Final Fantasy XIV Job Overviews

My opinion of all Jobs prior to 3.1 patch.
*Note: As long as a party is balanced they can clear all content, it's a matter of mechanic mastery of both your class and the fight.

Optimal Raid Group
WAR/DRK - Tank
DRG/NIN - Melee DPS
BLM (or SMN), BRD (or MCH) - Ranged DPS
SCH/WHM (or AST)

Optimal per-turn

A1S
WAR/WAR (damage)
DRG/NIN (optimal melee pair)
SMN (pad with double dot.)
BRD (pad with double dot, more consistent overall DPS than MCH.)
SCH (DPS at start and arranged spots in between)
AST (cards)

A2S
WAR (best all-around tank)
PLD (phys. mitigation + cover)
DRG (battle litany)
SMN x2 (greatest AoE DPS)
BRD (better aoe dps, foe req better setup.)
SCH (bane)
AST (cards)

A3S
WAR/DRK (Good mitigation + damage)
DRG/NIN (optimal melee pair)
BLM (best single-target caster)
MCH or BRD (the pros and cons of both line up.)
SCH (mitigation and damage)
WHM (raid control allowing SCH to DPS more)

A4S
WAR/WAR (damage)
DRG/NIN (optimal melee pair)
BLM (best single-target caster)
MCH or BRD (the pros and cons of both line up.)
SCH (mitigation and damage)
WHM or AST (pros and cons of both almost line up.)

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TANK
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 Most cooldown-dependent archetype in the game that relies on healer synergy and enmity generation. Stance dancing is required for DPS checks and smoother phases. Proper damage mitigation and output will transition into better progression performance, and even better farm-status clear times.

==PLD==
 The once staple bread-and-butter class for the "Tank" role. Paladin still offers the highest PHYSICAL mitigation of the three, but has the lowest DPS ceiling for stance-dancing. For Alexander-related content, over 70% of the damage output is Magical, so you are unable to block, nor use Shellron for tank busters. Due to the fact that they have the lowest damage ceiling, lower overall mitigation due to Alex being magic, and TP issues when stunning they are not optimal. Divine Veil and Hallowed Ground are still great cooldowns for some mechanics.

Mitigation Tools
Invincibility
- Hallowed Ground

Physical
- Shield Oath 20%
- Rampart 20%
- Shellron - 100%
- Sentinel 40%
- Bulwark - Block +60% Rate
- Rage of Halone - -10% STR

Magical
- Shield Oath 20%
- Rampart 20%
- Sentinel 40%


Opinion: PLD and DRK are direct opposites, so anything DRK will shine in, PLD will not. I feel that they made DRK the "star" of this content rotation due to being a new class and wanting to get people to play it. Content with a balanced amount of magic and physical damage will fix the issue.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Alex Raid rating
A1S - 2/5 (The only physical move is the auto attack, and Faust/Dolls. Falls below the other two due to lower damage since that's really all that matters on this turn.)
A2S - 5/5 (Only one where PLD shines due to being almost completely physical, Cover is very useful as well.)
A3S - 3/5 (Shellron, and overall being able to block Fluid Swing and auto attack swings compensates for not being able to mitigate Splash.)
A4S - 2/5 (literally can only block dolls, and major tp issues if stunning leg, so DPS suffers due to having to manage.)

==DRK==
 The new and upcoming class for the "Tank" role. Dark Knight has the highest MAGICAL mitigation of the three and similar damage to WAR, however unable to maintain due to TP issues. As stated above, the majority of the damage from Alexander is magical, so they are in the opposite spot of PLD for later turns. DRK has a lot off off-GCD skills, so it's a bit more button-heavy than the other two, but very rewarding if played well. Due to Delirium, MNK loses its "utility" spot in terms of mitigation in a raid, however full Mantra is still usable.

Mitigation Tools
Invincibility
- Living Dead

Physical
- Grit 20%
- Shadowskin 20%
- Reprisal 10%

Magical
- Grit 20%
- Shadowskin 20%
- Reprisal 10%
- Dark Mind 15/30%
- Delirium - -10% INT

Opinion: Flavour-of-the-month that will most likely fall to an average status due to opinion above. Will still be a good tank due to Grit multipliers, and Darkside + Arts damage.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Alex Raid rating
A1S - 4/5 (Magic damage. Good raid DPS.)
A2S - 3/5 (Objectively the worst of the three in terms of overall "raid" performance. Still good damage, but less utility.)
A3S - 4/5 (Will take slightly more damage than a PLD overall due to not being able to block swings, only parry. Better raid damage.)
A4S - 5/5 (Off-GCD stun, good enmity multiplier, good damage.)

==WAR==
 The underdog of 2.0 for the "Tank" role, and PLD's partner. Warrior is "the" most TP-efficient class in the game (was MNK before Purification hotfix). In terms of damage mitigation, they have a larger HP-pool via skills, which gives them the middle ground of both physical and magical. As for damage dealt, they have the highest of the three- on par with BRD/MCH/SMN (single-target) if able to maintain only DPSing. Due to being able to mitigate both physical and magical for almost the same amount, they are "the" optimal tank for Alexander content.

Mitigation Tools
Invincibility
- Holmgang

Physical
- Storm's Path 10%
- Inner Beast 20%

Magical
- Storm's Path 10%
- Inner Beast 20%

Opinion: Most balanced of the two which is why it's the most "overpowered". Due to having a place in any setting at any time. Higher damage was an unneeded, but nice icing on the cake.

Overall Rating 5/5

Alex Raid Rating
A1S - 5/5 (Best damage, good mitigation)
A2S - 5/5 (Can pull adds immediately while still doing good damage and mitigating.)
A3S - 5/5 (Raw Intuition)
A4S - 5/5 (Damage checks)

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DPS
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  Highest damage-ceiling archetype, highest variance of skill-to-intended output. As over Lv60 the playstyles of each Job changed either slightly,  or a near complete rework. There are three types: Melee (MNK/NIN/DRG), Ranged (SMN/BLM), Support (BRD/MCH)

Melee
==MNK==
 The fastest of the melee DPS. Momentum-based class that excels in raw, consistent damage per second. The utility of the class since 2.0 has gone down due to the introduction of DRK. In terms of raid-composition, the only melee that MNK could compete with is NIN. However, the damage that Trick Attack provides, and the utility Goad, Shadewalker, and Smoke Screen give is not outweighed by MNK's natural output unless you are severely overgearing your party.

Utility
Mantra - HP Recovery UP
Dragon Kick - INT Down

Opinion: Good class that lost it's "flair" due to other DPS getting equal or greater footing
Overall Rank: 4/5

==DRG==
  The burstiest of the melee DPS. Chain-based class that excels in timed burst throughout the fight, with a very solid average damage per second. The utility, damage output, and defense of DRG has gone up exponentially since 2.0, and it- along with WAR is a staple in a raid group.

Utility
Battle Litany - Critical Hit Rate UP
Disembowel - Piercing Resistance DOWN

Opinion: Battle Litany destroys DPS checks, and the natural burst of the class along with enhancing BRD/MCH's damage is icing on the cake.
Overall Rank: 5/5

==NIN==
  The most consistent of the melee DPS. GCD-clipping based class that excels in raid enmity and damage adjustment along with it's own damage "Ninjutsu". Along with DRG, it stands beside for an optimal raid group increasing the damage ceiling by allowing tanks to stay in their respective DPS stances for longer due to Shadewalker, and allowing more wiggle room for healers (especially AST) with Smoke Screen.

Utility
Trick Attack - Damage Vulnerability UP
Smoke Screen - Enmity DOWN
Shadewalker - Enmity UP

Opinion: Extremely good raid class with its enmity control, and very consistent damage output. Higher if you have a Warrior due to Storm's Eye so every Dancing Edge rotation would be replaced with Aeolian.
Overall Rank: 5/5

Ranged
==BLM==
 The second highest burst class in the game, and highest single-target average damage of the casters. A caster is staple for an optimal raid, however BLM and SMN are interchangeable depending on the fight.

Utility
Apocatastasis - Magic Vulnerability DOWN

Opinion: Bread-and-butter caster. Less utility than SMN, but more single-target DPS.
Overall Rank: 4.5/5

==SMN==
 The highest multi-target damage class in the game. Interchangeable with BLM in raids.

Utility
Virus - INT/STR Down
Eye for and Eye - On-hit damage received DOWN
Ressurection - In-battle Raise

Opinion: More utility than BLM, but more multi-target DPS.
Overall Rank: 5/5

Support
 - DPS role stable to progression due to resource regeneration and damage enhancement.

==BRD==
 Critical-based range class that excels in caster-based compositions, or rather if your caster(s) outgear your melee. Interchangable with MCH in raids.

Opinion: More caster utility than MCH, and slight better "average" DPS due to not reliant on "Shot" mechanic.
Overall Rank: 5/5

==MCH==
 Highest burst damage priority system-based range class that excels in melee-based compositions, or rather if your melee outgear your caster. Interchangable with BRD in raids.

Opinion: More melee utility than BRD, and a slightly lower "average" DPS due to "Shot" mechanic.
Overall Rank: 4.5/5


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Healer
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 The back-bone of raids and the most raid-awarness needed. Healers since 2.0 have taken a cut in their DPS due to culling accuraccy in return for better utility and higher damage ceilings of tanks/dps.

==WHM==
 Typical bread-and-butter support. Highest healing potential and highest burst damage of the three healers. Interchangeable with AST.

Opinion: Best progression main-healer due to raw natural high healing, and great synergy
Overall Rank: 5/5

==SCH==
 Unique DPS/Healer-hybrid. Very solid raid mitigation, lower flat heals than WHM but compensates with shields.

Opinion: The "WAR" of healers, irreplacable due to what they bring to the table.
Overall Rank: 5/5

==AST==
 New support healer with "Card" mechanic. Higher average healing than SCH, Slightly lower burst than WHM when not under Synastry. Interchangable with WHM.

Opinion: Depending on RNG, cards can completely change the tide of a fight and shave time off clear times. It will never HURT your clear, it just may not effect it as much as you'd like. Higher skill cap than WHM, and knowledge of DPS output and damage taken of tanks. ACT required for card-efficiency.
Overall Rank: 4.5/5