Thread: [Contest] One from Many: FFXIV Job System and You

One from Many
A Guide to Understanding and Implementing the Armory System in FFXIV

At first glace the Armory System in FFXIV can be overwhelming, even more so when you take the time to look at all the abilities. There exist seven Disciplines of War and Magic, over 275 abilities, ten action slots and a limited number of points with which to spend. Deciding which abilities are “can't live without,” which are “useless,” and which are “situational” is a daunting task. Without a focus one can get lost.

In this guide I will lay out a series of tools designed to give a sense of direction in the wilderness of FFXIV. By no means is this guide an attempt to be an end-all on how to use the Armory System; instead, this guide should be viewed as a collection of guidelines and recommendations. Use them as you deem necessary. My hope is to offer a starting point to help players in FFXIV navigate the Armory.

Table of Contents

1. Focus Focus Focus
-1.1 Creating a Character Theme
-1.2 Importance and Methods of Staying True to your Theme
-1.3 Choosing a Core Disciple to Build a Theme From
--1.3.1 Archer: Stand Alone Physical Damage Ranged Job
--1.3.2 Casters: The Two Only Magic User Job
--1.3.3 Gladiator: The Atypical Tanking Job
--1.3.4 Melee: The Three Melee Physical Damage Jobs

2. Walk Alone or Walk with Many
-2.1 Party Role Archtypes
--2.1.1 The Tank
--2.1.2 The Healer
--2.1.3 Damage Dealers
--2.1.4 Hybrid
-2.2 Solo

3. VIT Makes Right!
-3.1 Attributes Vs. Party Role
-3.2 Attribute Redistribution
-3.3 Elemental Attributes

4. Catch a Tiger by it's Toe
-4.1 Ability Vs. Party Role Overview
-4.2 First Tier and Second Tier Outline
-4.3 The Tank
-4.4 The Healer
-4.5 Melee Damage Dealer
-4.6 Caster Damage Dealer
-4.7 Archer Damage Dealer
-4.8 Hybrid
-4.9 Solo

5. View from Here
-5.1 The thought process that when into my own Theme
-5.2 What job I chose as my foundation and what jobs I chose to augment it's potential
-5.3 What practical experience has taught me

6. Conclusion
-6.1 Ending Remarks and Future Plans for this Guide

---------- Post added at 12:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 PM ----------

1- Focus Focus Focus

1.1- The key to creating not only a unique but powerful class in FFXIV is focus. When looking over abilities of the classes or choosing your main battle discipline the most efficient way to keep things on track is to pick a theme. This can be anything from a phrase “I want to rain ruin upon my foes from afar.”; a role concept: Gladiator Tank; or simply “I want to be the best, most efficient Pugilist I can.” The point is, choose a core idea to structure your class around. This will direct you as you choose abilities.

1.2- Just as important as choosing a focus is sticking with that focus. I know this is redundant but it bares repeating. Once you have a theme, don't loose sight of it. Don't drop an ability that looks silly but puts up impressive numbers for something that makes the party “ooo” and “aaa.” In the end the party will thank you for being a murder machine, not a flash dancer.

1.3- The final step on focusing your FFXIV experience is to choose a Main Discipline. This provides an anchor from which to seek out other abilities to aid in your chosen path. As I mentioned before there are seven Disciplines in FFXIV: Archer, Conjurer, Gladiator, Lancer, Marauder, Pugilist and Thaumaturge. Each have abilities only they can access and most have a uniquely inherent play-style. I will give a brief overview of the Disciplines here and in the next section offer recommendations as to how they can fit in party situations.

1.3.1- Archer (ARC) stands alone as the only physical damage ranged class and as such has it's own section later in the guide.

1.3.2- Conjurer (CON) and Thaumaturge (THM) are the only magic caster classes and as archer have their own section. They both can operate as healers though Conjurer has more native healing abilities.

1.3.3- Gladiator (GLD) is the only class that can equip a shield and wear heavy armor, as such it is ideally suited to tank. With some work they can also be a damage dealer though outside of tanking they are very well suited for hybrid type builds.

1.3.4- Pugilist (PUG) , Lancer (LNC), and Marauder (MRD) are the primary melee damage jobs in FFXIV. Pugilist used evasion as a main mechanic, Lancer positioning, and Marauder gains many special abilities when they stand still and attack.

2- Walk Alone or Walk With Many: Party vs. Solo Play

2.1- Party: In party it's important to keep ones options open when designing a class. Be willing the change up abilities to better suit the party needs. The more powers you have backup access to the more effective you can be. Finally, please be efficient when switching abilities. Make macros and test them before heading into battle. Your party will thank you. Next, I will offer a breakdown of party roles, offer guidelines for choosing abilities and suggest a Main Discipline for that role.

2.1.1- Tank
-Parry and Evasion are important
-Enmity increasing abilities are vital
-Having a pocket heal can be beneficial in a pinch
-Recommended Job: Gladiator and at lower levels Pugilist and Marauder

2.1.2- Healing
-Healers should obviously stock up on healing spells
-Party buffs
-A few ways to regen mana
-Recommended Job: Conjurer and to a slightly lesser extent Thaumaturge

2.1.3- Damage Dealing (Ranged and Melee)
-Enmity decreasing abilities are important
-Stay away from too many utility abilities
-Focus on TP Regen, Stamina Regen, and Damage
-Recommended Job: Archer, Pugilist, Lancer, Marauder, Conjurer, Thaumaturge and a lesser extent Gladiator

2.1.4- Hybrid
-Requires the most Flexibility in abilities
-Fill in as needed; be mindful of the party weaknesses and strengths
-Having an array of debuffs and buffs to choose from
-Recommended Job: Any

2.2- Solo: When soloing there are a few things to keep in mind. First, always have a healing ability on hand, even if you rarely use it, it can keep you up and going. In FFXIV there are three primary healing abilities: Cure (CON), Sacrifice (THM) and Second Wind (PUG). I recommend taking Cure or Sacrifice if you are using little mana and have a good deal available to case a heal; if you are using a great deal of mana having Second Wind around to keep your mana pool full for damage spells I beneficial. Beyond having a heal open for use I recommend focusing primarily on damage spells and mana regain if you are a caster. Having enfeeble spells and abilities, while fun, will overall slow down your solo progress. That said, soloing is a perfect time to test out new abilities and combination before you use them with a party. A balance between efficiency and testing should be considered.

---------- Post added at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 PM ----------

3- VIT makes right! Attribute points and what they mean

3.1- So you've noticed you gain these fun points every physical rank, some for resistances, some for attributes. The question remains where to spend them, and once spent can you redo errors or make adjustments later on? In spending attribute points always keep your focus in mind. Here are a few pointers:

-Melee damage: Strength and Dex
-Magic damage: Intelligence and Piety
-Healing: Intelligence and Mind
-Tanking: Vitality, Dex and Mind
-Hybrid: Don't spread yourself too thin, keep to a few attributes

3.2- There isn't yet clear information as to how attribute points are refunded or if you can ever “respec.” My current recommendation is to spend carefully and stick with your character theme. Combinations of melee and magic can spread attributes a bit thin, so be careful. Furthermore, how much attributes effect the game is still an unknown, especially when jobs are leveled to 50. I will amend this guide as more information becomes available.

3.3- Elemental Resistance Attributes are used for influencing crystal drops from mobs and of course resisting elemental attacks. For the sake of this guide I will say that tanks are the ones who should worry about Elemental Resistances, and keeping a level field may be better then focusing on one or two.

4- Catch a Tiger by it's Toe: Ability Breakdown by Party Role, Job and Rank

4.1- Now that you have a theme in mind, a role you want to focus on in party play, and a general idea how to spend your attribute points it's time to sift through the many abilities and see what Disciplines would give you the most benefit and what abilities you can overlook. For ease of reference I will break this section down into party role and offer recommendations accordingly. Also you will notice that Archers and Casters have their own category as Damage Dealers. This is due to the fact that they function significantly different enough to warrant their own consideration.

4.2- I will divide recommendations into first and second tier abilities. First tier are what I consider 'must haves' while second tier are 'optional.' Again, your chosen theme should dictate your ability choice, my particular choices aren't going to be the best for every situation or player, but they offer a good starting point.

---------- Post added at 01:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------

4.3- Tank

4.3.1- First Tier

-Rampart I/II (GLD R4/R34) Increased Defense
-Phalanx I/II (GLD R8/R38) Increase Enmity
-Provoke I/II (GLD R10/R40) Increase Enmity and Focus Target on you
-Cover (GLD R22) Protect and Ally
-Sentinel (GLD R36) Reduces Damage Taken and Increases Enmity
-Disorient I/II (MRD R18/R40) Reduction in Target Evasion and Increase Enmity
-Warmonger (MRD R30) Increase Enmity and Area of Effect Provoke
-Intimidation (MRD R30) Increase Enmity of all Actions
-Taunt I/II (PUG R10/R40) Increase Enmity and Focus Target on you
-Accomplice (PUG R30) Increase own Enmity and Decrease and Ally's
-Prime Conditioning (PUG R30) Increase Healing taken by 10%

4.3.2- Second Tier

-Obsess I/II (GLD R18/R48) Increase Defense against a Single Target
-Tempered Will (GLD R46) Increased Mobility
-Bloodbath I/II (MRD R6/R50) Damage and Heal in one
-Defender I/II (MRD R10/48) Increase Defense and Reduce Attack Power
-Foresight I/II (MRD R12/R42) Increase Parry until a Parry is made
-Fracture I/II (MRD R14/R38) Free Strike after Parry
-Second Wind I/II (PUG R6/R36) Heal that costs TP
-Discerning Eye (PUG R26) Increase Attack Power based on Damage Taken
-Invigorate I/II (LNC R14/R44) Increase TP generation
-Feint (LNC R20) Guaranteed attack after Enemy Evades
-Cure I/II/III (CON R4/R20/R48) Heal that costs MP
-Stoneskin I/II (CON R6/R42) Absorb a set amount of Damage
-Shock Spikes I/II (CON R8/R42) Chance to Stun on Attacks and Counter Attack
-Protect I/II (CON R16/R48) Increase Defense
-Shell I/II (CON R16/R48) Increase Magic Defense
-Sacrifice I/II/III (THM R4/R20/R48) Heal with an additional Heal Over Time
-Absorb DEF (THM R18) Increase your Defense lower Enemy's Defense
-Absorb EVA (THM R18) Increase your Evasion lower Enemy's Evasion
-Drain I/II (THM R26/R48) Transfer HP from and Enemy to yourself

---------- Post added at 01:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ----------

4.4- Healer

4.4.1- First Tier

-Tranquility/Exaltation (CON R1/THU R1) Regens MP
-Cure I/II/III (CON R4/R20/R48) Single Target and AoE Heal
-Stoneskin I/II (CON R6/R42) Absorb a set amount of Damage
-Protect I/II (CON R16/R48) Increase Defense
-Shell I/II (CON R16/R48) Increase Magic Defense
-Paralyna/Poisona/Silena (CON 28) Remove Paralysis, Poison and Silence
-Fastcast (CON 30) Increase Casting Speed by 10%
-Roaming Soul (CON 30) Increase Duration of next Spell Cast
-Raise/Resurrect (CON 38/THU 38) Revive KO'd Target
-Chainspell (CON R40) Reduce Cast Time, Recast Time and Stamina Cost
-Sacrifice I/II/III (THU R4/R20/R48) Heal with an additional Heal Over Time

4.4.2- Second Tier

-Trance Chant (CON R2) Make next cast Uninterruptable
-Soughspeak I/II (CON R14/R50) Reduce Magic Potency and Enmity Generation
-Damnation (THU R10) Deal Damage Gain MP
-Siphon MP I/II (THU R20/R44) Transfer MP from Target to You
-Blood Rite I/II (THU R1/R34) Trade your HP for Spell Potency
-Second Wind I/II (PUG R6/R36) Heal that costs TP

4.5- Damage Dealer – Melee

4.5.1- There are three jobs that specialize in Melee Damage: Pugilist, Marauder and Lancer. I recommend sticking primarily with abilities from the which ever job you wish to make your “main.” I will list abilities that each melee job should consider adding to their native abilities.

4.5.2- First Tier

-Hawk's Eye (ARC R14) Increases Accuracy
-Out of Sight (ARC R30) Reduce Enmity by 10 per Action
-Still Precision (GLD R14) Increase Accuracy and Reduce Evasion
-Cadence (GLD R26) Increase Attack Power of next Attack in Battle Regimen Mode
-Ferocity I/II(LNC R4/R34) Increase Attack Power of next Attack
-Invigorate I/II (LNC R14/R44) Increase TP generation
-Collusion (LNC R30) Transfer Enmity from next Attack to Ally between you are the Target
-Brandish I/II (MRD R4/R32) AoE Melee Attack
-Skull Sunder (MRD) Damaging Attack followed by a Damage over Time effect
-Blindside (PUG R16) Increase Damage of next Attack from Behind

4.5.3- Second Tier

-Circle Slash I/II (GLD R6/R32) Area of Effect Attack
-Feint (LNC R20) Guaranteed attack after Enemy Evades
-Fleet of Foot (LNC R30) Increase Movement Speed by 20% while in Active Mode
-Murderous Intent (MRD R26) Increase Crit Chance Decease TP Regen
-Victimize I/II (PUG R18/R48) Increase Crit Chance for each Enfeeble on the Target
-Absorb ACC (THM R18) Transfer Accuracy from Target to You
-Absorb ATK (THM R 18) Transfer Attack Power from Target to You
-Shock Spikes I/II (CON R8/R42) Chance to Stun on Attacks and Counter Attack

4.6- Damage Dealer – Caster

4.6.1- Like Melee jobs there are two Caster Jobs in FFXIV: Conjurer and Thaumaturge. Conjurer specializes in Elemental Attacks and the Thaumaturge in Astral/Umbral Attacks. As with the Melee Jobs I will list abilities that both should consider alongside their job specific abilities.

4.6.2- First Tier

-Tranquility/Exaltation (CON R1/THU R1) Regens MP
-Fastcast (CON 30) Increase Casting Speed by 10%
-Roaming Soul (CON 30) Increase Duration of next Spell Cast
-Chainspell (CON R40) Reduce Cast Time, Recast Time and Stamina Cost
-Spirit Bind (CON R18) Reduce MP consumption
-Purge I/II (CON R22/R46) Target's Elemental Alignment Neutral
-Manabolt I/II (CON R30/R50) Damaging Attack followed by a Damage over Time effect
-Dark Seal I/II (THM R14/R46) Increase Magical Accuracy for next Cast

4.6.3- Second Tier

-Trance Chant (CON R2) Make next cast Uninterruptable
-Damnation/Radiance (CON R10/THU R10) Deal Damage Gain MP
-Siphon MP I/II (THM R20/R44) Transfer MP from Target to You
-Second Wind I/II (PUG R6/R36) Heal that costs TP

4.7- Damage Dealer – Archer

4.7.1- At this point I am not sure if melee abilities can be used by an Archer. Operating under the assumption that they cannot Archers should stick with native abilities and should consider those below.

4.7.2- First Tier

-Still Precision (GLD R14) Increase Accuracy and Reduce Evasion
-Cadence (GLD R26) Increase Attack Power of next Attack in Battle Regimen Mode
-Ferocity I/II (LNC R4/R34) Increase Attack Power of next Attack
-Invigorate I/II (LNC R14/R44) Increase TP generation
-Collusion (LNC R30) Transfer Enmity from next Attack to Ally between you are the Target
-Blindside (PUG R16) Increase Damage of next Attack from Behind

4.7.3- Second Tier

-Murderous Intent (MRD R26) Increase Crit Chance Decease TP Regen
-Victimize I/II (PUG R18/R48) Increase Crit Chance for each Enfeeble on the Target
-Absorb ACC (THM R18) Transfer Accuracy from Target to You
-Absorb ATK (THM R 18) Transfer Attack Power from Target to You

4.8- Hybrid

4.8.1- Given the many roles a Hybrid can fill it makes it hard to offer recommendations. Instead I will offer a few suggestions as to what to focus on. Pick two or three roles to fill in a party, and look over the above lists for ability recommendations for those roles. Always take into account you will likely not be as powerful as someone who specializes. You can still help a party as a whole accomplish it's goals.

4.9- Solo

4.9.1- Solo play simply has too many options to cover them here. That said, healing abilities should never be overlooked when soloing.

-Cure I/II/III (CON R4/R20/R48) Single Target and AoE Heal
-Second Wind I/II (PUG R6/R36) Heal that costs TP
-Sacrifice I/II/III (THM R4/R20/R48) Heal with an additional Heal Over Time

5- View from Here

5.1- Now that I have had some time to sink my teeth into FFXIV, leveled some Disciplines of War and Magic, got sidetracked by the crafting system and in general enjoyed myself; I want to pass on some of what I have learned about using my own guide to create a solo, melee damage dealer (I haven't gotten into party play yet as it really doesn't start until around level 20). To begin my focus, as I mentioned above, was to create a melee damage dealer and as I worded it to myself I wanted to play a hard hitting melee character that doesn't tank and doesn't heal. I always end up healing or tanking in previous MMOs. For FFXIV I want something else. My base class choices for melee DD are Pugilist, Lancer and Marauder. Pugilist hits often and operates on an evade mechanic, which I suppose wouldn't be very helpful when I get into parties but very nice when I would be soloing. Lancer focuses on accuracy, debuffs, and positioning; whereas Marauder needs to stand still, has low accuracy and has a good deal of AoE abilities. Of the three the Marauder is supposed to have the highest damage potential (these are the rumors, as endgame is untapped we shall see). I chose Marauder for these factors but knew I would have to compensate for it's low accuracy with gear and abilities from other Disciplines.

5.2- I knew I needed a heal ability of some kind to use in a pinch and keep my in the fight. Personally I prefer Cure as it doesn't use my precious TP and my mana pool is used for nothing else. That in mind I acquired a Conjurers staff. Also, I knew both Lancer and Archer had good accuracy abilities to draw from but I wasn't sure it Archer ranged abilities would cross over to Marauder well. I opted for Lancer for that and two abilities, Collusion (which works like Sneak Attack/Trick Attack from FFXI) and Invigorate (Increased TP generation, which equals more murder). Ferocity looked like it could be useful as well. After picking up my lance I set out into the field.

5.3- A few levels go by. My Lancer is at rank 10, Conjurer is at rank 8 and my Marauder is at rank 12. For low levels two things are true: Marauder hits very hard and not very often. I have found Shockspikes (Rank 8 Conjurer ability) to be near vital for solo play as it has a adds a stun property when you attack and damages the foe when they damage you. Marauders are great for taking on groups of lower level opponents. Cure combined with Bloodbath means I rarely see my health in the yellow and can stay away from camp longer. Ferocity is a nice ability but doesn't fit into my rotation as of yet. Also, Moonrise (Lancer Rank 8) can be very useful in stopping nasty TP abilities on monsters from going off. I have yet to tap into the potential of Foresight/Fracture, Collusion or how Marauders work in party situations. As I level more and learn more about the Armory System I will add it here.

6- Conclusion

6.1- Now you have a foundation to build your own classes for FFXIV. The job system allows for great variety and flexibility. I hope this guide was informative and helpful in separating the wheat from the chaff and giving you a direction for your adventures in Eorzea. Please remember these are guidelines and not the only way to utilize the job system in FFXIV.

6.1.1- As new information becomes available I will edit this guide (new abilities, changes in abilities, etc.)
6.1.2- Suggestions, comments and questions are welcome, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think

Very impressive guide. Very well thought out and written. Good job Foray.

Thank you for your kind words. I was a little afraid it was going to be too obscure and 'meta' for people. Glad at least someone gets it. I will say one thing, I have a pretty damn good understanding of the abilities in the game now.

And thank you Dunador, good luck to you as well!

Yeh this im liking Well done Foray

Do we have any values on things like " increases accuracy" yet?

Afraid not. You may notice the guide is missing many hard values, that's simply due to lack of data as of yet. As soon as I start getting numbers I'll add them in. Also, it's uncertain as of yet if, at all, there is a loss of potency when abilities are used by non-native classes. My hunch is only for spells loosing their AoE ability for non-casters.

I am a fan of this guide

Thank you all for your positive comments, gives me warm fuzzys.

Though I was curious if anyone thinks anything can be added, removed, or perhaps spiced up? I know the guide will have to mature as more hard data is acquired but perhaps some images, font changes or excess information removed?

Looking good, it would be nice to link the abilities names to the page in our classes listings:

Second Wind

no no, I meant easy additions that didn't require me re-editing the entire thing! That is a very good idea actually.

Added links to all the abilities. Would it be helpful to link to the different ranks as well? Or is just the first rank sufficient? For example, I could link Cure I/II/III.

Thank you for this guide, it's quite fantastic!

Glad you like it. ^^ I've got a series of minor corrections to make to the guide and a few major modifications/additions in the works.

Thank you Yuko. ^^

I've fleshed out my Table of Contents, hopefully now it offers more insight as to the contents of my guide. Also, I've added a block to text to the end of the guide where I discuss how I've applied my own guide to my leveling experience in FFXIV. I hope it's insightful.

Nice work, guide looks great!