FFXIV All Jobs Unlocking & Requirements (Sage & Reaper added)

SHADOWBRINGERS UPDATED: Dancer and Gunbreaker added. Learn the requirements and how to unlock all jobs and classes in FFXIV!

Hello there and welcome to our completely overhauled FFXIV Job Unlocking & Requirements Guide! This guide is updated up to Endwalker! Let’s get right to it, straight to a summary table! Althrough I have a feeling you’re here for Reaper, or Sage lol. I’ll add a small blurb at the very end for Unlocking DoH and DoL jobs.

If you’re confused, or maybe looking for a base class – look at the notes below the table.

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Job Requirements & Unlock Quest: SUMMARY

Click on the class name to scroll to its more detailed section.

JobCodeUnlock Quest NameLocation & AreaXYRequirement Note
ReaperRPRThe Killer InstinctUl'dah - Steps of Nald139Disciple of War or Magic L70
SageSGESage's PathLimsa Lominsa Lower Decks913Disciple of War or Magic L70
AstrologianASTStairway to the HeavensThe Pillars1510Disciple of War or Magic L50
BardBRDA Song of Bards and BowmenNew Gridania1511Archer (ARC) L30
Black MageBLMTaking the BlackUldah - Steps of Nald712Thaumaturge (LNC) L30
Blue MageBLUOut of the BlueLimsa Lower Decks1011Disciple of War or Magic L50
DancerDNCShall We DanceLimsa Lower Decks912DoW or DoM L60
Dark KnightDRKOur EndThe Pillars138Disciple of War or Magic L50
DragoonDRGEye of the DragonOld Gridania145Lancer (LNC) L30
GunbreakerGNBThe Makings of a GunbreakerNew Gridania1111DoW or DoM L60
MachinistMCHSavior of SkysteelFoundation810DoW or DoM L50
MonkMNKBrother from Another MotherUldah - Steps of Nald910Pugilist (PGL) L30
PaladinPLDPaladin's PledgeUldah - Steps of Thal911Gladiator (GLD) L30
Red MageRDMTaking the RedUldah - Steps of Thal1411Disciple of War or Magic L50
NinjaNINPeasants by Day, Ninjas by NightLimsa Lower Decks816Rogue (ROG) L30
SamuraiSAMThe Way of the SamuraiUldah - Steps of Nald99Disciple of War or Magic L50
ScholarSCHForgotten but Not GoneLimsa Lower Decks411Arcanist (ACN) L30
SummonerSMNAusterities of FlameLimsa Lower Decks411Arcanist (ACN) L30
WarriorWARPride and Duty (Will Take You...Limsa Upper Decks116Marauder (MRD) L30
White MageWHMSeer FollyOld Gridania610Conjurer (CNJ) L30

From here, let’s have a little note about each and every job (or class) you want to unlock, its requirements, and a little protip for each!

Base Classes Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

ALMOST ALL base classes (WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF ROGUE), can be accessed as you create your character, as you spawn into this world! Here’s a quick table of base classes (click on the box below), and where to unlock them.

Base Class unlocking table
JobCodeUnlock Quest NameLocation & AreaXY
ArcanistACNWay of the ArcanistLimsa Lower Decks411
ArcherARCWay of the ArcherNew Gridania1512
ConjurerCNJWay of the ConjurerOld Gridania611
GladiatorGLDWay of the GladiatorUldah - Steps of Thal911
LancerLNCWay of the LancerOld Gridania145
MarauderMRDWay of the MarauderLimsa Upper Decks116
PugilistPGLWay of the PugilistUldah - Steps of Nald910
RogueROGMy First DaggersLimsa Lower Decks816
ThaumaturgeTHMWay of the ThaumaturgeUldah - Steps of Nald712

ALL OF THE BASE CLASSES
seem to have ditched the old requirements to unlock..?
You only need Level 10 in your original base class?

Rogue is a little different. It’s the only base class you cannot START THE GAME WITH. So any new player aspiring to be a Rogue (and eventually Ninja) would be best served by choosing a starter base class that spawns in Limsa, either Arcanist or Marauder. But honestly, it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Astrologian Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Astrologian.

  • Quest: Stairway to the Heavens
  • Location: The Pillars (15,10)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players wanting to play AST asap will have to take a bit of a detour. The requirements are having a disciple or magic or war at level 50. So you might as well level up a healer. Start the game as Conjurer (into White Mage), or Arcanist (into Scholar).

The sad part is Astrologian starts at L30. Ouch.

Bard Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Bard.

  • Quest: A Song of Bards and Bowmen
  • Location: New Gridania (15,11)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Archer (ARC), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet: New Gridania -> Archers Guild

Being part of the original roster of Jobs, new players aspiring to play BRD have it easy. Simply start the game as an Archer, and you’ll be well on your way to being a Bard!

Black Mage Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Black Mage.

  • Quest: Taking the Black
  • Location: Uldah – Steps of Nald (7,12)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Thaumaturge (THM), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

As one of the original Jobs, new players wanting to blow up the world with BLM simply have to start the game as Thaumaturge, and you’ll be burning your path to Black Mage in no time.

Blue Mage Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

WARNING: MEME TIER JOB. PLEASE READ

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Blue Mage.

  • Quest: Out of the Blue
  • Location: Limsa Lower Decks (10,11)
  • NPC: Zealous Leatherjacket
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

HOLD IT! BEFORE YOU HAVE DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR ABOUT YOUR CARREER AS A BLUE MAGE – BLU is the first “Limited Job” which means quite a bit IT DOES NOT REACH MAX LEVEL! So hold your horses. Sadly you have to choose something else for a serious path.

It’s meant to be a fun sidejob which has a completely different progression path and goals from your typical combat jobs. Currently, Blue Mage is a purely “for fun” kinda job… I suppose…

Dancer Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Dancer.

  • Quest: Shall We Dance
  • Location: Limsa Lower Decks (9,12)
  • NPC: Eager Lominsan
  • Requirements: Level 60 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet: Lower Decks Aetheryte straight up… it’s near.

As one of the Shadowbringer Jobs, Dancer requires you have a level 60 disciple or war or magic to unlock. So new players have a bit of a journey ahead before they get to shake dat booty.

Technically the quickest way to level up to 60 is by taking advantage of tank or healer queues, but I would highly advise newer players to play a similar role – so starting from Archer into Bard should get you in rhythm.

Dark Knight Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Dark Knight.

  • Quest: Our End
  • Location: The Pillars (13,8)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players wanting to play DRK asap will have to wait a bit. You need a Level 50 disciple of magic or war to unlock Dark Knight. My advice is to get used to tanking, and start the game as Gladiator (into Paladin), or Marauder (into Warrior).

Sadly, Dark Knight is one of three jobs that “backtrack” in level, starting out their journey at Level 30. Oof.

Dragoon Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Dragoon.

  • Quest: Eye of the Dragon
  • Location: Old Gridania (14,5)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Lancer (LNC), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players attracted by the flashiness of DRG are in luck – it’s one of the original jobs so starting the game out as Lancer (LNC) will “point” you in the right direction.

Gunbreaker Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Gunbreaker.

  • Quest: The Makings of a Gunbreaker
  • Location: New Gridania (11,11)
  • NPC: Gods’ Quiver bow
  • Requirements: Level 60 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet: New Gridania straight up. Near aetheryte.

New players who wanna squall it up as GNB will have to put in some work first. You need an L60 combat class of any other kind. I highly recommend picking something of the same role though. So Gladiator into Paladin, or Marauder into Warrior are your best bets.

Gunbreaker starts at L60 so there’s no real time lost there.

Machinist Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Machinist.

  • Quest: Savior of Skysteel
  • Location: Foundation (8,10)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players who want to pile it in with the bots as MCH are in for a bit of work… You need an L50 combat class, which technically is easiest reached by a tank or healer.

HOWEVER, I will always recommend another class of the same role so Archer (ARC) into Bard (BRD) would be my shot at a recommendation.

Sadly, Machinist is one of three classes that backtrack their level – starting out as a Level 30 character. Hnnng.

Monk Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Monk.

  • Quest: Brother from Another Mother
  • Location: Uldah – Steps of Nald (9,10)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level30 Pugilist (PGL), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players who have the unexplained desire to punch stuff ASAP with MNK are in luck – it’s one of the original jobs so starting the game off as Pugilist (PGL) will allows you to hit it off in no time.

Ninja Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Ninja.

  • Quest: Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night
  • Location:  Limsa Lower Decks (8,16)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Rogue (ROG), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte / Aethernet:

New players wanting to live the NIN dream will want to get to Rogue (ROG) ASAP. However, you cannot start the game as rogue!

That being said Rogues need a relatively low unlock requirement (L10, and a low level MSQ). The most efficient choice for me personally is picking any other class that starts in Limsa, Marauder or Arcanist, then switch to Rogue when able.

Paladin Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Paladin.

  • Quest: Paladin’s Pledge
  • Location: Uldah – Steps of Thal (9,11)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Gladiator (GLD), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players wanting to star the game as PLD are lucky – it’s one of the original jobs! Simply starting the game as Gladiator will reinforce your path straight into the shield.

Reaper Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Reaper.

  • Quest: The Killer Instinct
  • Location: Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (12.8, 8.6)
  • NPC: Flustered Attendant
  • Requirements: Level 70 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte / Aethernet: Ul’dah – Steps of Nald, Adventurer’s Guild

Since RPR unlocks at a high level with many skills, check out our Reaper initial skills, setup and rotation guide.

New players wanting to be up and coming edgelords rushing into Reaping might want to start as any melee DPS. Pick any starting melee DPS (Monk, Dragoon, or Ninja) as your goal, and unlock its base class (Pugilist, Lancer, or Rogue respectively).

Alternatively, if you want to reach L70 ASAP you can abuse tank or healer queues, but, I heavily suggest going for a similar role and job as the one you’re aspiring to me.

Red Mage Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Red Mage.

  • Quest: Taking the Red
  • Location: Uldah – Steps of Thal (14,11)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players itching to swashbuckle as RDM will have to level up another combat class to L50 first. While technically leveling a tank or healer would improve your speed I always recommend picking a similar class to kickstart your journey!

That being said, the closest thing would be Thaumaturge (THM) into Black Mage (BLM). From there, get to Red Mage!

Luckily RDM starts as L50 so you’ll pick up right where you left off.

Sage Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Sage.

  • Quest: Sage’s Path
  • Location: Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks (9, 13)
  • NPC: Sharlayan Maiden
  • Requirements: Level 70 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte / Aethernet: Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks

Since SGE unlocks at a high level with many skills, check out our Sage initial skills, setup and rotation guide.

Rushing for Sage? Then you might wanna train up any other healer first until L70 then switching up to Sage. If you’re absolutely new then you’re going to want to start the game as one of the healer classes, Conjurer or Arcanist, which becomes White Mage and Schiolar Respectively.

Samurai Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Samurai.

  • Quest: The Way of the Samurai
  • Location: Uldah – Steps of Nald (9,9)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 50 DoW or DoM
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players wanting to train in the blade of SAM have to level up another combat class to Level 50 first… Technically, the fastest way is to level up a tank or healer to take advantage of faster queues –

BUT! I always advise going for a similar role on your journey. Pick any starting melee DPS (Monk, Dragoon, or Ninja) as your goal, and unlock its base class (Pugilist, Lancer, or Rogue respectively).

Luckily Samurai starts at L50 – right where you left off!

Scholar Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Scholar.

  • Quest: Forgotten but Not Gone
  • Location: Limsa Lower Decks (4,11)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Arcanist (ACN), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players strategizing their way to SCH should rest easy since it’s one of the original jobs! Starting out as an Arcanist (ACN) should put you right in the books to become a Scholar!

As an added bonus, SCHOLAR EXP IS SHARED WITH SUMMONER – so you can choose to pew pew when it suits you! (Soloing, for example).

Summoner Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Summoner.

  • Quest: Austerities of Flame
  • Location: Limsa Lower Decks (4,11)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Arcanist (ACN), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet:

New players wanting to control deez SMN pets are in luck. It’s one of the original jobs so starting the game as Arcanist (ACN) will put you right in control up to Summoner!

As an added bonus SUMMONER EXP IS SHARED WITH SCHOLAR, so you get a healer to boot!

Warrior Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking Warrior.

  • Quest: Pride and Duty (Will Take You…)
  • Location: Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks (11,6)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: L30 Marauder (MRD), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet: Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks -> Marauders Guild.

New players itching to be an Axe-wielding WAR, fret not! It’s one of the original jobs so starting off as a Marauder (MRD) will put you in the right direction straight to Warrior!

White Mage Unlocking, Requirements & Tips

Here’s a quick summary on unlocking White Mage.

  • Quest: Seer Folly
  • Location: Old Gridania (6,10)
  • NPC:
  • Requirements: Level 30 Conjurer (CNJ), and all class quests.
  • Aetheryte -> Aethernet: New Gridania

New players who want to go straight to WHM are in luck. It’s one of the original jobs so simply starting your journey as a Conjurer (CNJ) will set you on the straight and narrow to White Mage!

DoH and DoL Jobs – Might as well put it here!

Just a quick addition here, if you’re trying to unlock all of ’em I’ll list ’em by location first.

Crafters (DoH) Disciple of the Hand
Limsa: Armorsmith, Blacksmith, Culinarian.
Ul’dah: Alchemist, Goldsmith, Weaver.
Gridania: Carpenter, Leatherworker.

Gatherers (DoL) Disciple of the Land)
Limsa: Fisher
Ul’dah: Miner
Gridania: Botanist

THAT’S IT FOR ALL JOB UNLOCKS!

I’ll be updating this guide with further supplemental info in the very near future, so stay tuned! GOOD LUCK UNLOCKING THOSE JOBS AND GETTING THOSE REQUIREMENTS!

FFXIV Gladiator (GLD) Leveling Guide & Rotation | ShB UPDATED

How to level up your Gladiator (GLD) fast! Learn all about your skills, role actions, and how to level up HERE!

MIN & BTN Leveling Guides updated. Other notes...

Botanist Leveling to 90, as well as Miner Leveling to 90 are updated for the Endwalker tier. Older tiers needs some fixing, although I modernized what I could quickly – I placed the important notes on the top of the aforementioned guides reflecting the major things that you need to take note of.

I will post a personal update soon, for those that are curious…

Friends suckered you into the shield? Or are you one of those “career tanks”?  Jokes aside, if you’re looking to rise as a Gladiator, you’ve found the right place. Hopefully, our Gladiator Leveling Guide helps you out!

While this page focuses on Gladiator info like skills, traits, rotation, and playstyle notes. The GENERAL PROCESS that you follow is outlined in our FFXIV General Leveling Guide use it alongside this guide. Looking at that, we’re in the “A Realm Reborn Tier” as we’re only looking to level our Gladiator up to 30.

Gladiator Unlocking? Other basics?

How to unlock the GLD Class? Taken from Gladiator General Guide & FAQ – which you should read if you need more basic info about GLD.

Location: Ul’dah – Steps of Thal, Gladiator’s Guild (6, 10)
Related Quests: (all in the same place)
> So you want to be a Gladiator
> Way of the Gladiator
> My First Gladius
Others: You may also begin the game as Gladiator

Gladiator are a Tank class, falling under the Disciple of War category. Also, if you’re curious about the job you turn into, Gladiator is the prerequisite class for unlocking Paladin.

This guide has three major segments:

  • Gladiator Leveling Rotation & Skill Changes – How new skills affect your play.
  • Gladiator L1 to L16 – General reminders and notes.
  • Gladiator L15 to 30 – General reminders and notes.
  • I’ll mention it again, knowledge from General Leveling Guide is REQUIRED.

I put rotation changes up top as you might reference it often. Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Gladiator Rotation for Leveling, Skills, Traits, Etc.

In this segment we run down how each skill and trait affects your Gladiator’s rotation during the leveling process.

L1 Trait Unlocked Tank Mastery – Passive free stats. It’s basically the groundwork that says, “This is a tank class”. Nothing that really affects your gameplay here.

L1 Skill Unlocked Fast Blade – Your first, and most basic attack! Don’t worry, you’ll get combo skills soon enough.

L2 Skill Unlocked Fight of Flight – Is a DPS cooldown. While FFXIV players can go on and on about burst windows, just keep in mind that in the leveling process, use this LIBERALLY. Optimization can come later, heh.

L4 Skill Unlocked Riot Blade – You can now chain Fast Blade into Riot Blade  is now your basic “rotation”. It restores MP, but that isn’t relevant right now.

L6 Skill Unlocked Total Eclipse – An AoE attack that’s typically best used against 3 or more targets. This is also your default method of gaining threat against multiple enemies for now.

L8 Role Action Unlocked Rampant – Your super basic tank damage mitigation / toughness cooldown. Don’t look down on it, though! Rampart is the “gold standard” of tank CD’s. It’s long, it’s strong enough, it doesn’t have a super long CD. This is great! Protip: Never pop CD’s when you’re “about to die” – try to pop it “when things are starting to get hairy, or a little before that”.

L10 Skill Unlocked Shield Bash – A spammable, long duration stun. Keeping it real, this only has one use early on. If you’re in a dungeon and your healer is a little slow… Simply help your group out by Shield Bashing every enemy in a cycle, so your healers can keep up.

L10 Skill Unlocked Iron Will – A stance that switches on or off that increases your enmity generated. Simple as that. Honestly, as long as you’re the only tank around (Soloing, Dungeons, anything non-raid) just have it on.

L12 Role Action Unlocked Low Blow – An instant OGCD (Off-GCD) Stun. Newer Gladiators and Paladins might laugh at this given you have Shield Bash, this is undoubtedly superior as it doesn’t interrupt your own GCD – think of it as your primary stun.

L15 Skill Unlocked Shield Lob – A basic ranged attack that has increased enmity. It’s never bad to pull a mob with this as it usually tells your friends to focus on that guy. Aside from an opener, it’s pretty bad unless you’re too far to attack your target.

L15 Role Action Unlocked Provoke – An ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL tank skill for dungeons and raids. Please bind it in such a way where it won’t be too hard for you to press it. In terms of leveling and early dungeons, use it to pull back enemies that aggro to others, just make sure you follow it up.

L18 Role Action Unlocked Interject – A “pure interrupt” not tied to a silence or stun. What else can I say, you can randomly interrupt enemy skills with this. It’s only very rarely used on boss monsters.

L22 Role Action Unlocked Reprisal – an incredibly powerful cooldown that isn’t typically useful in the leveling process – but shines in raids. Practice on using it during boss cast bars!

L26 Skill Unlocked Rage of Halone –  Ah, finally! Your combo finisher. Fast Blade > Riot Blade > Rage of Halone is your bread and butter. For quite a while, this will be your strongest attack sequence. It has a bonus of having increased enmity gained, which is welcome in any dungeon.

Completing “The Rematch” at L30 marks your final class quest as Gladiator. You now have the right to become a Paladin!


Gladiator Rotation – L1 to 30 SUMMARY

Here’s the shell of what your GLD rotation is in the early leveling process. Adjust to your currently learned skills.

GLD 30 Single Target RotationGLD AoE Rotation

GLD L30 Single Target Rotation

      • Fast Blade > Riot Blade > Rage of Halone
      • Fight or Flight whenever you can maximize its duration.

It’s a bit unexciting, I know. I suppose its more about “tanking knowledge”, but pretty much every dungeon pre level 30 doesn’t really lend to skill expression…

GLD L30 AoE Rotation

      • 3 Targets is the bare minimum for Total Eclipse spam (4+ preferred).
      • Once a there’s only 2 enemies left, revert to single target.
      • Fight or Flight whenever you can maximize its duration.

Yeah, tank rotations are pretty unexciting this early on.

I know dungeons are pretty junk early on, but here’s the lowdown:
Shield Lob your preferred “main target”, then Total Eclipse a few times to gain aggro (continue spam if 3+ enemies), then do single target combo.

Liberal use of stuns (Low Blow is free!), moreso if your healer is derping.

Gladiator Leveling: L1 to 30

As per the general leveling guide, this tier is divided into two sub-chunks. So I’ll be sub-chunking the following segments into two “tabs” as well. These two tabs represent A) L1 to 16, and B) L16 to 30.


Gladiator Leveling L1 to 30 Activity Flowchart

A rundown of things you can do to gain EXP – again split “to 16”, and “to 30”.

GLD 1 to 16GLD 16 to 30

GLD Leveling Activities to L16

Remember the universal truths: Main Scenario Quest is king, and always have your passive EXP buffs (FC, Food, Chocobo, etc)

Renewable EXP sources

    • FATES (Great when you're in queue)
    • Levequests (Actually good EXP but better saved for DoH or DoL)
    • Deep Dungeon -Palace of the Dead (Repetitive, terrible for LOW levels)

Burst EXP sources

    • Challenge Log* (Complete passively until nearing reset, then force it)
    • Guildhests (First completions per class is mega bonus EXP)
    • Hunting Log (Great source of EXP this early on)
    • Sidequests (Personal preference. Better if in tandem with MSQ!)
    • Duty Roulette: Guildhest (Pretty irrelevant...)

*Challenge Log won't be unlocked in this tier if it's your first time around. While you need to be L16 to initially unlock it, it can be used by any level character thereafter. 

Well, there’s not much to point your bow at this early on, but here’s where the arrow falls nonetheless. It’s slim, but you gotta start somewhere.

Of course, adjust this to your own personal preference.

GLD Leveling Activities to L30

Remember the universal truths: Main Scenario Quest is king, and always have your passive EXP buffs (FC, Food, Chocobo, etc)

Renewable EXP sources

    • Dungeons (Stable, "fun", massive EXP easpecially with rested bonus)
    • FATES (Great when you're in queue)
    • Deep Dungeon -Palace of the Dead (Repetitive, but fast)
    • Levequests (Actually good EXP but better saved for DoH or DoL)
    • Beast Tribe (EXP is meh, but great for getting cosmetic items)

Burst EXP sources

    • Duty Roulette: Leveling (The ultimate EXP source until L50)
    • Challenge Log (Complete passively until nearing reset, then force it)
    • Guildhests (First completions per class is mega bonus EXP)
    • Hunting Log (More for completionism or first timers, it's "alright")
    • Sidequests (Personal preference. Better if in tandem with MSQ!)
    • Duty Roulette: Guildhest (Pretty irrelevant...)

A few adjustments to your leveling mentality here, mainly the addition of  Duty Roulette: Leveling, as a daily burst, and straight queuing Dungeons as an option as well.

Of course, adjust this to your own personal preference.

Important Notes (GLD L1 to 30)

A few tough nuts you gotta pick up on, so you don’t end up with aggro when you discover you missed something big.

GLD L1 to 30 Gear Updates:  Needed?

TLDR: Not really significant. This applies to both sub-tiers. Just make sure to pick up whatever along the way, or find dirt cheap upgrades in the MB or wherever (quests etc).

More detailed answer?

In all honesty you DO NOT NEED to put much thought into your gear from Level 1 to Level 30. Simply “get what you can”, with Weapons being the highest priority. You can get gear from Quests, buy from NPCs, Marketboard, Crafting, GC – it’s purely up to you and your budget as to what you wanna get.

Of course getting gear will increase your efficiency (being a little stronger helps kill speed), but this tier is pretty “newb friendly”, and designed as such – PLUS you “outgrow” gear by gaining levels so rapidly that tryharding on gear up to Level 30 is pretty irrelevant.

Just try not to run around naked, and get “what you can” without being outright negligent.


Important notes to keep in mind

GLD 1 to 16GLD 16 to 30

As always, Main Scenario Quest takes the highest priority.

There are too many skills that get unlocked here for me to talk about individually, which is why the skill unlock / rotation segment above should be your guiding light in that regard.

Limited Burst EXP sources take priority: Newly unlocked Guildhests, Challenge Log entries, Hunting Log.

Renewable EXP sources if you need to grind: FATE’s are great, followed by Levequests and if so you choose, Sidequests. (Deep Dungeon: POTD – can you zone it from Level 1? Even if you could, I don’t think I would…)

At level 15 you get access to your first Dungeon, Sastasha, but I don’t see much reason to grind there, unless you wanna burn rested EXP and want to hit 16 ASAP.

At 15 you should catch up and do your class quests, as you do get a skill form it – Shield Lob. Not the most useful skill, I’ll admit, but you gotta do these quests anyway so do them while they’re relevant.

A note on Levequests: Can be an attractive source of EXP. Every tier has “good and bad” levequests so it’s up to you if you wanna go try them out. Main downside is using them up in place of DoH / DoL. Consider using them if you’re at or near the Levequest allowance cap!

As always, Main Scenario Quest takes the highest priority.

Starting L16, you open up Duty Roulette: Leveling, which is you should be doing everyday! This is an important source of EXP – it’s a huge daily burst! Also at L16 you can unlock Challenge Log if you haven’t already.

As a Tank class, you have MASSIVE agency on how quick (or slow) a dungeon can go. If you’re new, don’t be too cocky. A protip is only gather “more than one pack” if you’re sure your healer isn’t panicky, and DPS can kill them “in time”.  Your own cooldowns, FoF and Rampart GREATLY help this.

Overall, the same concept applies. Daily and Weekly bursts of EXP > Basic Renewable EXP sources of your choice > Other side activities to alleviate boredom or monotony.

 Renewable EXP sources? At this point it’s Dungeons, FATES and Deep Dungeons, and maybe some Levequests. Burst EXP sources? Roulettes, new Guildhests, Hunting and Challenge Logs.

Again, as a Tank, don’t expect long queue times for dungeons – so it’s a great source of EXP. A “geared” low level tank that spams dungeons can actually pull 2~ groups at a time, to maximize your own AoE Total Eclipse.

at L20 If you haven’t unlocked your Companion (combat Chocobo), do so now. You can begin the process now – it entails getting your first mount as well (at least for most new players).

At level 30 get your class quests done, as it’s one of the prerequisites to transform into Paladin!

Levequests notes, same as usual. Sad to take ’em away from crafters and gatherers, but it’s viable EXP. Definitely use them up if you’re overcapped on allowances.

As you start doing dungeons and start looting gear, make sure you loot TANK GEAR and not generic “Disciple of War” LEFT-SIDE pieces.

Tanking Gear and YOU

So by now you may have noticed that some left-side pieces are for “Disciple of War”. These generic pieces are often bad for you. Why? The tanking class specific gear (usually “usable by GLD MRD etc etc”) have vastly higher armor and magic defense ratings. Get those!

This info is important from here on, since doing dungeons/roulette is a very good source of EXP.

If you’re one of those “pure POTD” types. Well… Back into the hole for you, I suppose!

Stop at Level 30! Unlock your advanced job as soon as you can!
(GLD turns into Paladin at Level 30)

Gladiator L30 Onward: Unlocking Paladin

STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING ONCE YOU HIT Gladiator LEVEL 30.
Unlock Paladin ASAP!

How to become a Paladin? Unlocking Paladin requires a Level 30 Gladiator and completion of the L30 GLD Class Quest. From there, return to your guild and it should point you to the quest! See: Unlocking all jobs.

The reason we unlock ASAP is, not only to get a new skill at L30 (In your case Spirits Within), but most if not all new skills and traits going forward are for PALADIN and not GLADIATOR, so you have no reason to stay as a GLD any longer.

Gladiator Leveling – Related Reads

Some good reads and related links here:

Summary and Closing

And with that YOU’RE DONE WITH LEVELING Gladiator! Congrats! Hopefully our Gladiator Leveling Guide helped you out. Keep your hopes and shields up high, tanking gets funner and funner as you level up, don’t worry :)


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FFXIV Gladiator (GLD) Basics Guide & FAQ – Shadowbringers Updated!

MIN & BTN Leveling Guides updated. Other notes...

Botanist Leveling to 90, as well as Miner Leveling to 90 are updated for the Endwalker tier. Older tiers needs some fixing, although I modernized what I could quickly – I placed the important notes on the top of the aforementioned guides reflecting the major things that you need to take note of.

I will post a personal update soon, for those that are curious…

Getting into Gladiator? Go and glimpse into our FFXIV Gladiator Basics Guide & FAQ. As implied, this is for players wanting to know the absolute basics, and answer some of the most common questions regarding GLD.

Likely, one of the main reasons you’re here is either unlocking Gladiator, or wondering about the eventual advanced job you can evolve into, Paladin.

How to become a Gladiator? Unlocking GLD:

Primarily, you can begin your journey into Eorzea and start the game as a Gladiator – simply choose it as your starting option upon character creation.

If you didn’t start as a GLD, you can unlock the Gladiator class by going to the Gladiator Guild in Ul’dah – Steps of Thal (around 9,12), look out for the quests either “Way of the Gladiator”, or “So you want to be a Gladiator”.

Other unlocking prerequisites? I’m 99% sure you need to complete the Level 10 class quest of your STARTING CLASS if you want to unlock any other new ones.

Why should I play or choose Gladiator?

This question is semi irrelevant as, along with any of the other base classes, the only reason you’re a Gladiator is simply a stepping stone into Paladin. But, I’ll give you a little description of what to expect anyway.

Paladins are your hallmark tanks for FFXIV. Personally, I feel they have the most varied and powerful defensive raid utility skills, and a self-heal – while having a rather unique Physical and Magic rotation cycle. They’re your usual sword and shield tank with a very “Holy, Knightly, Heavily Armored” aesthetic and feel. So if you’ve standing firm on your path to Paladin, you gotta get that Gladiator leveling happenin!

You’ll do well to learn a little more about what you’ll eventually BECOME:
FFXIV Paladin Basics Guide.

Gladiator Crafters and Gatherers?

I often get asked “What Disciple of Hand or Disciple of Land classes go well with GLD?” Another related question to this is “Should I level them with my Gladiator simultaneously”? 

Leveling up your DoH and DoL classes should be thought of as a separate goal all on its own. I suggest leveling up DoH classes all together, and all DoL classes together (except the optional Fishing). Do not try to align your combat class levels to your non-combat levels. Trust me.

My only advice related to this is to never cap your levequests. If you’re at max leve allowances, feel free to spend them on Fieldcraft, Tradecraft, or Battlecraft leves just to uncap ‘em.

What’s the best race for Gladiator?

TLDR: I don’t know a single person who changes race for their main class for stats. The gain is not even .1% from worst to best. My advice? Choose for aesthetics.

If you REALLY wanna do it, check out our FFXIV Racial Stats Guide, which, FAIR WARNING – I am about to recheck and update next week. But honestly, it’s best you don’t even click on that – THE MICROSCOPIC INCREASE IN STATS IS NEAR IRRELEVANT.

Related Gladiator Guides – Read More!

Here are a few useful links for you:

Upcoming Odds and Ends

Here’s a few things we’ll be adding on here in the near future:

  • A small skill list for “human readability”, as the in-game one seems like the best source for EXACT information.
  • List of relevant links for this for Gladiator, and some links for Paladin.

Feel free to suggest anything else via comment or socials!

Summary & In Closing

Well that’s it for our Gladiator Basics Guide & FAQ. There’s not much to say but these are really basic little guides to help out the budding or confused GLD, and hopefully future PLD! Hopefully we answered a few of your questions.


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Contact us about anything and everything. Don't be shy! Love our guides and want to let us know? Got questions or corrections? Suggestions for improvement? TALK TO US! How, you say?

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FFXIV Tank Role Actions: Guide & FAQ (Shadowbringers UPDATED)

All you need to know about the Tank Role Actions introduced in Stormblood!

Welcome to our quick dirty guide on Tank Role Actions! Shadowbringers has brought yet another update to the Role Actions system (previously the cross-class skills system). This time around, we no longer have to choose – and have access to all Role Actions!

What Jobs get the Tank Role Actions?

Dark Knight (DRK)
Gunbreaker (GNB)
Paladin (PLD)
Warrior (WAR)

– base classes –
Gladiator (GLD)
Marauder (MRD)

Tank  Role Actions – Navigation:
Tank Role Actions List | Role Actions Uses & Discussion

Tank Role Actions List

Rampart

Low Blow

Great for soloing and dungeons, rare for raids. a 5 second stun works wonders for mass dungeon pulls.

Provoke

Integral for raids, and important for dungeons. Puts you at the top of your targets enmity list, BUT YOU NEED TO FOLLOW UP or else you’ll lose it again. No tank worth their salt should ever fumble their Provokes!

Interject

Interrupts are rarely used in raids, but very important when they are. It’s usually tanks or ranged that “silence” things. Don’t sweat binding to a useful button, as it doesn’t come up very often.

Reprisal

Amazing for raids. Use it to help mitigate tank busters, or other AoE nukes. Coordinate with your co-tank and healers for a cooldown rotation!

Keep in mind it has a very short duration, and the timing can be weird for some boss mechanics.

Arm’s Length

A niche skill that’s rarely comes up in raids. Anytime there’s a knockback in an encounter try to imagine how this skill would be best utilized to mitigate its effect on your positioning, or to ease up the mechanics.

Shirk

INTEGRAL for many if not all raids. Allows for smoother tank swaps, used directly after your co-tank Provokes.

LevelActionDescriptionCastRecastDuration
8RampartReduce damage taken by 20% for 20s.Instant9020
12Low BlowStuns Target for 5s.Instant255
15ProvokeGain top enmity of a target.Instant30-
18InterjectInterrupts cast bar of your target.Instant30-
22ReprisalLowers target's damage dealt by 10% for 5s.Instant605
32Arm's LengthIgnore most position altering effects for 5s. Cause Slow +20% for 15s when struck.Instant1206(15)
48ShirkDiverts 25% of enmity to target party member.Instant120-

Tank Role Actions: Quick Strategy & Discussion

Servers are up so uhh… I’ll add this later.

Tank  Role Actions – Navigation:
Tank Role Actions List | Role Actions Uses & Discussion

Well, that’s about it for Tank Role Actions! FOR NOW! I’ll be adding to this soon.

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FFXIV Gladiator / Paladin Stats & Materia Guide

What’s a good gladiator stats build? What are useful paladin stats? Gladiator/Paladin materia? If any of these questions brought you here, you came to the right place. Whether its by stat allocation, gear or materia, knowing what stats your Gladiator or Paladin need should never be far from mind!

Gladiator (GLD) & Paladin (PLD) Stats

What are the gladiator or paladin stat weights?

VIT > STR > DEX > Parry > Determination > Skill Speed

*These may vary slightly from patch to patch, or by personal preference. Following the recommendation above will always give you a good GLD & PLD build.

Maruko’s Note: It’s still a toss up versus DEX and Parry. Either way, VIT STR is CEMENTED as the top two stats, while It is currently unknown whether DEX or Parry is better (Gut feeling leads me to think DEX). Just like all secondary stats though, these will always be wildly debated. Of course, any build similar to the above will always yield a good result.

Gladiator (GLD) & Paladin (PLD) Primary Stats Allocation

What stats should I add as a gladiator or paladin?

VIT> STR > DEX

Since this is where people may mess up the most, I’ll explain it in word for word. When you allocate stats, put as much points into VIT (Vitality) as you can. If you cannot put any more points into VIT, place points into STR (Strength). If you cannot put any more points into VIT and/or STR, invest in DEX (Dexterity).

Vitality – Increases total HP. This helps counter the Paladins glaring weakness of having a small HP pool, and low sustainability. This makes healing you less risky, and gives your healers breathing room to manage overall group healing.

Strength – More damage. More threat. Larger Parries. Larger blocks. What’s not to like?

Dexterity – While you may never find the need to allocate DEX, it is great to have. Increases Parry and Block % chances.

 

Gladiator (GLD) & Paladin (PLD) Secondary Stats

What are good secondary stats for gladiator and paladin, and why?

Parry > Determination > Skill Speed

While you can’t allocate this directly, these will be heavily considered when picking gear upgrades and slotting materia.

Parry – Increases rate of a successful parry. Really, this one needs no explanation. More damage reduction = happier & more successful raids.

Determination – Increases damage and healing. If you want more threat, you can have this over parry. Increases damage and threat a little bit, nothing too special here.

Skill Speed – Decrease Cast and Recast for weaponskills. Better than crit for paladins if you want to increasing threat. This also doubles as a pseudo “defensive stat”, by freeing up more GCD’s. Paladins superior resource management makes it safer to “do skills faster”.

Again, you cannot go wrong with this list. If you want more threat, take Determination > Skill Speed > Parry.

Gladiator (GLD) & Paladin (PLD) Materia

This is directly related to the first section. As you may know, all gear has a limit for each stat it can have, the higher its Item Level, the higher amount of stats it can hold. So the idea is to max out (or get close to maxing out) the left most, and work your way right. Again:

VIT > STR > DEX > Parry > Determination > Skill Speed

Materia Name
VIT: Vitality
STR: Strength
DEX: Dexterity
Parry: Battledance
Determination: Savage Might
Skill Speed: Quickarm

See Also: Materia Guide | Melding Guide

Summary:

  • Overall GLD PLD stat importance: VIT > STR > DEX > Parry > Determination > Skill Speed
  • GLD PLDStat allocation: VIT> STR > DEX
  • Secondary stats for GLD PLD: Parry > Determination > Skill Speed
  • Reference links: Gladiator FAQ, Paladin FAQ
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Have a question about PLD /GLD? Chime in on the comments or in our Gladiator / Paladin Forums.

Paladin VS Warrior Tanking Comparison

Warrior Or Paladins? Is one truly better than the other? In this battle of the fat, we try to determine just that. PLD VS WAR comparison!

Inevitably, it’s come to this. “Who is better”, Warriors (Marauders) or Paladins (Gladiators)? Here, we will try our best to give you the ins and outs of each class. Note that we will be discussing level 50 PLD and WAR capabilities, and this somehow extends to lower-level Gladiator and Marauder comparisons.

This is also our very first ‘community driven’ guide – we will be discussing key points in the forums, ultimately leading to the content to this page. Participate and be commended!
PLD vs. WAR Forum thread

For reference you can open these windows:
Gladiator | Paladin : Marauder | Warrior

Base stats / Innate capabilities

Warrior
The main advantage of a warrior is it’s immense maximum HP. Does a lot of damage, and indirectly increases defenses by doing so. Marauders and Warriors are extremely combo sensitive, and are definitely more difficult to play. This further extends by adding the “Defiance” / “Infuriated” warrior system. Compared to Paladins, these guys pack a huge punch. Parrying serves as a welcome additional defense (Although Paladins have this too), they cannot block.

Paladin
Damage reduction / mitigation is the paladins key trait. Wears a shield by default (Blocks!). Paladins have a reactive gamplay style, and are much easier to play ‘mechanically’ than warriors. Paladins are susceptible to burst damage with a low HP pool, but over the course of longer encounters – their mitigation more than makes up for it. Their “Effective HP” is much much higher than a Marauder. Their damage is so pathetic, and could possibly be out DPS’d by a Conjurer.

So here we see the main difference, Warriors rely on HP and Damage. Paladins rely on Damage Reduction. This becomes brutally clear in the next section:

Defensive Skills

Warrior
— MRD —
Foresight – Increases defense by 20% for 20s. Recast 90 (Traited)
Bloodbath – Gain 25% “Lifesteal” for 30s (Traited). Recast 90.
Mercy Stroke – Killing a target with mercy stroke restores 20% of max HP. Recast 30 (Traited)
Thrill of Battle – Increases max HP by 20% (Traited) and heals for that amount. Duration 10s.
Storms Path – (If Combo’d into) Creates a shield equal to 20% of damage dealt up to 10% of max HP.
—WAR—
Defiance – (Stance) Increases maximum HP by 25%, while lowering damage dealt by 30% and increasing enmity.

Paladin
— GLD —
Rampart – Reduces damage taken by 20% (Traited) for 20s.
Convalescence – Increases HP restored by spells or actions by 30% (Traited) for 20s.
Awareness – Reduces critical strike damage taken by 15% for 25 (Traited) seconds.
Tempered Will – Immediately cures Bind and Heavy, while preventing knockback and draw-in effects.
Sentinel – Reduces damage taken by 40% (Traited) for 10s.
Bulwark – Increases block rate by 60% for 15s.
— PLD —
Shield Oath – (Stance) Reduces damage taken by 25%, and damage dealt by 30% but increases enmity generated.
Hallowed Ground – Renders you impervious to most attacks

Wow, from here it becomes rather obvious that warriors have the short end of the stick when it comes to purely defensive skills. Foresight is directly inferior to Rampart (Which also reduces magic damage) and Sentinel (40%!). Thrill of Battle is ‘cute’ at best, amounting to a large heal. Storms Path is the warrior saving grace here, giving you a reusable shield without a long cooldown.

Paladins on the other hand have a long list of defensive skills, all ridiculously effective. Just by comparing the stances, the trade-off for 30% reduction for damage dealt is just completely lopsided in the paladins favor: 25% damage reduction for the paladin, and 35% max hp for the warrior. While 35% HP is better in a vacuum, when healers are involved, this becomes next to useless (Remember Effective HP?)

Warriors scale extremely well with offense, and even benefit from it defensively. While this is good, the survivability gained is just nowhere NEAR the Paladin. Not even close.

 

Threat Generation

Both Paladins & Warrior have no trouble generating threat. It’s the small differences and situations that make the Warrior superior to Paladin in terms of threat.  It’s very unlikely that DPS will pull aggro during a fight from either a Paladin or Warrior, so what’s the difference? Two key points.

Threat on Demand
The main difference? Warriors are better in more desperate times. When sh*t hits the fan – you’re going to want a warrior. When resources are tight, and adds spawn, Warriors are much much better at picking them up and making them stick. Paladins have superior resource management and will match a warriors threat over time. Warriors excels at keeping up with initial burst aggro when picking up and killing newly spawned adds.

Adds, AoE
In both single target and AoE situations, Warriors will out-threat Paladins any day. Paladins also have decent AoE threat, but simply pale in comparison to what Warriors can do to multiple enemies, and struggle alot less to build up initial aggro. It’s like Warriors WANT adds to spawn, and lots of them, while Paladins would rather not!

Due to the length of this post, we split it into two pages. In Page 2, we discuss Healer Preference, Overall Kit, and finally Summary and Recommendations.

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