Final Fantasy XIV currently has 18 playable combat jobs, and the total will soon be raised to 20 when the new Endwalker expansion releases on December 7, 2021. After FFXIV’s major spike in popularity this year, many fans want to know which four jobs make up the best party. A number of these players have transitioned from other MMOs where having the ideal party composition is essential.
The FFXIV developers have historically been great at keeping all jobs relatively balanced, so there’s not necessarily a “wrong answer” when it comes to party composition. While some FFXIV jobs are capable of performing better than others, there is no job combination in a party that will simply not be able to clear content. With that said, there are party compositions that will clear content more quickly and efficiently than others.
Each four-person party consists of a tank, a healer, and two DPS, and every playable FFXIV combat job fits into one of these categories. A tank’s role is to initiate battles and remain the primary target of all enemies. Tank jobs have the largest health bars because, to play their role correctly, they must take more damage than any other party member. They are also equipped with several defensive abilities designed to mitigate damage. A healer’s role is relatively self-explanatory - these jobs are responsible for healing players in the party who are running low on HP. However, in FFXIV, there is an additional expectation that healers will deal damage to enemies when the rest of the party is not in danger of dying. The DPS role essentially consists of dealing high damage to enemies and, when applicable, using buffs to increase the effectiveness of everyone's abilities.
The Best FFXIV Party & Job Combination For Beginners
While high mitigation, healing, and damage numbers are important, the jobs with the highest output in these categories are not necessarily the ideal choices for a party. Jobs that offer supportive benefits like party-wide buffs that improve the entire group’s overall performance can be more valuable than those that are completely centered around high numbers. Additionally, the complexity and difficulty of any FFXIV job play a part in determining whether it belongs in the ideal party combination because it doesn’t matter how much potential a job has if a player does not understand how to play it correctly. As such, the best party composition for casual players or beginners to FFXIV can differ from what is best for more experienced players.
For beginners or players who prefer simpler gameplay, the best job combination for a four-person party includes Paladin (PLD) as a tank, White Mage (WHM) as a healer, Samurai (SAM) as melee DPS, and Dancer (DNC) as ranged DPS. These jobs are some of the easiest to perform. Though one might expect the simplicity to come at the cost of decreased efficacy, this is not the case. A Paladin in FFXIV is considered a “pure tank” in the sense that it centers more around defensive abilities than other tank jobs, which have more damage-focused abilities. PLD’s heavily defense-oriented rotation makes it especially difficult to kill, which gives the party’s healer more time to deal damage.
This trait pairs well with WHM, as this job can deal more personal damage than any other healer. Much like PLD, WHM is considered a “pure healer” in the sense that its abilities are primarily designed to restore HP, unlike other healing jobs that rely more on shields and buffs. Though it doesn’t have many offensive abilities, WHM can perform the spell “Holy,” which is widely considered one of the best AOE abilities in FFXIV and contributes greatly to a party’s ability to clear dungeons efficiently.
SAM has one of the highest, if not the highest, damage ceilings in the game, despite not being overly complicated. The greatest drawback of SAM is that it’s considered a “selfish” job due to its lack of party-wide supportive abilities. However, when paired with DNC, this ceases to be an issue. DNC is close to the bottom when it comes to personal damage output for DPS jobs; however, its strength lies not in personal damage, but in the utility it offers the party. A Dancer in FFXIV focuses heavily on buffing party members through their Dance Partner and boosting party-wide damage. This complements SAM nicely as it more than makes up for SAM’s “selfish” nature.
The Best FFXIV Party & Job Combination For Experts
For more experienced players or those who prefer to jump straight into challenging content, the best four-person party includes Gunbreaker (GNB) as a tank, Astrologian (AST) as a healer, Ninja (NIN) for melee DPS, and Black Mage (BLM) for ranged DPS. Given their complexity, these are some of the most difficult jobs to play, but they are also some of the strongest. Even though it may take time and patience, mastering them can be very rewarding.
In general, Gunbreaker in FFXIV is the most flexible tank job. In addition to its more traditional tanking abilities, it borrows from other roles with its significant damage output and healing abilities. GNB can adapt to the needs of the party, which makes it a great choice for anyone who can competently manage its complicated nature. Like GNB, AST is especially versatile. This healer uses a combination of restorative heals and shields to keep the party alive, and it provides additional support in the form of damage buffs for the whole party. When used to boost high damage jobs like NIN and BLM, these buffs are especially beneficial.
Though NIN primarily revolves around personal damage, it isn’t without utility. In particular, the ability “Trick Attack” makes enemies more vulnerable to all damage, which is especially helpful in a party that already dishes out high damage numbers. BLM rivals SAM in total personal damage, making it one of the strongest DPS jobs in the game. However, like SAM, it is a “selfish” job, doing little to boost the party’s overall performance. Even so, BLM’s raw power is complemented by AST’s damage buffs and NIN’s “Trick Attack” ability. Together, these four jobs arguably constitute the best FFXIV party build possible.
At the end of the day, however, the best job combination for a four-person party in Final Fantasy XIV varies greatly depending on each player’s circumstances. As noted before, a player’s ability to play a job well is far more important than the maximum performance a job is capable of. Furthermore, subjective factors like an individual’s preference in playstyle, aesthetics, and the overall “feel” of a job cannot be accounted for by any list. And, because the jobs in FFXIV are balanced so well, any potential job combination in a party is viable.
With the next expansion just around the corner and two new jobs being added into the mix, fans will inevitably see a shift in the overall job balance with Endwalker. Yet, if the past is any indicator, Final Fantasy XIV will likely maintain a relatively even balance. If this is the case, players can mostly remain free to play whichever job they enjoy most without worrying about the “ideal” party composition.