Favorite Iteration of each Job?

Or whichever ones you feel like mentioning. No need to list why but you're more than welcome to.

I can only speak for late ShB (5.3) onwards since that's when I started, but here's my list:

Tanks:
WAR - ShB
PLD - EW 6.0
DRK - ShB
GNB - ShB

Healers:
WHM - ShB
SCH - ShB
AST - ShB
SGE - DT

Melee:
DRG - EW
MNK - ShB 5.4 (didn't pick it up till then)
SAM - ShB
RPR - EW
NIN - EW
VPR - DT 7.0

Caster:
BLM - EW
SMN - ShB
RDM - EW

Ranger:
BRD - ShB
MCH - DT
DNC - EW

RPR EW
Dragoon DT
Samurai DT (The currently one)
Summoner SHB
rest i never even played in high end content so idk

Healers

-all before ShB

Tied between HW and SB DRK for me, those expansions were when the Dark Knight was the most fun.

7.0 Viper.
What CS3 did in 7.05 is frankly insulting.

7.0 Boot Shine DK MNK

Ideal mnk

Greased Lighting 4 with 7.0 way of playing maybe make 10 chakra stacks permanent
so you attack faster have no penalty with ROF and go even faster with ROW

DRK - HW
Which is sad how it just got progressively worse with each expansion. A tragedy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Supersnow845

Healers

-all before ShB

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Sure didn't not expect this one. Though would you lean toward SB's or HW's? Think there's quite a difference between the two

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Azurarok

Sure didn't not expect this one. Though would you lean toward SB's or HW's? Think there's quite a difference between the two

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WHM- ARR
SCH- HW
AST- SB
SGE- (I genuinely would have no qualms if this class didn’t exist)

Time to dig deep into my memory and see what I remember.

Tanks:

Paladin - EW
I feel that Paladin has been pretty well rounded for most expansions, though the additions in DT kind of leave me puzzled and the flow seems odd for me. Granted, I haven't done a deep-dive into it.

Warrior - DT
Despite Warrior getting easier with each expansion imo, I don't feel like they took away much from it either.

Dark Knight - HW
I loved the MP management from Dark Knight in Heavensward, tanking in general felt really good to do especially when you did it well.

Gunbreaker - EW/DT
Kinda in the same boat as Warrior, it still flows well and I don't think that the additions / changes have harmed it.


Healers:

White Mage - EW/DT
Probably controversial, I really enjoy the current White Mage myself. Although healing was more fun in HW/SB era, White Mage was a mess overall in SB; so I do prefer the current iteration of it.

Scholar - None
I really feel Scholar has remained the same over all the expansions. Sure, some QoL changes have been baked it but overall I have always enjoyed playing it. Now I do miss being able to micro-manage the fairy, but on the other hand I'm glad that the jank is less for it.

Astrologian - HW (specifically 3.5)
Just hands down the best version of Astrologian imo.

Sage - EW/DT
In the same vein as Warrion/Gunbreaker, I feel the additions to Sage are fine and it plays fine as well, no complaints.


Melee

Monk - HW
I remember enjoying Monk in this era and pretty much left it to rot afterwards as I found other melees more enjoyable, which has not changed really.

Dragoon - DT
I always enjoyed Dragoon, but I like the changes they did so far. My only complaint being not having 3 stacks of Nastrond anymore.

Ninja - EW
Got into Ninja at the tail end of EW and honestly really loved it. It flowed well and was fun to keep up. I'm lukewarm to the DT changes, I kinda understand what they were going for but it's not really it for me.

Samurai - None
Much like Scholar, I think Samurai has been good regardless of the iteration. I'm neutral on Kaiten too, didn't mind it, but not missing it either.

Reaper - EW
Simply put, I don't enjoy the additions to Reaper in DT


Ranged

Bard - SB
Was fun and felt like an actual support.

Machinist HW
Controversial perhaps, but I think the cast times were great on Machinist, you could tell it was made around them, unlike Bard in that era. I really wish they kept the concept for Machinist alone.

Dancer - None
I like all the iterations of Dancer, nothing else to add really.


Caster

Black Mage - EW
I think Black Mage has been good for every expansion. I'm just not a real fan of the DT additions, it feels a lot more clunky than it did beforehand.

Summoner - EW
I really liked the Summoner rework that they did. Though if I had to pick one of the older set-ups it would be HW Summoner.

Red Mage - None
I feel that Red Mage has mostly stayed true to itself, so I am neutral on this one too.

Tanks:
WAR - ShB (decent QoL by then, with a skill on how to maximize usage of flash that no longer exists)
PLD - EW 6.0 (the rotation got so good and felt so varied by then, until the change)
DRK - HW (was hard but a thrill, despite how unpolished it felt)
GNB - EW (didn't play it much in DT but probably alright, Double Down is fun)

Healers:
WHM - HW (Cleric Stance in HW, although it was fun with the amount of attacks in Stormblood)
SCH - Stormblood (All the attacks I had then)
AST - ShB 5.0 (Really enjoyed juggling all the cards and putting RNG into Lord/Lady before all the simplifications)
SGE - DT (More attacks, can't complain)

Melee:
DRG - ShB (Finally got polished enough to play by this expansion, it was so fun by this point while still having Blood of the Dragon)
MNK - Stormblood or ShB (pre-5.4) (Monk was my main DPS before they revamped it)
SAM - ShB (I liked most iterations of this, but before the AoE was changed to a circle or Kaiten removal is preferred)
RPR - EW (Haven't played it much since EW)
NIN - EW (I'm not used to the upgraded icons so... EW)
VPR - DT (Any iteration)

Caster:
BLM - DT (I like that Sharpcast was scrapped as a casual BLM)
SMN - EW (Not used to the bit that was added in DT yet)
RDM - EW (DT is alright but took getting used to because it's way busier and more proc-heavy)

Ranger:
BRD - Stormblood (I like all iterations for different reasons but it was my main DPS in Stomblood because it was so fun, everyone was playing it then)
MCH - ShB (Preferred animations then and loved the revamp, but EW was alright)
DNC - EW (DT is alright tbh)

Generally somewhere between Sb and Shb. I think most of the changes that were made moving in to Shb were good but things like stances would have been better off reworked and made more forgiving than removed.

My main issues with the current iteration of job design are universal. Homogenisation and the 2 minute meta need to go. Allowing jobs to fill different niches and adding some non-30/60/120s cooldowns would go a long way towards making the game more engaging.

Tanks:
WAR: HW
PLD: tough one, no idea
DRK: HW
GNB: none

Healers: pre ShB

Melee:
DRG: SB
MNK: SB
SAM: SB
RPR: none
NIN: honestly not sure
VPR: none

Casters:
- BLM: HW
- SMN: SB
- RDM: SB

Rphys:
- BRD: SB
- MCH: HW/SB
- DNC: ShB

As a samurai main since Stormblood, I don't mind the loss of Kaiten, but I do miss having to aim my conal AoEs. That was more fun than just standing in a crowd of mobs and spamming circular AoEs.

Being a ShB baby myself I don't think I'm eligible to mention any older designs as I've never tried any of them firsthand.

Tank

• PLD: ShB to 6.2

  As much as people meme the 'spreadsheet meme' revolving PLD pre 6.3, I really miss the alternating magic > physical phases.

• WAR: ShB

  Nascent Flash design at its peak IMHO. Inner Release affecting ALL atks also allows funny interactions with BSF Lost Actions.

• DRK: N/A (Pre-DT?)

  Too close to WAR overall. But I kinda miss Plunge so I guess pre-DT?

• GNB: N/A

  Ain't my jam.

Healer

• WHM, SCH, & AST: ShB

  I have ranted too much about them atp lol.

• SGE: "Who..?"

  I don't know her.

Melee
I don't have much comment for all but NIN + I play them the least of all roles.

• NIN: ShB

  Not a true melee. Flexible disengagement tools. My #1 fave of melee, even today.

• SAM: ShB
• MNK: N/A
• DRG: ShB/EW
• RPR: N/A
• VPR: N/A

  Oh look! NIN's flexible disengagement tool cannibalized lmao.

Ranged

• BRD: ShB

  The last time their DoT could proc repertoire like crazy. They did you dirty, Bard Pitt.

• MCH: N/A

  Ain't my jam.

• DNC: ShB

  Not a true long ranged dps. Remember 2 melee GCDs during flourish window? Remember saving Saber Dance in case you got too lucky with procs?

Caster

• BLM: EW

  -Speechless-

• SMN: ShB

  Mobile for good reasons when played proper while still able to compete with BLM reasonably.

• RDM: ShB/EW

  Mixed bag, but it's hard to pick which one was my fave. DT didn't add anything interesting and had weird messaging such as how Grand Impact, Acceleration, and Jolt III implemented...

• PCT: DT

  New guy. I love the colorful, vibrant aesthetic and flexible rotation without compromising the requirement to actually cast as a caster.

So this is from Shb onwards which isn't a lot

Tanks
PLD - Ew 6.0-6.2, Was the most fun 6.3 only good changes were bulwark/Veil rest just ruined its rotation
War - Shb, I personally liked choosing between mitigating or sustain, now the job does both in spades
Gnb - Shb, i think its fine as of current
Drk - DT? (I don't really like any modern version of this job)

Healers
Ast - Shb, every expansion this job gets a massive downgrade.
Sch - Ew
Whm - Shb, I liked the long cast times
Sge - DT

Dps (I often play, if its not here i don't play it much)
Blm - EW, was its peak now its a boring job.
Rdm - DT, hasn't changed much but its got slightly better
Smn - Shb, I dislike its current direction, enough said
Sam - DT, though I liked the Shb version too I really think the recent changes were pretty good
Nin - 7.0 DT, I like this job still just wish they didn't remove having to stay in place every ten chi jin
Drg - Ew, I liked dragon sight (Unpopular take I know)
Mnk - 6.0 Ew, I think the job is ok in DT, I loved Endwalker monk the most, Riddle of earth was a nice cooldown I get why it was changed just i rather they nerf the percent rather then the uptime and timing.

I have played very briefly in Storm Blood and I remember AST having 2 sects (nocturnal / diurnal). That was pretty damn fun, except the duplicated cards...lol. however, I think DT AST is the best version.

DRG- EW a tiny bit more than DT
Pala- EW (I hate supplication and sepulture as they feel so janky compared to Atonement which feels very smooth in animation)
SAM- DT
SGE - DT
WH- DT
DNC- I actually loved the EW rotation but DT is also nice.
RDM- DT
BLM- I liked both EW and DT

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kohashi

I have played very briefly in Storm Blood and I remember AST having 2 sects (nocturnal / diurnal). That was pretty damn fun, except the duplicated cards...lol. however, I think DT AST is the best version.

DRG- EW a tiny bit more than DT
Pala- EW (I hate supplication and sepulture as they feel so janky compared to Atonement which feels very smooth in animation)
SAM- DT
SGE - DT
WH- DT
DNC- I actually loved the EW rotation but DT is also nice.
RDM- DT
BLM- I liked both EW and DT

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Actually I kind of agree with the Paladin take I don't know why but atonements sound effect & animation just feels a lot better to me then the other two, which kind of makes me miss using it more often.

Though I do think it was used too often after 6.3 honestly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rithy255

Actually I kind of agree with the Paladin take I don't know why but atonements sound effect & animation just feels a lot better to me then the other two, which kind of makes me miss using it more often.

Though I do think it was used too often after 6.3 honestly.

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I rather have 3 attonments than the janky mess we have now :p. I dunno it's just that the animation feels clunky with both of the 2 new spells.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kohashi

I have played very briefly in Storm Blood and I remember AST having 2 sects (nocturnal / diurnal). That was pretty damn fun, except the duplicated cards...lol. however, I think DT AST is the best version.

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Nocturnal and Diurnal sects also existed in ShB and it was removed in favor of the pure/barrier healer split in EW

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rithy255

Actually I kind of agree with the Paladin take I don't know why but atonements sound effect & animation just feels a lot better to me then the other two, which kind of makes me miss using it more often.

Though I do think it was used too often after 6.3 honestly.

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Most of the sound effects they've added in 7.0 have been a miss for me. A lot of them sound way too muted imo.

Also Necrotize's is such a downgrade from Fester

Stormblood for most classes, I think. Minus the obvious striking/piercing/blunt debuffs around that time of course.

HW:
- Scholar
- White Mage
- Dark Knight
- Astrologian

StB:
- Bard
- Ninja

ShB:
- Samurai

EW:
- Black Mage
- Red Mage
- Dragoon

DT:
- Paladin
- Reaper
- Sage
- Gunbreaker
- Machinst
- Dancer
- Warrior
- Viper 7.0 and 7.1
Pictomancer

Special Case:
- Summoner

Reasoning - I like both StB and EW/DT versions. I miss my poison abilities, though. :'<

- Monk

Reasoning - I loved the feel the grease lightning plus potential dancing back in StB and it's first rework in ShB(?). I like current Monk, but I wish we could have had a mechanic similar to grease lighting attached to it. I wanna go FAST dang nabbit!!!!