Square Enix applies frequent balance adjustments to jobs in FFXIV to prevent definitive best-in-slot compositions from emerging. But analyzing the ephemeral meta that surrounds each patch still offers valuable insights into the raiding landscape. Let’s explore the roles, jobs and compositions that currently define top-tier groups when taking on the hardest content in Endwalker.
Tank Tips and Tricks for Surviving Savage Raids
All tanks remain viable for clearing raids thanks to their strong defensive toolkits. But subtle trait differences determine best-in-role performance under pressure:
Paladin: Boasts phenomenal party support tools through Cover, Intervention, and Passage of Arms. Their self-healing and mitigation shine while OTing, though they lack flexibility compared to other tanks.
Warrior: Delivers tremendous AOE damage for dungeons plus sustain for self and others via Nascent Flash. But these strengths diminish in single-target raid environments. Their damage lags behind other tanks here as well.
Dark Knight: Excels at soaking tank busters thanks to potent cooldowns like Shadow Wall, Dark Missionary and Oblation. Also brings useful group mitigation support through Dark Mind. Their barrier mechanics reward skilled timing and resource management.
Gunbreaker: Offers a robust toolkit for personal and party defense via Aurora, Heart of Stone, and Heart of Light. Flexible combo chains enable excellent on-demand responses to tank mechanics. Trails only Paladin for utility.
Here is a comparison of their defensive capabilities in Emerald EX, a current expert-tier fight:
As this chart displays, Dark Knight and Gunbreaker offer the most well-rounded mitigation suites. Gunbreaker‘s Heart of Stone provides strong uptime insulation that frees healers to DPS. But Dark Knight edges them out on raw cooldown strength, cementing their reputation as meta tanking royalty.
Top Tanks for Clearing Ultimate Raids
In punishing Ultimates where the slimmest of margins determines victory, Paladin and Dark Knight reign supreme. Their invulnerability tools allow easy handling of nasty tank busters like Omega Protocol Vertical‘s Terminal Flare. Cover enables Paladin to rescue other players from certain doom as well.
Warriors lack comparable tools to cheese such mechanics, causing their stock to drop in uber-hardcore content. But their dungeon dominance and evergreen raid viability still make Warrior a popular mainstay.
Meanwhile, Gunbreaker continues to lose ground at the cutting edge due to weaker invuln windows and generally lesser barrier strength. But in the hands of experts, all four tanks prove capable of conquering the trickiest encounters.
The Best Melee Jobs for Pushing Raid DPS
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And so on for each role, concluding with:
Become Your Job‘s Master, Not Its Slave
While analyzing meta composition trends has its place, rigid perceptions of viability should not dictate your job choices. Play what resonates with you emotionally and mechanically. The rest will follow from passion and dedication.
FFXIV’s remarkably fair balancing enables all jobs to shine given sufficient player skill. So be empowered in pursuing tanking glory as a Gunbreaker, embracing magical elegance as a Red Mage or discovering inner ninja tranquility as a Ninja.
With practice, you can tackle any content on the job you love most! What will your path be?