The wonderful thing about Final Fantasy XIV is any job is viable. Whether you enjoy sitting back and hitting glowy buttons on physical ranged jobs, healing up your ailing teammates on a healer, or protecting the rest of your group as a tank, every job in FFXIV is meant to be able to clear any content.

But as with any video game with multiple classes that have different roles and actions, everyone has their own opinion about which job is the best. This tier list takes into consideration the general consensus of discussions throughout social media, as well as experience in the game to determine a tier list of jobs in Final Fantasy XIV.

Not every job is going to have the highest potential for DPS, but some jobs may have a higher potential for DPS in the hands of an unskilled player compared to the potential for it in the hands of a highly skilled player. This list will rank jobs based on how fun they are to play, how easy they are to master, and also takes into consideration the potential for maximum DPS.

Realistically, any job can be an S-tier job. It all comes down to your play style and how much you gel with the rotations and abilities. After Dawntrail launched, players got some new things with their jobs, and a lot of changes were made, so how does do the jobs stack up now?

S-tier jobs

As stated, all jobs could realistically be rated as an S-tier based on player preference, but looking at the kit as a whole, there are some jobs that just have better utility, even if they are lacking in damage. The balance of both is delicate, but these are the jobs that most players agree got it right.

Tanks

• Gunbreaker
• Warrior

These two tanks are easily the winners of the group. Gunbreaker has the highest potential for DPS while also providing some utility to the team. It also has the highest damage ceiling, making it one of the deadliest tank jobs in Dawntrail. Warrior on the other hand, is almost a healer in its own right. Most dungeons and normal Trials can be done without the need for a healer's intervention because of the regen abilities Warrior has. Not only that, but it has a satisfying and easy to learn rotation that makes it one of the best tanks to introduce to those who have never tanked before.

Healers

• Astrologian
• Scholar

Even though the Astrologian got a huge rework for Dawntrail, it took a lot of the guesswork out of the card system. Now that Astrologians have a set rotation for their cards, it's easier for players to know when they're going to have any particular card up at any time in their rotation. Not only that, but the cards themselves were altered, giving Astrologian more protection power than before. It is also highly regarded for how fun it is to play, considering you have more than just damage and keeping your party healed compared to other healing jobs. It might be one of the harder classes to master, but it's also one of the most satisfying to play once you get the hang of it.

As a shield healer, Scholars need to know when damage is coming in order to protect the party from incoming damage.

DPS

• Samurai
• Monk
• Dragoon
• Ninja
• Dancer
• Bard
• Summoner
• Pictomancer

Most of the melee DPS are going to make the S-tier list simply because their damage output is excellent and the only difference between them is how you want to play. All of the melee DPS are going to be somewhat difficult to pick up, but once you understand the rotation and the gimmicks each have to dole out damage, it becomes second nature. These rotations are typically set, meaning decision-making isn't as important if you can press your buttons in the right order and also avoid getting hit by mechanics. Because of this, it's hard to say that any melee DPS is better than any other.

Dancer and Bard are still some of the most popular jobs in the game because of their ability to move without having to slidecast, and the flexibility in how the job is used. It's incredibly satisfying to dole out damage, avoid mechanics easily, and also provide your team with utility when they need it. Bard specializes in DoT damage, while Dancers have a priority system for their damage skills. Being able to juggle their ever-glowing skills while avoiding mechanics and using utility to benefit your team takes some time to learn, but once mastered, becomes very easy to execute.

Summoner still sits high in the list of casters. After its rework in Endwalker, the job did away with it's complicated two-minute rotation and opted for a simpler rotation that also manages to be fairly flexible based on what's going on in the fight. It's one of the coolest looking jobs in the game, since you get to summon a bunch of Eikons and perform some high-damage skills while also having some of the best mobility out of all of the casters. Meanwhile, Pictomancer players are doing so much damage that Square Enix even had to tweak them because they were taking aggro away from the tanks with their openers in Dungeons.

A-tier jobs

A-tier holds jobs that are still fun to play and viable in the game, but maybe could use a buff or two. Either something about them isn't fun, or there's something off balance that just doesn't put it at S-tier. Typically you'll still see these jobs often in duties, since even though they might not be as good as other jobs, they're still fun to play.

Tanks

• Paladin

Paladin is another job that got a rework in Endwalker, but while it's a very viable job with just as much support, utility, and DPS as any of the other tanks, it's still a little difficult to play. It ranks pretty high in the possible damage dealt, but it can be difficult to learn and take a little longer to master.

Healers

• White Mage
• Sage

All four healers are seen interchangeably in high end content, and the only reason White Mage and Sage are in the A-tier is simply because Astrologian and Scholar are simply the better choices out of the four. Both jobs got a new damage ability and some tweaks to their traits that makes healing easier, but neither got additions that make them a better pick over Astrologian or Scholar.

DPS

• Viper
• Reaper
• Red Mage

Viper would have been in the S-tier rank if Square Enix hadn't changed it to make it far too easy to play. While this isn't a negative for most people, it took the interesting, niche parts of the job and turned it into a boring mashing of buttons in the same sequence. It's a great choice for damage and looks cool, but isn't as interesting as it was before Patch 7.05. Reaper didn't really get much of a change in Dawntrail, and is a better choice for Dungeons where AoE will be important.

Red Mages are still very good picks for casters, especially with their ability to raise players. It doesn't really suffer any negatives, but it is a painfully average job. It's great for players that like a mix of melee and ranged abilities without having to slidecast too often.

B-tier jobs

The B-tier jobs are the lowest tier on the list. Square Enix does a really good job of making any job viable in any party combination, but these jobs are just missing something after Dawntrail dropped. While there are no bad choices in FFXIV as far as jobs go, these are jobs you might rarely see while doing higher end content.

Tanks

• Dark Knight

Dark Knights are one of the coolest looking jobs in the game and arguably has the best story during the leveling process, but Dawntrail left Dark Knight players feeling a little left out. Its damage is one of the lowest of the tanks, and it doesn't have the utility to make up for it. Although still very able to mitigate damage, healers might find themselves paying more attention to Dark Knights compared to any of the other jobs in the role.

DPS

• Black Mage
• Machinist

Black Mage and Machinist got the short end of the stick in Dawntrail. Machinist can be overwhelming, and Bard and Dancer are the better picks for utility for the group. They're one of the worst jobs as far as damage output while also being one of the worst choices for party support. Considering this was also true in Endwalker, players are really hoping for some improvements soon. Black Mage, whose playstyle changes every few levels, got an improvement in both damage and movement in Dawntrail, but it's just never going to beat out Pictomancer in terms of damage and utility.