The Best Jobs to Start With in FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV has come a very long way over the course of now a decade to become one of the most renowned, beloved, ever-growing MMORPGs to date. For anyone starting anew in the game’s world of Eorzea, it can feel a little daunting to know just where to begin, particularly with the job system. There are dozens of jobs to choose from, and some can get you on your feet a little easier. Without further ado, here is our guide to the best jobs to start with in Final Fantasy XIV.

How to Understand & Use the Job System in FFXIV

In order to pick up a certain type of weapon and be able to start leveling various jobs in FFXIV, you first need to understand how the game’s entire job system works. It’s subdivided by roles, and many jobs require certain steps to “evolve” from their starting classes and reach their full potential. All classes/jobs also have their own quest line to first unlock them, learn certain abilities, and even acquire job-related rewards.

First of all, there are two main types of classes/jobs in FFXIV, based on their fundamental source of power:

• Disciple of War – Also referred to by players and developers as ‘DoW’, these are classes/jobs that use various weapons to inflict physical damage.
• Disciple of Magic – Also referred to by players and developers as ‘DoM’, these are classes/jobs that use various weapons to inflict magical damage or provide health recovery/buffs.

From there, classes/jobs are further subdivided into three Main Roles: Tanks, Healers, and DPS (Damage Dealers). These roles refer to their specific purpose in battle, and further reflects in their abilities and stat attributes.

• Tanks – These classes/jobs are the essential “leader” of a group that boast the highest defense and HP stats, and in turn lower damage output. As such, they are responsible for keeping the attention (technically called “enmity”) of enemies in battle, whether it’s a mob or a more difficult boss, to assure the rest of the group doesn’t take unnecessary damage.
• Healers – As the name suggests, these classes/jobs are responsible for providing support and crucial health recovery to group members throughout battle, as well as unique “buffs” that can boost various stats like increased damage or increased defense.
• DPS – An abbreviation for “damage per second”, these classes/jobs are the damage dealers of the group, and there are an incredible variety of options to choose from that all have different strengths and weaknesses.
  • DPS classes/jobs in particular are further subdivided into “Melee DPS”, “Ranged DPS”, and “Magical Ranged DPS”.
    • Melee DPS jobs deal close-quarter, physical damage to enemies.
    • Ranged DPS jobs specialize in ranged physical damage from a distance.
    • Magical Ranged DPS jobs also inflict ranged damage, but magical in nature rather than physical.

Lastly, there is a key difference between a “Class” and a “Job” in FFXIV. Classes refer to the “starter roles” you’re provided with at the very start of the game’s foundation storyline – A Realm Reborn. They include:

• Gladiator (Tank)
• Marauder (Tank)
• Pugilist (Melee DPS)
• Lancer (Melee DPS)
• Rogue (Melee DPS)
• Archer (Ranged Physical DPS)
• Thaumaturge (Magical Ranged DPS)
• Arcanist (Magical Ranged DPS or Healer)
• Conjurer (Healer)

Once you reach Level 30 with any or all of these classes, you will have the opportunity to further “evolve” them into a full-fledged job (via a bestowed job stone), which you can then level all the way up to the game’s current cap (Level 90). Other jobs added in later expansions of the game don’t require these starter classes, but are initially unlocked at higher levels.

The Best Jobs to Start With in FFXIV

That brings us to our hand-picked list of what we feel are the best jobs to try first in FFXIV, based on what they provide to battle and how difficult they are to learn and use. We’ve categorized our choices by Role, and have taken into account all of the classes/jobs that are available in the latest version of FFXIV’s Free Trial.

Best Beginner Tank Jobs

• Paladin – This job is the evolution of the Gladiator class, and serves as the game’s most fundamental and well-rounded tank job. Depicted as the shining and valiant knight, they wield sword and shield weapons and specialize in plenty of very strong damage-mitigation abilities to protect the group at every junction of a fight. Not only that, they have a good arsenal of healing abilities and buffs that can provide additional support to the group’s healers.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Gladiator class, “The Way of the Gladiator”, in the main city of Ul’dah from the NPC Lulutsu in the Steps of Thal area (X:9, Y:11).

• Warrior – This job is the evolution of the Marauder class, and is arguably a tie for the hardiest tank next to Paladin. With a more brutish aesthetic, they wield giant battleaxes and are not only great at shaking off damage, but dealing it as well. They have some effective mitigation abilities for the party as well as for themselves, but they’re a force to be reckoned with on the damage front. So if you want to pack a more serious punch as a tank, this can be the way to go.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Marauder class, “The Way of the Marauder”, in the main city of Limsa Lominsa at the Marauder’s Guild in the Upper Decks area (X:11, Y:6).

Best Beginner Healer Jobs

• White Mage – This job is the evolution of the Conjurer class, and is the fundamental healer of the game that wields canes and derives its power from nature. It boasts arguably the most straightforward ability set of all healer jobs to date, and the most robust healing power as well. You can provide hearty recovery to the entire group on a very consistent basis, or just a single member if need be. Not only that, White Mages are good damage dealers with their easily executed Stone/Glare and Blood Lily abilties. The main tradeoff is that there aren’t quite as many special buffs in its arsenal, beyond boosting healing power and effective defensive abilities like ‘Asylum’ and ‘Temperance’.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Conjurer class, “Way of the Conjurer”, in the main city of Gridania at the Conjurer’s Guild in the Old Gridania area. Speak to the NPC Madelle (X:6, Y:11) to start it.
• Astrologian – This job doesn’t have a beginning class, and was first introduced in the Heavensward expansion. Also considered a “pure” healing job alongside White Mage, it focuses on providing hearty doses of health recovery to the group, coupled with strong burst heal abilities as well as healing-over-time. Wielding globe-shaped weapons, their unique feature is the use of cards from a deck that provide various buffs to different jobs. It’s important to remember what each card provides, but that’s about the most difficult aspect of the job itself.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Astrologian job, “What’s Your Sign”, from an NPC named Jannequinard in the city of Ishgard in the Pillars area (X:15, Y:10). The guild for Astrologians is called the Athenaeum Astrologicum.

Best Beginner DPS Jobs

• Dragoon – This job is the evolution of the Lancer class, and you complete this evolution in the game’s first expansion – Heavensward. An agile melee DPS that wields lance-type weapons, you get to use a variety of swift and powerful airborne and ground-level attacks, some that harness the raw and ancient power of dragons. Its ability set among the most straightforward of all melee DPS jobs, making it easy to pick up and master earlier on.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Lancer class, “Way of the Lancer”, in the main city of Gridania at the Lancer’s Guild in the Old Gridania area. Speak to the NPC Jillian (X:14.1, Y: 5.8) to start it.
  • Subsequently, the first quest for the Dragoon class, “Eye of the Dragon”, can be picked up from the NPC Ywain (X: 14.3, Y: 5.8) at the Lancer’s Guild in the Old Gridania area. It will take you to various areas newly introduced in Heavensward.

• Bard – This job is the evolution of the Archer class, and is considered the classic ranged DPS job of the game. Brandishing a bow as well as a flute, they deal ranged, precise damage from a distance, and specialize in stacking up critical buffs for themselves as well as the group, and are skilled at chaining heavy attacks. This makes them a very well-rounded ranged class with plenty of songs to sing, if you’re someone that prefers to be on the back lines.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Archer class, “Way of the Archer”, in the main city of Gridania at the Archer’s Guild in the New Gridania area. Speak to the NPC Athelyna (X: 15, Y:12) to start it.
• Black Mage – This job is the evolution of the Thaumaturge class, and is the ultimate wielder of dark magic. Brandishing stave-type weapons, they are considered the classic magical ranged DPS job that is also one of the biggest damage dealers out of the entire DPS pool. They specialize in Fire, Ice, and Lightning-elemental magicks, as well as a handful of powerful, non-elemental ones that all can be fired off in quick succession to either single targets or upon a mob. While they’re pros at melting enemies, their main tradeoff is having to remain stationary for most of their casting time, so you need to pick a good, safe spot to knuckle down and dole out your spell barrage.
  • You can pick up the first quest for the Thaumaturge class, “Way of the Thaumaturge”, in the main city of Ul’dah at the Thaumaturge’s Guild in the Steps of Nald area. Speak to the NPC Yayake (X:7.3, Y:12.4) to start it.

That concludes our guide for the best jobs to start with in FFXIV. We hope you find this helpful as you start your journey in Eorzea, and let us know which job(s) you’re enjoying most so far. Don’t forget that there’s also a charming, animated “starter guide” video series released by the developers themselves.

Be sure to check out all of our other guides for Final Fantasy XIV, such as our comprehensive explanation of the interactive Universalis site.