How do the Mage Jobs compare to Each Other?! FFXIV Dawntrail

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Let’s compare the Four non-limited Mage DPS of FFXIV; whos good at what? Whos bad at what?

Black Mage starter Guide: https://youtu.be/ziedf_5gAmY
Black Mage High Level Guide: https://youtu.be/VZUzyEPSBJk
Summoner Guide: https://youtu.be/yLiQKWOJZ00
Red Mage Guide: https://youtu.be/xnwU2edSelg
Pictomancer Starter Guide: https://youtu.be/3VGd14ZTfAs
Pictomancer High Level Guide: https://youtu.be/i__XwArNRro

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Music Used:
FFXIV Dawntrail – Starless Skyline

#ffxiv #dawntrail

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Black Mage
05:15 Summoner
09:00 Red Mage
13:20 Pictomancer
17:57 Final Summary
19:41 Fun Fact

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33 thoughts on “How do the Mage Jobs compare to Each Other?! FFXIV Dawntrail”

  2. My favorite Mage has often been Black Mage, but its intensity often causes me to lean towards other mages instead! Especially due to how specific it is about spell speed (and more importantly opposing to other mages on the subject!)
    Which mage is your favorite?!

    Also, yes I am aware I left out the Leylines and Despair changes that came out two days ago! I don't think it changes the rankings much though!

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  6. I have a level 99 BLM and a level 91 SMN, so I will focus on those as I haven't played the others nearly enough to have an opinion that goes beyond "Yeah, it's a job I want to level someday". There is actually a reason for those levels. I didn't level them further to have jobs that can benefit from the Pelupelu Allied Society quests.

    First of all, I wouldn't take either of them into high difficulty content. I'm not used to these jobs to the point that I wouldn't hold the party back.

    Secondly, not sure which one I consider my favorite. Mages are alright, but neither of the two made me want to be a mage main. I can play them well enough for casual content and that's it. I guess my favorite is wipe mage. Oh, wait, we're not in the healer video yet.

    Then there's also the gearing problem. Is it even problem? Idk. Do other mages hate speed? Because a speedy BLM is easier imo and might be what I'd choose.

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  8. A fun fact from me: the german localization uses the classic suffixes for the various spell tiers instead of numbers, meaning -ra and -ga. However, unlike english titles, the fourth tier of spells uses -ka instead of -ja, whihc i think is a bit dumb since it's so close to the previous tier.

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  9. Looking at BLM, 7.1 changed a few things about it but it is mostly the same as usual except Despair being instant cast freeing up swiftcast for fire IV/flare star and a second charge of ley lines being there (i still am trying to figure out optimal placement of the second charge other than just whenever you have the chance)

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  15. "Non-Standard" and "Freeform" Black Mage mentioned! I quit the job due to the Dawntrail changes, believing such words would never be associated with the job ever again. We have our freedom back? Time to return to the job, if so…

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  16. In terms of classes and how good they are at staying alive after all healers die, PCT and BLM feel the weakest. Sure they have addle and barriers but PCTs barrier can only have a CD as low as a minute and both can be as long as 2 minutes. RDM and SMN can bring back dead healers and have healing skills (physick is quite weak but SMN has some stronger options). Tanks hardly need explaining. All physical jobs have second wind and the melees can use bloodbath and then burst to get hp. BRD has a skill to boost healing for second wind plus its own version of esuna and DNC has a heal skill they can share with their dance partner. Its a unique weakness but their high damage numbers make up for it I think.

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  21. So RDM is my main and that wont change. But its hard to deny that Picto brings alot more damage to the table. I think something more interesting to talk about though is the choice between RDM and BLK. At the start of DT RDM was clearing doing better then BLK was until we got our balance changes to adjust BLK damage back above RDM again. But as it stand right now i think between the 2 of them its more preference then "what is clearly better".
    For SMN there isnt alot to say. Though i do find it interesting a common observation people make for SMN is that SMN players are either really really bad, often not knowing what is going on in a fight, of are carrying the fight completely on their own back. Thats just a very interesting dichotomy to me for a class that is widely considered, easy to play.

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  22. Black Mage is still just, unfun to play. Personally I would of given the Defenepse one star, if even that. Manaward is pretty useless. It's a 30% of your HP shield, not a mit. Radiant Shield for SMN is also in there.

    SMN is forgotten.

    PCT is fun.

    RDM is REAL fun, but is the red headed step child of the magic ranged dps (pun intended). Range tax, utility tax, is just nonsense. I'm glad they buffed the magic end of the melee combo, but the toolkit needs more.

    ALL magic dps need an auto damage filler not a dot. Melee and Physical Range have auto attacks, magic range has nothing

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  23. Red Mage is my comfort class. It's like drinking a mug of hot chocolate on a winter's day while watching the snow fall under the warm glow of a street lamp post. (I'll stop now…) When I want a job that's not too complicated, fun to play, and feels effective, it's my go to. Sometimes I get lost into the rhythm of black to white to black to white waiting to get to my melee burst…and forget to pay attention to boss mechanics…and die… But, that's okay, because I had fun doing it! Having the heal is very nice to open world content, and the raise during group content gives me an extra purpose if the party goes down. I main healer classes, so this fills that niche for me when I want to play DPS.

    Black Mage is also a lot of fun. I was scared to do it for a long time, but I've now reached 90 with it and it was a literal BLAST! While I don't find the rotations too difficult to manage, I get frustrated when boss mechanics force you to run constantly to the point where I can't get a skill out. I enjoy the class a lot, but I'm not always in the mindset to play it due to those frustrations.

    Summoner is the class I leveled along with Scholar and only really tapped into to complete it's class quests. It's moderately fun, but I think the Aethergage mechanic needs an overhaul. Jumping between the summons feels fluid, but I always forget about aether skills and it's just not really interesting to me. Perhaps with more practice I'd have a change of mind. I rarely have a desire to play this class.

    Pictomancer is the newest one and I haven't played it much yet. I was SUPER excited to play it, but I struggled immediately to find it's groove. The long cast times to get your portraits during a battle is annoying. Granted, I'm sure if I dedicated more time to it I'd probably love this class. I'm just still focused on finishing EW so I can start DT, so I haven't focused time to level this class.

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  25. Pictomancer go brrrrr. Cant remember the last time I had anything less than second enmity on them.

    Oh wait maybe all those times I smudged myself off the arena… Well other than those! 😅

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  26. I'm so excited to try out PCT; jobs with an artistic motif always scratch an itch for me, and before this it was just BRD/DNC. Of the other three mages, I find I end up feeling most comfortable with RDM. I actually don't like the job much in other games because I'd rather just have a dedicated white mage/black mage, but in the conext of playing DPS, having reliable healing alone makes it the standout for me easily (same reason I love PLD). Ironically, I am actually not too fond of them aesthetically lol

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  28. PCT has been a very fun addition to the roster for me, especially since I'm not feeling SMN or BLM right now, although the 7.1 changes help BLM to not feel horrible anymore, I'm still not a fan of a lot of the DT changes. RDM is very fun but I will kill myself with a backflip way more often than I care to admit.

    The role is in a weird spot though, BLM I feel needs to have the highest damage ceiling full stop to justify how restrictive and difficult it is with no team support options, it doesn't do enough to compete with PCT practically IMO, and SMN needs a total overhaul, it feels like a stretch to even call it a caster job at this point. Like SAM is more of a caster than SMN now.

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