[Top 4] FF14 Best Melee DPS (Ranked Good To Best)

Updated:

19 Nov 2022

In Final Fantasy 14, playing melee DPS means fighting up close and personal in exchange for better ease of movement compared to caster DPS classes. With recent buffs and skill reworking, these melee classes have been outshining many other DPS classes. While the four melee classes are fairly balanced, as are most classes in FF14, some do have slight advantages over the others when it comes to damage output, ease of mechanics, team utility, and other factors. Based on these standards, here are the top four melee DPS classes in FF14 ranked.

4) Dragoon

A classic DPS class, Dragoon is one of the best team players when it comes to buffing party damage. An easy and fun rotation with a mix of damage buffs makes Dragoon an excellent melee DPS for any team. A couple of downsides keep Dragoon from ranking slightly higher. Battle animations tend to restrict movement more than the other melee classes so timing is key to avoid being caught in AOEs, and it wouldn’t hurt for Dragoon to have slightly higher damage output.

What Dragoon Excels in:

Team utility with its buff skills like Battle Litany and Dragon Sight
Fairly easy to master rotation and mechanics
Various damage boosting buffs

DPS Score: 87/100

3) Ninja

The mysterious rogue class, Ninja, certainly lives up to its name with its aesthetic and somewhat difficult to master rotation. Ninja has a similar damage output to Dragoon and can hit even harder when using damage boosting skills like Trick Attack, which has a quick cooldown that is easy to take advantage of. Ninja is average when it comes to team utility, but its damage output can be really useful when paired with other supporting DPS classes. Ninja fails to rank higher because it is a notoriously difficult class to master with very dense mechanics, but in the right hands, Ninja can be a fatal foe.

What Ninja Excels in:

Fairly hard hitting damage output
Damage boosting skills like Trick Attack
Great paired with support DPS

DPS Score: 89/100

2) Monk

In patch 5.4, Monk received a major rework which rocketed the class into the ranks. Previously, a support class with lower than average damage output and a convoluted rotation, Monk now is an incredibly hard hitting DPS and on par with other top tier DPS classes like Summoner. With its clunky mechanics simplified, Monk is not only easier to master but also more fun overall and keeps its exceptional team utility.

What Monk Excels in:

Good damage output
Excellent team utility and damage boosting skills
A simplified rotation makes for a better player experience

DPS Score: 91/100

1) Samurai

To no one’s surprise, Samurai ranks number one among the melee classes for its insanely high damage output on par only with Black Mage. A simple but fun rotation and easy to learn mechanics also make its damage output that much more satisfying, and overall it is a great choice if you haven’t played a melee class before. Paired with a support DPS and Samurai can face even the most formidable of enemies.

What Samurai Excels in: