All classes in FFXIV: Tank, DPS & Healer roles explained

If you are getting stuck in with FFXIV and want to know what each class does in the game, we will explain everything you need to know about them, including what classes are available in each role. It can be hard to know what class to choose, especially if it is your first time!

However, if this is your second class, it can also be tricky knowing what to choose, especially if you’re preparing to face the levelling-up experience all over again. 

Not to worry though, as we will explain the importance of each role in the game, and how they have different gameplay in each aspect of FFXIV.

Here's everything you need to know about all the classes in FFXIV, including the Tank, DPS and Healer roles.

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What are the classes in FFXIV?

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There are three different class types within FFXIV, like a lot of MMORPGs. This includes tank, healer and DPS. It depends on what Job you pick, as this will decide the role for you.

Tanks

Tanks are useful if you want to be high defence with some damage to back you up. If you plan to go into group content such as dungeons and raids, you will be the one who tanks enemies and bosses and is at the front of the team at all times.

This class has a crucial role in helping keep the other players alive, by taking aggression from the enemies and the bosses so that DPS and healers don’t get hit and can continue to do their job efficiently.

Healers

Healers are responsible for making sure everyone in group content stays healthy. They have a variety of buffs and heals that they can use depending on which class they belong to. Healers can also contribute to the damage of enemies and bosses when they are not focusing on healing others. It is imperative that they keep tanks alive in dungeons and raids.

DPS

DPS are the ones who do the biggest damage in the group and are responsible for taking out most other enemies, as well as doing the vast majority of damage to the boss in group content. They are also most commonly the role used in PvP, because of their high damage.

Some classes are significantly squishier than others, meaning that they have less survivability than others, but they may have higher damage than others that have more survivability. 

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All Jobs available in FFXIV

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The class type you are planning to play will affect the different types of Jobs available to you. This is because there are no specialisation differences in the Jobs, and the Job you see is what you get.

For example, if you wanted to be a Mage, you couldn’t spec into being a healer through the Mage Job.

All Tank Jobs

• Dark Knight
• Gunbreaker
• Paladin
• Warrior

There aren’t many tank Jobs available at the moment in FFXIV, but with the latest expansion just announced, Square Enix is sure to add a Job or two to the game.

All DPS Jobs

• Bard
• Black Mage
• Blue Mage (Limited Job)
• Dancer
• Dragoon
• Machinist
• Monk
• Ninja
• Reaper
• Red Mage
• Samurai
• Summoner

These Jobs range from Melee damage, Physical Ranged DPS and Magical Ranged DPS. The Blue Mage is a special class that can be unlocked from a side quest in Limsa Lominsa. Equally, they have quite a few limitations to them, such as not being able to take part in Duty Roulettes, Squadron Missions and Deep Dungeons. 

Blue Mages equally cannot progress the main scenario quest, so this class is predominantly just for fun and to play in the overworld to do side quests.

All Healer Jobs

• Astrologian
• Sage
• Scholar
• White Mage

Again, there aren’t many healers to choose from compared to the vast variety of DPS. However, with the release of Dawntrail, there could be new Healers added to the game. 

That’s everything you need to know about the classes available in FFXIV, and the Jobs that you can use in the game. 

For more FFXIV guides, keep reading GGRecon. Check out our guide on how to change Class in FFXIV if you're ready for a change.