Final Fantasy 14’s Disciple of War and Magic classes are divided into three roles: tank, healer, and DPS. DPS or damage per second are the classes primarily focused on damage output. Where tanks shield their teammates and healers ensure they don't die, DPS take down the enemies in their path.
DPS classes are further categorized: Melee DPS, Physical Ranged DPS, and Magic Ranged DPS. Each DPS category has its own benefits and drawbacks and certain roles they’re expected to fill in parties. Here’s a rundown of each DPS category and what to expect if you decide to specialize in one.
Updated April 24, 2023 by Jerel Levy: Final Fantasy 14 is as popular as ever, and yet one question remains every time you begin or make a new character, and that's which class you should play. If you've decided on a DPS class, this guide has been updated for formatting and readability and breaks down each DPS class in FF14, from the Ranged DPS to the Melee DPS and the Magic DPS, to help break down each specialization and help you choose the right type of DPS to play.
Melee DPS
This is the largest DPS category, encompassing five classes:
- Monk (prerequisite class Pugilist)
- Dragoon (prerequisite class Lancer)
- Ninja (prerequisite class Rogue)
- Samurai (level 50 and own the Stormblood expansion)
- Reaper (level 70 and own the Endwalker expansion)
Melee DPS are close-ranged fighters that rely on executing combos and attacking from certain positions to do the most damage possible. They can also buff themselves or the party to do even more damage.
A Melee DPS’s main concern is uptime: that is to say, the amount of time they can spend doing DPS.
As FF14 heavily emphasizes dodging AOEs and doing mechanics, Melee DPS will have periods where they won’t be in range of the boss enemy and are, therefore, unable to attack.
To counteract this, Melee DPS do the most damage of the three classes and also have a stunning ability, which allows them to interrupt AOEs or skill casts that threaten their uptime.
Melee DPS is great for fast-paced solo play, as their focused damage ensures you can quickly burn through mob enemies.
In summary, if you like hitting hard and doing your own thing, Melee is the DPS class for you.
Physical Ranged DPS
FF14’s three Physical Ranged classes are:
- Bard (prerequisite class Archer)
- Machinist (level 50 and own the Heavensward expansion)
- Dancer (level 60 and own the Shadowbringers expansion)
Physical Ranged DPS attack from afar and are the most mobile of the three DPS classes. Although each class has its own specific buffs, they all have access to Peloton (which applies a speed buff outside of combat) and several debuff abilities.
While Physical Ranged DPS don’t do as much damage as Melee DPS, they can attack at a distance and from any position.
Their buffs are also fairly varied: they can provide minor shielding, healing, attack buffs, and even remove status effects (although admittedly, most of these are Bard abilities).
Ranged DPS can also interrupt actions, which are attacks that have a flashing red cast bar.
These classes are also very heavy on AOE attacks. While all jobs in every role have access to an AOE combo, Physical Ranged classes are better suited to piling on the damage on multiple targets.
If you enjoy mobile combat and being a team player, try out classes from this category.
Magic Ranged DPS
While there are technically four classes under this category, Blue Mage is a limited job and should be considered its own independent category.
The three main Magic Ranged classes are:
- Black Mage (prerequisite class Thaumaturge)
- Summoner (prerequisite class Arcanist)
- Red Mage (level 50 and own the Stormblood expansion)
As this DPS category is distinguished by its reliance on casting, they're mostly referred to as the casting classes.
Casting forces you to sacrifice mobility for damage, as spell casts will be interrupted if you move, so playing a casting class requires an eye for positioning yourself—or getting very used to narrow escapes.
To make up for their lack of mobility and slow attack speeds, casting classes excel at burst damage. They can also fire off abilities that shorten their cast timer or allow them to cast instantaneously.
Furthermore, Summoners and Red Mages notably have access to healing abilities and can even raise party members from the dead at higher levels, while a good Black Mage will easily out-damage any other DPS in your party.
Although this DPS category requires some practice to get used to, it's extremely rewarding. If you don't mind exchanging your mobility for big burst DPS, Magic Ranged DPS is the category for you.