Final Fantasy XIV might be a multiplayer game, but not all of us are social butterflies. I mean, sure, it’s one thing to see other players questing in the open world, but do you have to talk with them? Maybe even play with them? Is there a class you can pick in FF14 that minimizes how much you have to interact with others?
There’s good news for those of us who like to run solo: You don’t need to worry about picking certain classes over others if you plan to play alone. All classes will offer a great experience whether you play solo or with others. While dungeons and boss battles are designed for groups of players, the game will automatically match you up with others via the Duty Finder system. FF14 also lets you use NPC companions in almost all its leveling dungeons. These NPCs can cover defense, offense, and healing. In other words, you don’t have to worry about picking a class that can tough it out on its own; every class and job is solo-viable throughout the entire main story quest.
For reference, I’m a mostly solo player and play the Astrologian Job. This Job primarily buffs and heals other players. I’ve never felt held back by my choice of class, even though it might seem like a class meant to support other players. In other words, new players should pick whichever class they find most appealing, regardless of whether they’ll play solo or with friends.
FF14 also offers some optional challenges for solo players to chase. In these specific instances, some classes and jobs will give you an edge over others. If that sounds interesting to you, then consider playing some of the classes and Jobs listed below.
The best solo class in Final Fantasy 14
Classes in FF14 strictly refer to roles you can pick at level 1. These will all turn into “Jobs” after completing their respective questlines. And while you can pick any class and have a great time, there is a particular one that is a little better for first-time solo players.
Marauder
Marauders don’t necessarily outperform other classes from level 1, but they still hold their own in the early game. These ax wielders are Tanks, which means they’re designed to grab the attention of enemies away from your party members and take hits in their stead. For solo players just starting out, this is a nice perk. Your naturally high defense and HP will cushion you if you accidentally get in over your head against high level monsters all by yourself.
After you level up Marauder enough to unlock the Warrior Job, you’ll find that you’re so bulky it’s almost like you don’t need other players. The cooldown skills Thrill of Battle and Equilibrium provide powerful self-healing, reducing your need to rely on other players to heal you.
At level 56, Warriors unlock Raw Intuition, a skill with a 25-second cooldown that heals you whenever you hit an enemy. So the next time you find yourself trapped in a mob of six enemies who are all attacking you, you can just use some area-of-effect attacks after using Raw Intuition and watch your health climb back to full in a matter of seconds.
The Warrior’s incredible self-healing makes it a top choice when trying to solo bosses from past expansions. The Warrior’s high health also comes in handy in group content,since you won’t need to count on healers to keep you alive as often as other characters. This Job is even capable of soloing level-equivalent 8-player encounters .
For those interested in Marauder/Warrior, Gunbreaker is another Tank job that has seen notable success in the Heaven on High deep dungeon (more on this later). What’s more, Tank jobs equip the same armor, so you can jump between them easily. Sadly, Gunbreaker is not currently available in the free trial.
The best Jobs in Final Fantasy 14 for solo play
FF14 also contains “Advanced jobs,” which you can unlock after either reaching a certain level threshold or crossing a specific milestone in the main story quest. These Jobs don’t have preceding classes, so you can play them as soon as you can unlock them. Aspiring solo players should check out the jobs below.
Red Mage
Unlock requirement: Reach level 50 and complete the quest Taking the Red in Ul’Dah.
For longtime Final Fantasy fans, the Red Mage’s place here should come as no surprise. It’s traditionally a jack-of-all-trades job in the series’ canon, and that’s generally true here. The FF14 incarnation of Red Mage is a magic DPS class, meaning its primary function is to cast long-range magic spells to inflict damage. However, there are two specific reasons why Red Mage appeals to solo players.
Red Mage’s first major perk is mobility. Spell casters in FF14 typically need to stay in one spot to attack, relying on short windows between spells to dodge attacks without decreasing their DPS. Meanwhile, Red Mages have the Dualcast trait, letting them cast every other spell instantly. Red Mages can also build a gauge that lets them use powerful melee attacks that lack any sort of cast time. Combine these abilities with the Corps-a-corps and Displacement abilities, which lets Red Mages leap towards and away from enemies respectively, and you get a class that can easily counter enemy mechanics and dodge attacks.High mobility isn’t exclusive to Red Mage, but what is exclusive is the spell Vercure. In a vacuum, Vercure is a basic curing spell that’s inferior to anything a dedicated Healer can use. However, Vercure is the best on-demand healing spell learned by any DPS class in the game. Other DPS classes have defensive and healing options on a cooldown, but Red Mages can reliably heal themselves as long as they have enough Magic Points.
The Red Mage’s mix of offense and healing makes it a comfortable job for players who don’t want to rely on friends to help them out. As an added bonus, Red Mage is one of the best jobs to play if you plan to defeat the rare solo bosses in the Bozjan Southern Front.
For new players interested in Red Mage, consider starting out as the Arcanist class. In the early game, Arcanist feels remarkably like the Red Mage, since it learns both ranged magic attacks and basic healing magic. Additionally, if you choose to promote yourself from the Arcanist class to the Summoner job, you can carry over almost all your gear to Red Mage upon unlocking it..
Machinist
Unlock requirement: Reach the Heavensward expansion and complete the quest So You Want To Be A Machinist in Foundation.
Compared to the picks above, Machinist might seem like an odd choice. This Physical RangedDPS Job doesn’t sport on-demand healing or high defense, and its damage output doesn’t compare to melee DPS jobs either. So what makes the Machinist so special?
First, let’s talk about mobility. Machinist is a Physical Ranged DPS Job, which means it can freely move and attack from a distance. Machinist has no cast times, and only its situational Flamethrower attack limits its movement. Not only can a Machinist dodge attacks like a champ, it’s one of the only jobs in the game that can kite normal enemies. Kiting (when you run from a mob of enemies pursuing you) is typically discouraged in group content, but it can become a massive boon when playing solo.
While Bard and Dancer are also Physical Ranged DPS jobs, they derive most of their power from supporting other players. Machinist is more of a “selfish” job as it focuses on dishing out lots of damage on its own. In a solo environment, the Machinist massively outperforms its Physical Ranged counterparts.
Dismantle cuts an enemy’s attack output by 10% for 10 seconds, bolstering the Machinist’s survivability against tough foes. Head Graze can stun targets (invaluable in canceling certain strong attacks), while Leg Graze and Foot Graze can control the mobility of common enemies you’ll face. And while it doesn’t affect battle performance, Peloton increases your movement speed while out of combat, which makes running around cities and dungeons a bit faster.
All of these traits make Machinist one of the best jobs to challenge FF14’s Deep Dungeons. Deep Dungeons are roguelike-style challenges that task players with clearing upwards of 200 randomized levels filled with traps and monsters. While these are primarily designed with parties of four in mind, players can earn some of the rarest achievements in the entire game by clearing a Deep Dungeon by themselves without dying. So if you want to prepare yourself for the most hardcore challenge available to solo players, Deep Dungeons are essential.
For new players interested in the Machinist, you’ll want to start as the Archer class. An Archer can eventually upgrade to the Bard Job, and while Bard’s personal DPS potential is low, that gap isn’t so pronounced at lower levels. More importantly, Archer/Bard most closely resembles the Machinist’s playstyle of all the starting classes. You can also unlock Machinist as soon as you progress into the Heavensward expansion. Machinist equips the same armor as Bard too!
Honorable Mentions: Other Jobs worth considering for solo play
The Ninja Job–which is derived from the Rogue class–boasts high burst damage and uniquely has the Hide ability that predominantly benefits solo players.
The Samurai Job is another good pick as it can inflict among the most damage in the game without relying on others . It even has some mitigation built into its kit via the Third Eye ability.
Healers typically don’t thrive in solo environments, but solo players might feel more comfortable knowing they can heal themselves on demand. Conjurer–which up-classes into the White Mage Job–is one of the better healer roles for players that plan to undertake solo content.
Sage is also relatively solo friendly, though unlocking this job does require the Endwalker expansion (alongside a hefty prerequisite of hitting level 70 first).
Solo players in FF14 have a lot of great options when it comes to picking a class or Job. Ultimately, you should main the job you enjoy playing most in FF14, regardless of whether you’re a solo player or not. FF14 also lets you easily switch between classes and Jobs as well, so feel free to experiment with different roles and see which ones stick with you. Whether you intend to challenge bosses and Deep Dungeons by yourself in FF14 or wind up getting distracted by fishing, enjoy your time in Eorzea!
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