New player - help picking a class/job

[Spurloc]

So i'm new to FF but been playing MMORPGs for 10+ years. I'm looking for a good dps class/job that is great at solo leveling but still good in dungeons/raids. Don't care at all about PvP and don't care about how difficult the class/job is to play. I prefer ranged but would be fine with melee if it was stronger solo/PvE. Thanks.

[EdenArchangel]

I would argue for... arcanist branching off to summoner job as the best solo dps in terms of... surviving. Having a pet tank the enemy while you dps and are in no real danger makes solo content a cakewalk.

Based on your information given...

Pros:
-Caster = ranged
-Tank pet for solo play
-Melee and caster pets for dps in a group
-Easy to play, damage over time (dot) enemy up and win

Cons:
-Main damage is from damage over time spells chipping away at enemy health, and 30 percent of your damage is from pet, so you may not "feel" powerful


But, honestly any class/job can do the current solo content. You can also get a chocobo companion at level 20-ish and spec the chocobo into a tank/healer/dps role as you like, if you want some extra help.

[Spurloc]

Thanks for the info. My only concern with summoner is are they wanted in groups/raids? Do they do comparable dps in to other non-pet dps?

Archer sounded very appealing to me but going Bard (which sounds from the description like it's more support/heal) is not.

[elemental10]

Archer sounded very appealing to me but going Bard (which sounds from the description like it's more support/heal) is not.

Bard is support DPS. Your songs will give your team mana regen, tp regen, speed boost or lower enemy magic resistance. If you have a BRD in your raid, there's a bigger chance that your raid will be successful.

Plus, your DPS wouldn't fall behind other DPS also because of your high CRIT chances and Dots.

[Risvertasashi]

Thanks for the info. My only concern with summoner is are they wanted in groups/raids? Do they do comparable dps in to other non-pet dps?

Didn't see this answered so I'll take a shot at it.

There are rumors going around that Summoner is not capable of top tier DPS, and so some people do exclude them from their raid groups. However, they're idiots: Summoners can top the DPS charts depending on the group, and are competitive with other DPS. Moving also doesn't hurt them as much as it does a Black Mage. There are also plenty that will accept a SMN (Aside from DPS, they have some excellent raid utility).

Summoner is also getting a major overhaul with the expansion soon that should hopefully do away with rumors of SMN being subpar.

Good luck!

[Conradus]

But, honestly any class/job can do the current solo content. You can also get a chocobo companion at level 20-ish and spec the chocobo into a tank/healer/dps role as you like, if you want some extra help.

You get the sidequest for a chocobo companion at 30. You'll also have to level up the companion a bit before you can start asking it for healer or tank behavior.

[elemental10]

If by solo-levelling, you mean grinding fates, I would suggest Arcanist. You'll get a tank pet, that pretty much mean you're a light party already.

If you want some good solo-levelling and also great addition to parties, I would suggest Bard. You can kite the enemies around, plus songs that can benefit the team.

When HW comes, your way of playstyle would perfectly match with Machinist. Great support + survivability, albeit less DPS, on par with Bard.

[nuyu11]

If you want a high dmg pure DPS go with monk... I think so.

[elemental10]

Pure DPS would seriously be Dragoon.

As long as you don't kiss the ground too much.

[Niwashi]

Honestly, the classes and jobs we have so far are pretty well balanced, enough that there's no bad choice or obvious choice. Hopefully, SE will be able to maintain that as the new ones are added, though of course the more jobs we get the harder it will be to keep them both unique in flavor and yet equally useful.

Archer/Bard does some solid DPS, with advantages in both range and mobility that make avoiding enemy AoE, as well as a lot of dungeon mechanics, easier. As Bard, you'll also pick up some songs for group support abilities. In a straight out DPS race it may not be quite at the top, but you can usually make up for that in better up-time than casters whose spells can be interrupted or melee when they need to dodge out of the way of something and are momentarily stuck beyond the attack range of their primary skills.