I basically just need someone to tell me what Job to play

[Bahd_Monkey]

Play Black Mage as well as Red Mage as soon as you can unlock it.

[CorbinDallas]

There is RNG involved in most jobs, with ways to force procs, bard and Empryeal Arrow (?) is no exception.

Honestly from what you've said I think Bard would be your best fit for now. Being a DPS you don't have the burden of leading and coordinating a group, or being responsible for keeping people alive (outside of Troubadour). You have infinite mobility, and so can focus on and learn mechanics without losing any uptime, unlike BLM which is heavily punished for losing casts. Identity crisis aside, you have some simple tools to support the group alongside a relatively simple priority based rotation. Some, myself included, will argue that the RNG keeps encounters fresh and less monotonous despite the dry proc periods.

Seriously though, most jobs don't feel even remotely complete until around the 65-70 mark, so your opinion may change once you hit that point. My friend has admitted that 80 SMN felt worse than 79 since he lost the ability to use Egi Assault weaves during Firebird Trance.

[Wanzzo]

A thing I do is (maybe it helps you with your dilemma):

Always get and level 3 classes/jobs (at least) at the same time. Reasons:

- if you go all the way through msq with one only job soon you will discover that you will be overleveled for each quest (begins around lv16 msq). So, the first thought you have would be: "ok, then, I'll forget the side quests and focus only on msq in order to solve this problem". But you'll miss a fun part of the game. Some side quests teach you more about lore, places, races, cities, events and some secrets of the world. If you allow yourself having more than 1 job/class you just stop on the msq lv using the first and go for the second job doing sides until you clear all the sides of an area. Remember you are paying for those quests as well :3

- I always try to make 2 to 3lvs of gap between each job. When you reach a new place, you can use whichever you want according to your mood on that day. We play this game for more than a month (and years, some of us). So, it's natural for us to change minds, feels and thoughts through time. So, let's do content inside game more accordingly to our mood on that day. If you feel charitable, go as healer. If you feel with the need of kick some az, go for DPS! If you feel protective and decided to risk yourself more, go as tanker. Not a single day will be boring this way :3 Oh, and I always clear side quests after reaching new places first before doing msq. More immersive this way :3

- I like to create my char with a concept in mind. My actual main will be a master magic. She will master all magical classes (summoner, scholar, black mage, red mage, white mage, astrologian). And I intend to finish all msq changing jobs through those. She is at lv21 now and the msq is at lv18. I'll level up my other classes to reach the gap and do msq with them.

I know this sounds a little "methodical", but that is the way I play this game: in my own pace changing jobs and enjoying EVERY single day using jobs that fits my concepts on the char that I am using.

[HyoMinPark]

Please note: I don't know if you get your job skills if you run PotD prior to getting your job stone from the level 30 job quest.

You do not. If you run PotD on a class, you only ever learn the skills available to the class. No job skills.

[Camiie]

You've already started playing, but before I did I started searching online for good jobs for beginners and ARC/BRD came up. I tried it and it suited me well enough. I still keep it leveled and geared though it's now taken a back seat to my SAM, but I still find it enjoyable. Since you're already getting a positive vibe on BRD I say do that.

[Cythil]

So this is a problem I've experienced for all of the nearly six years I've been playing this game, and I assure you, whenever someone tells me anything along the lines of "play what you want", it makes me want to take whatever they're using to play the game and cave their skull in with it just to prove that there's nothing in it.

For Paladin, it's still the go-to job for learning how to tank. While I probably wouldn't recommend you picking it off the bat, I'd say take a look at it after leveling something else.

With Monk, the positionals aren't too terrible to work with, and unlike other melee jobs, it's nowhere near as punishing messing up a positional on a Monk compared to other melee jobs. Of all the jobs you list, if I were you, I'd go with Monk; it might take a while to pick up and for everything to click, but it's in a really good place and fun to play.

RNG on Bard isn't as big of a deal as it might seem, and the RNG actually tips more in your favor as you get near max level. It's another solid choice, and the "identity" issue is also nothing to really concern yourself over.

While Black Mage does have that ordeal of cast times, but it also has a couple of ways to work around it. It's a lot better nowadays, but probably won't be up your alley.

Hope all that helps!

This does help a lot thanks. I think I'll be going with Monk then if it's positionals aren't as punishing as other melee because that was my primary concern. I do like the look of Bard and will certainly play it at some point, I don't really think starting with the RNG class is the right call for me. Thanks!

[Kazrah]

I do like the look of Bard and will certainly play it at some point, I don't really think starting with the RNG class is the right call for me. Thanks!

It's really not the "RNG class" (Dancer holds that title nowadays) since that component no longer makes the bulk of Bard damage these days. It also used to be a lot worse back when it was more reliant on gear, but now that it's a flat amount (I want to say 40% off of dot ticks and then other skills later on), it doesn't feel so bad.

Monk I still recommend over Bard though since it's in a REALLY good place right now and the story for it is a bit better.

[HumanNinjaToo]

This does help a lot thanks. I think I'll be going with Monk then if it's positionals aren't as punishing as other melee because that was my primary concern. I do like the look of Bard and will certainly play it at some point, I don't really think starting with the RNG class is the right call for me. Thanks!

I haven’t played as monk yet, I started out as BLM, and I like it a lot. But once you unlock SAM I suggest giving it a try if you end up liking mDPS. I’ve had a lot of fun with SAM. It has a lot of options: high single target dmg, aoe, gap closers, a bit of ranged option. It’s the most fun class I’ve played.

[Awxis]

Patch notes should not affect your decision in anyway as of right now. By the time you reach cap, the job probably underwent more changes.

From your post, I got three points to take way from it:

leading groups and setting the pace has never really been my thing

I like to focus on dealing damage usually

the fact that literally any movement or too much damage cancels the cast just annoys me

Paladin (PLD) - You mentioned you don't like leading groups. Gameplay isn't unique, you're still spamming 1-2-3 combos. So the only thing its got going for it is the aesthetics and queue times. Queue times is not an issue if you find a decent FC or tank friend.

Monk (MNK) - Like you mentioned, level 30 doesn't take long to reach and you get most of your positional skills while you're a Pugilist. Test it and see if you like it, but honestly, you don't get to feel how they actually play until much later.

Bard (BRD) - Does it matter that it's undergoing an identity crisis? You never got a chance to play it before ShB changes, so how does that affect you? Not trying to be mean or anything, just curious. If you don't like static rotations, BRD is a great job.

Black Mage (BLM) - You said you don't like your spells getting interrupted for any reason. It's going to happen...a lot; mobs dying before you get your casts off, getting knockbacked, game mechanics, etc... Otherwise, it's EXPLOSIONS ALL DAY, ER'DAY.

Like what everyone said, this is something you have to figure out yourself, but if you do need someone to recommend a class, I say go with BRD as your first job to complete the MSQ with and kinda experiment with other classes from there.

[Tyssyn]

The beauty of FFXIV is... you can play them all on the same character. Try them all, find which is the best fit/most fun for you.