Can't decide on DPS but favoring DRG, bad idea?

It has been a couple months now since I came back to FF14 and I am having fun just leveling up classes and now that 2.3 is out, having an easier time than ever to actually gear up a fresh 50. SMN is already 50 and all my other classes are close to 30-35 but I am not sold yet on SMN. There is just something missing with the class for me personally.

I used to play FFXI and Dragoon but there was such a huge unbalance back then and everybody hated DRG, I didn't want to fall into the same situation in FF14 so I ask you DRG Mains, how does it truly compare to Monks, BLM or SMN? I don't care about Bards, that playstyle just isn't for me. I want to raid someday and almost have 1600 Soldery just sitting there waiting to be used but I really need to decide what to Main as.

Well I'm a monk main and not a dragoon main, but you shouldn't have any problem maining Dragoon as a DPS. The closer the fight is to a punching bag the easier it will be for monks to out DPS you, but in fights with several pauses where monks can't keep DPSing thus causing them to lose greased lightning dragoons will be able to hold the higher damage. Aside from that dragoons have a much easier time AoEing than monks do and have much better spike damage when you need to burn something quick.
On an end game perspective Monks and Dragoons are fairly even, only problem being that they are often competing for the same spot as melee dps are less favored in a lot of content.

Blms are the kings of AoE, and just got a boost in their single target abilities so still good there. Only downside is their lack of mobility for their long cast times. Overall it shouldn't be hard to find a spot if you like blm. Smn is similar, and fits more roles but they are more of the "jack of all trades, masters of none" job. The nice thing is they share a lot of the same end game gear, so just get weapons and you can "main" both easily enough.

Bards due to their nature will have a spot in everything, but there is a huge player base of bards already so if you don't like it yourself there's no need for you to play one ^^

you can pretty much main any job you want, I'm a DRG main and i enjoy the job a lot, its very different from Dragoon in FFXI. of the Jobs DRG tends to be the best burst damage with crits and high numbers, MNK is great sustained damage with lower numbers but fast attacks with the stacks of Greased Lightning. BLM is best choice for AoE damage and since the buff a good choice for single target, you just have to worry about losing your casts each time you move to avoid an attack though, and SMN is one of the best single target damage and has quite a few utilities.

its really just a matter of what job you want to play, don't let another person decide what job you main! try each one and see which fits your playstyle the best. Personally i say DRG but thats just me

Mnks are a bit more complicated to play, have high sustained
Drgs are a bit more punishing for misses, have high burst (closest xi analog is actually drk)

Content is balanced enough that they are interchangeable, so it comes down more to which one feels right for you, and if you are mostly pugging which of the 2 your server prefers for whatever reason.

It's never a bad idea to go DRG.

As long as you put in the effort to become effective with the class, its fun as hell.

Put in the effort to learn the ins and outs of the job and enjoy the ride!

Definitely my favorite job in the entire FF franchise.... next to blue mage.

Have you tired healing ?

I started as a PLD then got bored quickly
I went DRG and instantly fell in love
Then my end game parties started wiping , groups fell apart largely due to our healers pretty much being picked up from
PF and DF so they weren't as reliable
So I started a CNJ since I had a 15 one from my Pally days
Healed Satasha and what not and instantly loved the idea of hey it now falls on me if the party survives or not
added a new dynamic to the game where as in end game DPS , yeah some have checks but some is mostly mechs vs Healers
your job is your job plus mechs + some dps if need be (and if youre good enough at keeping MP as a WHM)

idk it just added a whole new dynamic to the game lvl 15-about 35ish is pretty boring but from there on woooooo I love it

I play DRG since ARR release and I have also sometimes encountered people who would prefer running dungeons with non-drgs and I used to get annoyed about the party finder for Sol marks where DRG didn't seem a viable option for a successfull run. Because they probably never met a DRG who can hold their own when it comes to good AOE-Damage.
I have also entcountered bad Dragoons and asked myself what the hell they are doing with their class and I still jokingly refer to myself as the fail-Dragoon of the group (not always openly) and feel the need to point out to my fellow raid-members that I didn't fall off platforms up till now in t6-t8 (won't promise anything for t9 yet though :D).

Like people pointed out before me: Play what you want to play and don't let other peoples opinions interfere. Dragoon is a fun class to play and though the rotation and things to remember look complicated at first glance once you have it memorized (in mind and body ;)) it will feel as easy as breathing.

There is an amazing DRG Thread in the forums here (A Rotation Reborn) with a nice community that will give you all the information you need to perform well with your class and then you can go and prove that Dragoons are awesome and helpful and stuff :D


Just my personal 2 cents.

There's no bad classes in FFXIV. Play whatever and play it well and people will love you.

As long as you know what your doing any job is good, try them all and see which ones you like!

play whatever job is your favorite, since this is an mmo if one is weak it'll be balanced numbers-wise at some point.

I started as a PLD,but then ppl were complaining saying how I was the worst PLD they ever saw and how I should Consider another class,I tried to fight it but then I was like,Maybe I should try another class,I was PLDLv50 btw but ppl were just hatin so I quit being a tank(still hate being a tank, and I still suck at it)and I started doing BLM and fell in love,got to Lv50 within 3 days(by doing F.A.T.E.S when fates were the shit and everyone was doing it lol)and I stayed as BLM for a long time but after going to the Labyrinth of the Ancients/coils so many times and greeding for stuff,I had the full ilv80/90 gear for a bard so I became a bard so I could use the gear, got to Lv50 within 4 days,but DF was a pain for the DPSs so I became a WHM so I could enter DF more often and get those Allegan pieces, got to Lv50,now I’m a SMN/SCH,The point is:you will probably become every class but there’s one that you will always love, for me it’s the BLM, but as for u,u have to find that out for urself

If you think you will enjoy DRG then go for it! =)

My one caveat to that statement is that you MUST learn that class inside and out. Don't be a "loldrg", be like a DRG I ran into the week who was wrecking things with his AoE jumps (as a BLM, he and I were complimenting each other perfectly) and dodging AoEs like a boss. That guy was a real pleasure to run with.

DRG is definitely fun. I have both DRG and BRD at 50, and tend to alternate between the 2, and in general I find the BRD to be the safer option, but more boring during 1 vs 1 fights, yet excels at AoE and damage-on-the-run while the DRG is hella fun in 1 vs 1 scenerios but struggles a bit in movement-heavy encounters.

Just be careful with your use of Blood for Blood and your jumps. That combination has resulted in more than a few DRG deaths to otherwise avoidable AoEs.

I personally find Drg more fun than Monk. Try both is the only advise I can give.

DRG is a fun to play. has a massive burst damage (i think highest of all classes) if you do it correct. If not played correct your dps decreases dramatically. So knowing your rotation is quite crucial and fuckups result in quite major dps loss (like going without heavy thrust).

From experiance drg does the second highest dps after monk (more or less on lvl with smn) - no one can stop a monk once he gets all the buffs up :D. However once you need to move a lot and dodge aoes the drg becomes in disadvantageous situation, because you don't get uptime on the boss and your buffs run out in stupid situations etc and don't even get me started on those mobs/bosses who turn just at the moment when you are starting your chaos thrust combo ;(

So in this game i have to say - the classes are balanced out quite good - each has advantages and disadvantages - there is no one class that rules them all :)

That is good to hear that a well played DRG has a place endgame. So far I am enjoying the class, just leveled to 44 but it is good to hear the point of view of endgame DRG who are raiding. I love having good AoE, burst and great single target DPS so sounds like DRG may be for me after all. Although I wish some skills has a potency increase like Jump >_<.

I use my MNK and DRG interchangeably, so I say I main melee DPS. They are both fairly balanced, but I like MNK a little more just because it requires more moving around and the attacks are faster. With DRG, it's fun to see how fast you can destroy a pack of mobs with AOEs or how much damage you can do with one hit.

One nice thing about this game is that all the classes are very relevant end game. You should not have the feeling that DRG is subpar as a dps... It isn't... If you like DRG it is a fantastic class to have in a group (I don't even play one!) so go for it.