Final Fantasy XIV is an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) developed and published by Square Enix and directed and published by Naoki Yoshida. Despite its horrendous start in 2010 that led the game to close down, it reopened back in November 2012 and is now one of the most successful MMORPG out there.

New players looking to start their journey in Eorzea, the world built inside the game, might wonder what kind of jobs are best suited for them. Like most MMORPGs, Final Fantasy XIV has three different roles that a player can choose: tanks, healers, and damage-dealers (DPS). Final Fantasy XIV has a whopping total of 11 DPS jobs out of the 18 battle jobs available. And with the arrival of the Reaper job in Endwalker (2021), players can have a total of 12 DPS jobs to play from.

The good news for everyone is that: a player is not bound to only one job! They can change their jobs easily by equipping the weapon related to the job they wanted to play for the moment. So, if you were a bard looking to switch to a summoner, it's as easy as to change your equipped bow to a book.

However, players will still want to invest more of their time into a job they like and choose, and so this article will help you choose from the seven best DPS in the game currently. Note that this list may change when Endwalker, the newest expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, drops in November 2021 with new skills and rotations for each job. 

 

7. Dragoon

A Dragoon with his trusted spear.

The Dragoons are born from the ongoing conflict between men and dragons in Ishgard, and have been one of the most reputable battle jobs among people out there. It is one of the four melee jobs that a player can choose from.

To become a Dragoon, a player must first start with the lancer class or take the blue quest ‘Way of the Lancer’ to become a Lancer in the Lancer’s guild in Old Gridania. All players may take this blue quest after they reach level 15 and have completed the main story quest ‘Call of the Sea’. After hitting level 30 in Lancer, they can then take the job quest to become a Dragoon.

Reasons why dragoon is one of the best DPS jobs out there:

• Beginner-friendly. The combo is easy to learn, with high damage output
• Fuels the excitement. Dragoon has many jumping skills that can make a player excited to execute the skills. Not to mention, it also has very appealing visual skills.

A Dragoon doing her ultimate skill--Dragonsong Dive.

• This job has many buffs that can enhance the damage of your skills as well as your party’s, like Battle Litany, Blood of the Dragon, and Dragon Sight.
• It has very high mobility, allowing a player to easily dodge attacks and adjust to the mechanics of a boss, even in high-end raids.

There are several builds that a player can choose to make their best version of a dragoon. This set depends on how fast you want your dragoon to be, as well as how many hours and effort you are willing to put in to get your best in slot (BiS) equipment. All builds listed below are credited to The Balance discord.

• Raid Chest. This build requires a player to clear all four current savage content, the Eden’s Promise raid. http://bit.ly/drg250raid
• Tome Chest. While this build still requires a player to clear the current savage content, they only need to do the first three, as the last raid (Eden’s Promise: Eternity) is the hardest of the current tier. It is a slight downgrade compared to the first build, but easier to achieve. http://bit.ly/drg250raid

Overall DPS Score: 70/100

 

6) Dancer

A Dancer elegantly moving her body.

The Dancer is, undoubtedly, one of the most elegant DPS jobs that a player can choose. It is one of the three physical-ranged DPS, and the most played compared to the other two in high-end raids. It is a new job introduced in the third expansion of FFXIV, Shadowbringers.

To be a Dancer, a player must have bought the Shadowbringers expansion and reach level 60 in at least one of the battle jobs. Then, the player can take the blue quest ‘Shall We Dance’ in Limsa Lominsa.

Reasons why Dancer is one of the best battle jobs currently:

• Very beginner-friendly. Dancer’s combos and rotation are shown by the shining gauge around the skill a player has to press next, making it easy to do the basic rotations.
•  Has a very powerful buff that can enhance the group’s damage. Dancer’s buffs are considered one of the strongest in the game, able to enhance the group’s damage for a whole 15 seconds.
• Can choose a ‘dance partner’ and buffs the partner’s buff as well as yourself as the dancer for the entirety of the fight.
• Has a dash skill (En Avant) that can be used up to 3 times to quickly avoid getting hit by mechanics and preventing death.
• Have support skills that can support party members as a whole (Curing Waltz for emergency heals, Shield Samba for shields, and Improvisation to increase healing potency).
• Have aesthetic and elegant moves as attacks, causing players to feel satisfied while playing the class

A Dancer swinging her chakrams to stun her enemies.

The dancer has two available end-game builds, which depend on how much a player is willing to grind for it. These two builds are also credited to The Balance discord server.

• Relic weapon build: https://etro.gg/gearset/e4cd5da5-6365-4e30-bd26-8e5fadf8a17f. This build will require a player to grind through the latest relic weapon, which requires a player to do specific things repeatedly to get the materials they need to get the weapon.
•  Savage raid weapon build: https://etro.gg/gearset/f904b72c-7e83-4b25-aace-38f7956b6728. This build doesn’t require a player to grind through the relic weapon, but will only require a player to clear the latest savage raid, the Eden’s Promise raid.

Overall DPS Score: 75/100

 

5) Ninja

A Ninja wielding his daggers in the blackest of nights.

Ninja is one of the four melee DPS classes that a player can choose from, and it utilizes its many skills to make the boss more vulnerable to damage, allowing their party members to weaken the boss easier. It utilizes the hiding skills and trick attacks to catch enemy unawares.

To become a Ninja, a player must first reach level 10 if their starting city is in Limsa Lominsa, and they can take the blue quest ‘My First Daggers’ in Limsa Lominsa to become a rogue. If a player’s starting city is in Gridania or Ul’Dah, they first must complete the main story quest ‘Call of the Sea’ to be able to travel to Limsa Lominsa and get the quest. After hitting level 30 in Rogue, they can then take the job quest to become a Ninja.

A Ninja with his trusted shiny daggers, ready to assassinate her enemies.

Reasons why Ninja is one of the best jobs:

• Trick Attack. This skill helps make the boss more vulnerable to direct and critical damage.
•  Interesting combo attacks. With the existence of the ninjutsu Ten, Chi, and Jin, players can experiment with the combos and the orders of the ninjutsu to execute different attacks and buffs.
• The job has very fast attacks, making it fun to play.
• The damage output is considered big.
• . Very mobile. They have a skill that allows them to teleport to a safezone out of danger’s clutches.
• This job is one of the most seeked out in high-end raids for its utility and damage buffs.

 

Ninja has two available end-game builds, which depends on how fast the player wants their ninjas to be. Of course, a good internet connection is required if you want a faster ninja. Both builds are credited to the Balance discord server.

•  2.12 SKS build: https://etro.gg/gearset/dec9811d-c02c-4378-b046-d3cebe42eccb. This build has lower speed but is more doable for players with moderate to poor internet quality.
•  2.11 SKS build: https://etro.gg/gearset/33b9d186-963a-4cdb-84a0-6b2ebbadc652. This build has faster speed and a player would need faster or stable internet connection to be able to do their rotation correctly.

Overall DPS Score: 80/100

 

4) Red Mage

A Red Mage is the only job that have both melee and magic skills.

The Red Mage is one of the most versatile jobs out there. It has magic, it has swordplay, it has heals. Its flashy skills make the gameplay much more exciting, and it is the easiest caster to play among the four.

Since Red Mage is a new job introduced in the ‘Stormblood’ expansion pack, players must first purchase said expansion pack to become a Red Mage. In addition, a player must first reach level 50 in any of the battle jobs, complete the main story quest ‘The Ultima Weapon’ and take the blue quest ‘Taking the Red’ in Ul’dah to become a Red Mage.

Why Red Mage is one of the best jobs currently:

• Beginner-friendly. The combos you need to optimize a Red Mage are not as complicated as other casters, as it is very easy to learn.
• Can solo a lot of content. As Red Mage has quite a big damage as well as heals, they can solo several contents, like the Palace of the Dead. 
• Can save a party from wipes. With Red Mage’s specialized skill ‘Dual Cast’, a Red Mage is the only job that can resurrect 7 dead people in record time, faster than even the healers themselves. This is a very important skill set to save a party from a wipe, especially for groups that are progging through a difficult content.
• Very mobile. Because of ‘Dual Cast’, a red mage can move pretty much every 2 seconds, making them a class that can dodge mechanics easier compared to the other jobs.
• Very flashy skills, making a player enjoy the visual aspects of the job when playing it.

A Red Mage using one of their most powerful skills--Vermillion Scourge.

• Has both magic skills and melee skills, perfect for those who want both skills in a single job. As Red Mage flings spells at the enemies before finishing their combo with swordplay, it makes players who like the best of both worlds perfect for playing a Red Mage.

The Red Mage has two separate end-game builds. Again, this depends on whether or not the player is willing to grind for a relic weapon or not. Both builds are credited to the Balance discord server.

• Relic Weapon Build: https://etro.gg/gearset/f6d8a8df-80d5-402e-9222-04c2fb3cf1c2
• Raid Weapon Build: https://etro.gg/gearset/43056d1f-e71f-4354-83c1-b2a8bd0bbb9a

Overall DPS Score: 83/100

 

3) Samurai

A Samurai ready to wield his sharp katana.

Samurai is a job that is introduced at the Stormblood expansion along with Red Mage. It is a job that uses the katana to be able to deal big damage at the enemies with flashy sword movements, perfect for those who are longing for more Japanese sword-play like features.

To become a Samurai, a player must have bought the Stormblood expansion, have at least one battle job at level 50, and completed the main story quest ‘The Ultima Weapon’. After, the player can take the blue quest ‘The Way of the Samurai’ in Ul’dah to become a Samurai.

Reasons why Samurai is one of the best battle jobs right now:

• BIG DPS. Samurai have one of the biggest dps in the game right now, and it is satisfying to see big numbers flying around when a player does their proper rotation.
• Big hits and satisfying swordplay. A swordplay fan or even an anime/manga fan will like to play Samurai because of the satisfying swordplay when doing a Samurai’s rotation

A Samurai using one of the most powerful AoE skill on the enemies.

• Has utility to increase your DPS more, such as Jinpu and Shifu. 
• Have an emergency toolkit to save yourself from death, such as Third Eye (mitigating damage), Merciful Eyes, and Second Wind (healing yourself).
• Have two different gauges (Sen and Kenki) to deal even more devastating damage.

Samurai have two available end-game builds, depending how fast a player wants their Samurai to go. Both sets are credited to the Balance discord server.

• Slow Samurai (2.14 GCD): https://etro.gg/gearset/74252e32-cab1-4d8b-8068-c37926353ac9. More suitable for beginners or those who didn’t have fast or smooth connections.
• Fast Samurai (2.00 GCD): https://etro.gg/gearset/53b1f776-8d5f-4969-9cbf-6153f5228c9d. Mostly only suitable for those who have smooth connections and know how to play Samurai like the back of their hands.

Overall DPS Score: 86/100

 

2) Black Mage

A mysterious Black Mage underneath her dark cowl.

The Black Mage deals damage, and deals more. Its job in the party is to deal the biggest damage and nuke explosions at the enemy’s head. If you like seeing numbers and hurling nukes, then this job is the right one for you.

To become a Black Mage, a player must start with the Thaumaturge class, or reach level 15 and complete the main story quest ‘Call of the Sea’ to be able to take the blue quest ‘So You Want to Be A Thaumaturge’ in Ul’dah to become a Thaumaturge. A player can then turn into a Black Mage after reaching level 30 in Thaumaturge and finish the necessary class quests.

Why Black Mage is one of the best DPS jobs right now:

• Big Damage. It is big enough even to rival a samurai’s, and with the right skillset and gear, can even be bigger.
• Flashy skills and explosions, that can even wow the players playing the Black Mage themselves

A Black Mage calling a meteor to destroy her enemies.

• Ley Lines. It speeds up a Black Mage’s casting speed, increases the damage, and reduce the time needed to cast one spell to another. On top of that, Ley Lines also looks very cool.

A Black Mage always has to stay in their own Ley Lines.

• Can teleport to avoid mechanics. A Black Mage has two teleport skills, which are Aetherial Manipulation and Between the Lines. Aetherial Manipulation allows a Black Mage to teleport to a party member’s location, whilst Between the Lines allow a Black Mage to teleport back to their Leylines. 
• Emergency skills. A Black Mage has a shield skill, which is Manaward. It can shield a Black Mage player from a whopping 30% of total damage taken, allowing them to escape certain deaths.

 

There are two available end-game sets for Black Mage, which depends on the player’s playing style of the job. Both sets are credited to The Balance discord server.

• Spell Speed BiS: https://etro.gg/gearset/1c64d9a9-892b-48a8-b7d1-f760839d659c. This set is suitable for players who want a faster Black Mage. This set allows a player to be able to cast faster, enabling them to be able to move faster in case of emergencies.
• Crit BiS: https://etro.gg/gearset/b470c4c6-6f4a-47c8-8162-52ac09494e02.This set is suitable for players who want their Black Mages to deal more damage. It is more dangerous compared to the Spell Speed BiS as they have to stay in one position longer than Spell Speed Black Mages, but it can deal much more damage.

Overall DPS Score: 90/100

 

1) Summoner

A Summoner ready to summon his most trusted allies.

A summoner is a caster who wields damage with their summons, and leads a victory with the help of their mighty arsenals. A summoner deals high damage whilst still having party utility to support their team members.

To become a summoner, a player must start with the Arcanist class, or reach level 15 and complete the main story quest ‘Call of the Sea’ to be able to take the blue quest ‘So You Want to be an Arcanist’ in Limsa Lominsa. After reaching level 30 in Arcanist, a player can complete the class quests to become a Summoner.

Why Summoner is the best DPS job currently:

• You can summon your previous enemies into one of your most powerful summons.

Bahamut--one of the Summoner's most majestic and powerful pet.

• Have many skill sets for every possible fight. Ifrit for bosses, Garuda for large mobs, and Titan for defenses. 
• Summoner’s damage over time (Miasma and Bio) is one of the strongest and easiest to apply.
• Mobility. During the Bahamut and Phoenix phase, a Summoner can move around for more than 10 seconds at a time, allowing them a lot of mobility while dealing a lot of damage. 
• Buffs. A summoner can increase damage dealt by all party members every 3 minutes, allowing them to be able to deal significantly more damage.
• Healing. During the Phoenix Phase, a Summoner can help make the fight easier as the Phoenix have an automatic healing over time for 21 seconds for all party members.
• Emergency skills. A Summoner, along with a Red Mage, can resurrect dead healers and help the party from a wipe.

There are two available end-game builds for a Summoner, which again, depends on whether a player is willing to grind for a relic for it, or clear the current savage raid tier. All builds are credited to The Balance discord server.

• Relic Weapon BiS: https://etro.gg/gearset/2777f081-1ac6-43f7-a18f-3e1cc58cbc9b
• Raid Weapon BiS: https://etro.gg/gearset/545b4941-747b-4588-9fe6-37e76778ff8d

Overall DPS Score: 95/100

And those are the seven best DPS jobs in FFXIV currently. Which one is going to be your main job in the game?

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You May Also Be Interested In: 

• Top Five Best FF14 Solo Classes
• FF14 Best Class - What's the Best Job to Play?
• FF14 Top Three Tanks
•  
• FF14 Best Healer - What's the Best Job For Healing?
• [Top 15] FF14 Best Addons Everyone Should Use
• FF14 Best Ways To Make Gil (Top 10 Methods)
•  
• FF14 Best PvP Class That Are OP
• FF14 Best Potions And How To Get Them
• FF14 Best Ways To Level Up Fast
•  
• [Top 3] FF14 Best DPS Class
• [Top 3] FF14 Best Starting Classes for Beginners
• FF14 Most Fun Classes (Top 3)
•  
• [Top 3] FF14 Best Crafting Class And Why They're Great
• FF14 Best Dungeons [Top 10]
• FF14 Best Tanks (All Tanks Ranked Good To Best)
•  
• [Top 10] FF14 Best Armor Sets
• [Top 10] FF14 Best Food And How To Get Them
•  
• Top 10 Best FF14 Mounts And How To Get Them
• [Top 5] Final Fantasy 14 Best Solo Classes