies. Warden Paeon can remove CC effects.
• Limit Break: Final Fantasia offers AOE buffs that reduce cast time, increase damage, and fill allies' limit breaks.
• Pros: Incredible support abilities, good damage, and utility.
• Cons: Reliant on the team and less durable.

 

↖ Dancer (DNC)

Mobile DPS providing support to a chosen party member.

• Abilities: Fandango offers mitigation, Starfall Dance provides AOE damage buffs, Hearing Waltz heals both the dancer and their partner, and Saber Dance increases damage.
• Limit Break: Contra Dan charms nearby enemies and extends the effect with attacks.
• Pros: Fantastic buffs, great AOE damage, and high mobility.
• Cons: Limited crowd control outside of the limit break.

 

↖ Machinist (MCH)

 Single-target DPS with cycling tools and bonus effects.

• Abilities: Use skills like Drill, Bio Blast, and Air Anchor for damage. Turret offers shields and debuffs. Burst is a short-ranged AOE.
• Limit Break: Marksman's Spite is a massive single-target attack.
• Pros: Great single-target damage, versatility, and the ability to pierce guard.
• Cons: Limited mobility and relatively weak AOE.

 

↖ Black Mage (BLM)

AOE-focused caster with a complex system of building and detonating stacks.

• Abilities: Use Fire and Blizzard to build stacks, then detonate for AOE effects. Slipstream creates a lingering field damaging enemies and boosting movement speed.
• Limit Break: Southern Cross drops an AOE healing and damage effect, with the strength based on shift.
• Pros: Incredible AOE damage and strong AOE crowd control.
• Cons: Vulnerable to focus and zoning.

 

↖ Red Mage (RDM)

Versatile caster with the ability to switch between damage and support.

• Abilities: Use Shift to switch between black and white shifts, altering abilities' effects. Frazzle inflicts an AOE debuff and Ver Holy provides healing.
• Limit Break: Southern Cross drops an AOE healing and damage effect, with the strength based on shift.
• Pros: Versatility, utility, crowd control, and mobility.
• Cons: Vulnerable when the melee combo is guarded.

 

↖ Summoner (SMN)

AOE-focused caster with zone control and abilities to pull and push enemies.

• Abilities: Slipstream creates a lingering field, Mountain Buster pulls enemies together, and Crimson Cyclone pushes them away. Epidemic is a powerful AOE debuff.
• Limit Break: Choose between Bahamut for damage or Phoenix for healing. Both offer additional abilities to use.
• Pros: Powerful AOE, versatility, utility, and zone control.
• Cons: Requires follow-up to maximize AOE damage and weak single-target damage.

 

Conclusion:

We hope this FFXIV PvP job guide has helped you choose the job that suits your playstyle best. Each job offers unique strengths and weaknesses, and mastering them in the PvP arena will be a thrilling adventure. Get out there, hone your skills, and become a formidable force in the world of FFXIV PvP!