While players can choose their favorite healer and tank jobs in Final Fantasy XIV, it’s an entirely different story for DPS mains. There are a lot more damage-oriented jobs to choose from in FFXIV.
They are divided into Physical, Magical, and melee DPS categories.
Here’s our tier list of the best DPS jobs in FFXIV.
Final Fantasy XIV DPS tier list, explained
This FFXIV DPS tier list is based on our personal experience and the diligent work of FFLogs, an analysis program that monitors raid content to measure job DPS. This aggregate website is most useful for players wanting to know what their jobs can do when fully optimized.
We’re using rDPS, or “raid DPS,” for our rankings. This is a calculation of a job’s damage based on how much they do, plus how much they contribute to everyone else’s damage, minus how much they get buffed by others. It’s how good your job is at dealing damage and buffing everyone else’s damage.
We want to emphasize that all FFXIV jobs are currently viable in Patch 6.5. You will clear raids as long as you keep track of your buttons and aren’t doubling up on any job. That said, the best jobs in the game will help you clear content faster and more efficiently.
Melee DPS jobs generally have stronger damage potential, but finding the right position is difficult. You deal bonus damage when you use skills from the right angle (such as at the rear and flank of your target). Once you master positioning, you’ll be tremendously effective with melee DPS.
On the other hand, Ranged DPS jobs have more flexibility and are easier to pick up. Their playstyles come in all different shapes and sizes, so it’s recommended to test out a job from each category to understand what suits you best. Ranged DPS jobs don’t have any positional requirements, allowing you to deal excellent damage while on the move or far away from the boss.
The Blue Mage isn’t included in this list. This is because it’s a unique DPS job that learns all its abilities from enemy attacks and can only play in duties with other Blue Mages. They’re fun to pick up but aren’t included in FFXIV’s core content.
S – Reaper, Summoner, Samurai, Dancer
Reaper
Reaper is the strongest melee job right now. The Reaper has a rotation that is not too hard to master and is versatile for challenging bosses while having some utility with Arcane Crest, which grants precious HP regen when its shield is broken. It’s easy to pick up and very flexible, which makes it a no-brainer for many players starting in Endwalker.
Reaper becomes available at level 70, but its true potential starts showing once you obtain level 90. This may take some time, but it’s worth it for the best DPS in FFXIV.
Samurai
The Samurai also remains one of the best melee DPS jobs despite other melees receiving successive buffs that leave them gasping for air. It still holds its ground in Savage Raids.
Dancer
As of Patch 6.5, the Dancer is the most popular Physical Ranged DPS job. It’s due to how much utility it brings while featuring rotations that are easier to maintain than the Machinist and Bard. The Partner skill, Closed Position, also makes it strong with any other melee DPS player. It doesn’t give the highest damage output, but it’s fun to play and accessible.
Summoner
The Summoner has a lower damage output but is at the top of the tier list due to its versatility and accessibility. It is the most forgiving of the Magic DPS jobs, offering many instant-cast options alongside simple and slow-going rotations. It’s also one of the two options with a Resurrection effect, meaning you can help clutch deadly situations where multiple healers are dead. Just make sure you are watching your mana.
A – Black Mage, Dragoon, Ninja, Bard, Machinist
Black Mage
The Black Mage has been topping damage charts in FFXIV‘s Savage raids since spring 2023, including some of the game’s most challenging fights. Often, they’re used as a reference to determine how the meta is going since victory can hinge on the smallest damage differences.
Black Mage is arguably the hardest DPS job to play at its full potential, but it’s also gratifying. Its lack of versatility makes it hard to play, so it’s only made for the most motivated FFXIV players. That’s why it’s ranked lower than the Summoner despite being able to dish out more damage. In addition, it’s a pure DPS and lacks utility compared to other DPS jobs.
Ninja
The Ninja is another challenging DPS job to pick up, with many abilities to learn by heart that you need to master to maximize its potential. Then, once you’ve mastered it, you’re still dealing less average damage than a Black Mage. This is a crying shame since the Ninja’s rework in Endwalker made it feel better to use without macros.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t pick up Ninja. Raiju rotations are fun to use in level 90 content, and you’ll always do enough damage to back up your name. But, without buffs, you’re dealing the least damage of the Melee DPSes by default.
Machinist
The Machinist, in comparison, is easier to pick up. Its disadvantage is that it’s not very versatile and features less utility than the Dancer and Bard while being able to make significant damage numbers easily.
Dragoon
A series of buffs saved the Dragoon from an unfortunate fate at the bottom of the melee DPS leaderboards in Endwalker, and it’s now one of the jobs that feature the best DPS in high-level raids. The Dragoon is living its best moments in the 6.5 meta, but it’s still being determined whether it can keep that position long.
The combination of Dragon Sight, Lance Charge, and Battle Litany makes for a job that defines the 120-second rotation FFXIV devs love so much. Its high mobility is a lot of fun and is relatively easy to pick up, even though it’s hard to master its timings. This job is powerful but suffers greatly from being unfriendly to players unwilling to deal with its shortcomings.
Bards
Bards have also been consistently buffed throughout Endwalker’s lifespan, with Patch 6.5 bringing additional damage to their Empyreal Arrow and Sidewinder cooldowns. These minor boosts have barely bumped it over the Dancer’s rDPS on the charts, but the Bard is generally a bit harder to manage. Keeping close attention to your damage over time abilities is crucial to the Bard’s game plan and managing your Songs.
But the Bard has buffs for healing and the ability to remove some status effects from allies, giving it more unique utility than any other Ranged Physical DPS. This makes up for the button-mashing that can come from songs like Mage’s Ballad. This job could easily overcome Machinist shortly and is worth keeping a close eye on.
B – Red Mage, Monk
Red Mage
The Red Mage is the most unique damage dealer. It remains in the low tier as it deals terrible damage at the moment, the weakest of any Magical DPS—on FFLogs, it’s at the bottom, near the Dancer, and brings less utility. But it’s far from worthless. There is no better job in the clutch than the Red Mage, as it can resurrect the entire party within a minute through repeated Dualcast Verraises.
Monk
The Monk job received many changes over the last year that pulled it out of the corner, as it was by far the least popular job in Shadowbringers. It’s now more popular and balanced, but more is needed to bring it higher than other melee jobs. It remains a punishing job, with a lot of positions to learn. It’s as strong as the others when mastered, but it’s still the most challenging one. It’s made for those who seek high risk, high reward.
There you have it! You know everything you need about the best DPS in Final Fantasy XIV. Good luck!
