FF14 DPS Tier List [FF14 Best And Worst DPS Jobs Revealed]

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Updated:

12 Sep 2022

Final Fantasy XIV currently has 12 DPS battle jobs, one of which is a Blue Mage, a Battle Job that cannot currently participate in the current savage raid tier, Abyssos.

After players begin progressing and clearing the Abyssos raid, it becomes clear which DPS in this current tier is more powerful. There could be a variety of reasons for this, ranging from raw damage to party utility.

Based on this information, this article will classify the DPS into four distinct tiers, ranging from C to S.

The S Tier is the highest available tier in this ranking. The jobs listed in this tier are the best of the best in the current Savage tier. This is because they are the battle jobs that have the potential to turn the tides of battle by dealing massive damage to the enemy's ranks. They are the key figures who can assist in clearing the enrage before the boss completes casting them. Not only that, but some of the jobs listed here may also be useful to the party or have a wide range of skills and abilities that may allow them to avoid danger.

1. Monk (S Tier): 90/100

Monk is the Melee DPS that can deal damage to the enemies with their kicks and punches.

Monks are powerful Melee DPS battle jobs that have a lot of utility to the party by providing buffs as well as being able to deal damage to the enemies.

What Makes Monk S-Tier DPS:

Monks can deal a lot of damage to their enemies thanks to their complicated and varied rotations that focus on dealing damage to them. They will later be able to use powerful skills such as Phantom Rush, which has a whopping 1,150 damage potency.
Monks can also increase the amount of damage they deal to enemies by buffing themselves. Riddle of Fire increases their damage dealt by 15% for 20 seconds, while Riddle of Wind reduces the auto-attack delay by 50% for 15 seconds.
Furthermore, Monks can protect themselves from taking too much damage by applying Riddle of Earth, a buff that grants them 3 stacks of Riddle.
Monks can also provide party utility by buffing their teammates, which can help improve their damage dealt to enemies via the Brotherhood ability. Brotherhood will increase all party members' damage by 5%.
Finally, Monks provide another benefit to the party by using the Mantra ability, which increases HP recovery via healing actions for all party members by 10% for 15 seconds. This will allow Healers to heal the party more quickly.

2. Samurai (S Tier): 89/100

Samurai with their Katana.

Samurai is a Melee Battle Job that is introduced in the Stormblood expansion. They are very powerful in terms of raw DPS alone, making them a monster that can cut down their enemies on the battlefield.

What Makes Samurai S-Tier DPS:

Samurai is a battle job with many interesting and complicated combos that can finish off their enemies with powerful attacks and combos. They can, for example, attack the enemy with Midare Setsugekka before increasing their damage dealt with Kaeshi: Setsugekka.
Samurai also have a variety of abilities that can help them deal more damage. Shifu is one of these, and it grants the Samurai a Fuka buff, which reduces their weapon skill cast time and recast time, spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 13% for 40 seconds. Because this buff is easily reapplied, Samurai can effectively have this buff turned on for the duration of the game.
Samurai can also avoid taking too much damage by using the Third Eye ability, which allows them to reduce the amount of damage taken by the next attack by 10%. If this effect is successful, Samurai will also receive a 5 Kenki gauge boost, granting them access to skills that require a certain amount of Kenki gauge.
Samurai can also use Meikyo Shisui to gain access to most of their powerful skills and DoTs, such as Higanbana and Midare Setsugekka, which allows them to execute up to three weapon skill combos without meeting the combo requirement, allowing them to get through their powerful skills much faster. They also possess two charges.

After the S Tier rank, the A Tier role is introduced. A Tier rank is also a battle job that is extremely good, primarily due to some of the required criteria, such as dealing a lot of damage or providing good buffs and party utility to their teammates. A Tier DPS battle jobs are very good DPS that can also conquer the current raid tier, albeit not as well as the S Tier.

1. Black Mage (A Tier): 85/100

Black Mage casting Meteor, their LB3.

Black Mage is one of the two Caster DPS that has been available since the early days of A Realm Reborn. They are powerful spellcasters that are the master of the elements.

What Makes Black Mages A-Tier DPS:

Black Mages are the raw DPS kings and queens, and have been competing with Samurais for first place in raw DPS alone. They have powerful spells that deal a lot of damage, such as Fire spells and finishers like Despair.
Black Mage also has control over three different elements, each of which has a specific use in their rotation. Ice element is in charge of replenishing their depleted MP, Thunder element is in charge of dealing damage to their enemies over time, and Fire element is their main power spell that can deal a lot of damage at a high cost in MP.
Black Mages can also increase their damage dealt by using Ley Lines. It is critical for them to maintain as much control over their Ley Lines as possible when casted. This is due to the fact that their Ley Lines will grant them a buff that will reduce their spell cast and recast times, as well as their auto-attack delay, by 15% for 30 seconds.
While Black Mages should ideally stay in one place, they can also help to become more mobile by using some of their abilities that allow them to move quickly. This includes Aetherial Manipulation, which allows them to teleport to the side of a party member, and Between the Lines, which allows them to teleport back to their current Ley Lines.
They also have Triplecast, which allows them to immediately cast the next three spells they click on without having to cast them, and Manaward, which protects them by providing a shield that negates damage up to 30% of their Maximum HP.
Black Mages would have been an easy S-Tier if it weren't for the fact that the mechanics of this Savage tier are brutally hard against them because the mechanics require a lot of movement and manoeuvring, which are their main weaknesses because Black Mages prefer to stay on their spot to cast spells.

2. Ninja (A Tier): 84/100

Ninja preparing to cast their Ninjutsu.

Ninja is a very interesting and quick Melee DPS that demands a lot of speed and quick reaction from the player to be able to deal a lot of damage to the enemies.

What Makes Ninja A-Tier DPS:

First, Ninja can provide party utility by using their Trick Attack skill, which places a debuff on the targeted enemy that allows all party members to deal 10% more damage for 15 seconds.
Ninja can also perform various Ninjutsu to deal massive damage to their opponents. One of these is Hyosho Ranryu, which has a damage potency of 1,300.
Ninja can also increase their damage by using the Huton buff, which allows them to reduce their weapon skill recast time and auto-attack delay by 15%.
Ninjas can also summon shadows that attack enemies alongside them via Bunshin, which grants 5 stacks of Bunshin, allowing a shadow to deal damage to enemies with every weapon skill executed by the Ninja.
Finally, in addition to strong skills and Ninjutsu executions, Ninja can perform a Ninjutsu that deals damage over time in the form of Doton, which creates a patch of corrupted earth and deals damage to any enemy who enters while also inflicting a heavy debuff on them.

3. Dancer (A Tier): 83/100

Dancer with their graceful posture.

Dancer is the latest Physical Ranged DPS introduced in the game through the Shadowbringers expansinsion.

What Makes Dancer A-Tier DPS:

First and foremost, the Dancer can select a Dance Partner from among their teammates. There are numerous advantages that the Dancer can provide to the Dance partner alone, allowing the party members to reap numerous advantages from having a Dancer in the party.
To begin, Dancers will be able to keep a buff running throughout the party by performing Standard Step and Standard Finish, which will grant a 5% damage boost to the Dancer and the selected Dance Partner.
Furthermore, the Dancer and Dance Partner can benefit from a variety of other buffs, one of which is Devilment, which increases the Dancer's and Dance Partner's critical hit rate and direct hit rate by 20% for 20 seconds.
Not only that, but the Dancer can also use Curing Waltz, a small AoE healing ability that restores the Dancer's HP as well as the HP of everyone around them and their Dance Partner. They also have the ability Improvisation, which can heal all party members over time depending on how long they keep the Improvisation ability active.
Finally, Dancer can provide additional party utility via the skill Technical Step, which provides a 5% damage boost to all party members within 20 seconds.
After the first two tiers, the B Tier is introduced. The battle jobs in this role are strong, capable DPS that can still do decent damage and provide some utility to the party despite being weaker than the previous two tiers.

1. Dragoon (B Tier): 79/100

A Dragoon channeling their dragon power.

Dragoon, which starts out as a Lancer at level 1, is one of the Melee battle DPS that has been introduced in early ARR that is also the star of the Heavensward expansion through channeling their draconic power to deal a lot of damage on the battlefield.

What Makes Dragoon B-Tier DPS:

Dragoon is a powerful DPS who can deal massive damage by channeling the power of ancient dragons into their body. This takes the form of their Dragon Gauge, which can be built up as they go through their normal rotation and then spent to use powerful skills.
Furthermore, Dragoon can increase the damage they deal to enemies by using some of their inner abilities, such as Life Surge, which ensures that the next weapon skill they use will deal critical damage.
They also have a much longer buff called Lance Charge, which increases all damage dealt by 10% for 20 seconds.
Furthermore, Dragoon can use the Dragon Sight ability to connect them to a specific party member. This grants the Dragoon Right Eye, which increases their damage dealt by 10%, and Left Eye to the chosen party member, which increases their damage dealt by 5%.
Dragoon can also help the party by using the ability Battle Litany, which grants the Dragoon and all party members a buff that increases their critical hit rate by 10% for 15 seconds.

2. Reaper (B Tier): 78/100

Reaper preparing to call their avatar onto the battlefield.

Reaper is the latest Melee battle DPS introduced in the latest Endwalker expansion.

What Makes Reaper B-Tier DPS:

Reaper is a strong Melee DPS with both single-target and AoE skills that can deal a lot of damage to enemies, making the job suitable for raids or even dungeons and always being able to deal a lot of damage no matter what.
Reapers can also summon their Avatar and summon the power of Darkness to deal additional damage via Enshroud.
Reaper can also provide utility to the party via Arcane Circle, a buff that increases damage dealt by 3% for all party members.
Reaper is also quite strong during their opener and downtime, thanks to Soulsow, which allows them to cast Harvest Moon, a really powerful skill that allows the Reaper to deal 600 potency damage to the first enemy and 50% less damage to the remaining enemies.
Reaper can also help the party by using Arcane Crest, a shield placed on the Reaper that, when broken, provides a regen with a 50 cure potency for all party members for 15 seconds.

3. Summoner (B Tier): 77/100

Summoner with their book at the ready.

Summoner, along with Black Mage, are two Caster DPS available since ARR. Summoners excel in dealing damage by calling their pets and primals to the battlefield.

What Makes Summoner B-Tier DPS:

First, Summoner is a very powerful Caster DPS who, like Reaper, has good single-target and AoE spells even at lower levels, making the gameplay feel smooth even before reaching maximum level.
Summoners can also summon demi-primals such as Ifrit, Garuda, Titan, and their strongest two summons, Bahamut and Phoinix, onto the battlefield.
Each Summon deals a different amount of damage to the enemies and has their own set of special attacks as well as an ultimate spell. For example, summoning Garuda allows the Summoner to use Slipstream, which deals 430 damage to enemies while also causing a windstorm that deals damage to anyone who enters the area for 15 seconds.
They can also help the party by using the Searing Light ability, which increases the Summoner's and their party members' damage dealt by 3% for 30 seconds.
They can also assist party members when summoning Phoinix, as it grants a powerful regen with a cure potency of 100 for 21 seconds. It will also allow the Summoner to use Rekindle, which will restore a targeted party member's HP with 400 cure potency and grant healing over time with 200 cure potency for 15 seconds when their HP falls below 75% or the effect of Rekindle expires.

4. Bard (B Tier): 76/100

Bard getting ready to execute their LB3

Bard is a Physical Ranged DPS introduced in ARR that excels in playing songs to support their allies and deal damage to their enemies.

What Makes Bard B-Tier DPS:

Based on how many buffs it has under their abilities and skills, Bard is a very powerful Physical Ranged DPS. They have three songs in total. Mage's Ballad increases damage dealt to all party members by 1%, Army's Paeon increases direct hit rate by 3%, and The Wanderer's Minuet increases critical hit rate by 2%.
Raging Strikes, a buff that allows the Bard to deal 15% more damage for 20 seconds, can also be used to boost the damage dealt to enemies.
Bard also has two good DoTs: Caustic Bite, a poisoned arrow that deals 20 damage for 45 seconds, and Stormbite, a wind arrow that deals 20 damage for 45 seconds.
Bards can also boost their party utility by using Battle Voice, which increases the direct hit rate of the Bard and their party members by 20% for 15 seconds.
Furthermore, the Bard can use Radiant Finale to grant a buff of up to 6% damage increase to the Bard and all party members for 15 seconds, depending on the number of different Coda active in the song gauge.

The C Tier is the final tier discussed in this article. While C Tier is the lowest rank, it does not imply that the jobs in this category are bad. C Tier Jobs are mostly jobs that may fall short when compared to similar roles in the previous tiers, such as Melee, Ranged Physical, or Caster DPS. They may perform better in other Savage Tier Raids or during progression rather than fast clears or speedruns.

1. Red Mage (C Tier): 73/100

Red Mage casting their dark spells to gain Dark mana.

Red Mage is the latest Caster in the game introduced in the Stormblood expansion. They are powerful Casters that depend on their Dualcast and their Melee Combo rotation to deal damage to the enemies.

What Makes Red Mage C-Tier DPS:

The Red Mage has the Dual Cast ability, which allows them to cast the second spell instantly every time, giving the Red Mage great mobility on the battlefield as they can move around easily even as Caster.
Furthermore, Red Mage can quickly resurrect a large number of dead party members thanks to their Dualcast ability and Verraise, as they do not need to long-cast or hard-cast their resurrection spell.
The Red Mage can also provide additional party utility in the form of Embolden, an ability buff that grants all party members 5% more damage dealt and the Red Mage 5% more magic damage dealt.
Red Mage also has a unique party utility in the form of Magick Barrier, which grants a buff to all party members for 10 seconds that reduces magic damage taken from enemies by 10% while increasing HP recovery by healing actions by 5%.
Red Mage can also heal themselves in danger when playing alone or when the healer is dead or out of mana by casting Vercure, a healing spell that restores 350 HP to themselves or a targeted party member.

2. Machinist (C Tier): 73/100

Machinists completing their relic weapon.

Machinist is a Physical Ranged DPS introduced in the Heavensward expansion that focuses on dealing damage with their guns loaded up with Machina.

What Makes Machinist C-Tier DPS:

To begin, machinists can summon their own unique summon, the Automaton Queen, to the battlefield to assist them in dealing damage to the enemies. The Automaton Queen has its own set of abilities and will also explode and deal significant damage to enemies before disappearing from the battlefield.
Machinists also have a lot of powerful skills with high damage potency, such as Drill, which has a cooldown of 20 seconds and deals 580 damage potency, or Air Anchor, which also deals 580 damage potency and increases their Battery Gauge by 20.
Machinists require Battery Gauge to use the ability Hypercharge, which allows them to deal rapid fire attacks in the form of Heatblast and reduces the cooldown of Gauss Round and Ricochet by 15 seconds.
Machinists can also increase their damage dealt to enemies by using Reassemble, which guarantees that the next weapon skill executed by the Machinist will be a critical direct hit and increases said damage. Machinists will face two charges as well.
Finally, Machinists can deal additional damage to enemies via Wildfire, which deals damage when the effect expires. With each weapon skill that the Machinist deals to the enemy while under the effect of Wildfire, the damage is increased by a 220 damage potency.