new player, trying to decide on class

[dragonstrike]

That is my problem. I am interested in a lot of them. Just hit level 10 with arcanist. I don't mind the magic, but I am not enjoying dealing with the pet. Lancer seems cool, so does ninja. I am very indecisive. That is why I tend to try to find the jack of all trades class. The one that can do a bit of everything so I can help with all roles.

[Niwashi]

That is why I tend to try to find the jack of all trades class. The one that can do a bit of everything so I can help with all roles.

Well, this game doesn't exactly have any jack of all trades classes. They're all specific to a single role, either tank, healer, or dps. Instead of giving classes themselves the ability to adapt to being used for multiple roles, the game instead gives our characters the ability to learn multiple classes. You can help with all the roles if you level one or more classes from each of them.

(If you've done your level 10 class quest at the ACN guild, you can go to other class guilds and do a quick quest at each to unlock access to those classes as well. The marauder and rogue guilds are there in Limsa Lominsa, as are the Blacksmith, Armorer, Culinarian, and Fisherman classes if you want to branch out into crafting and gathering as well. The rest will have to wait until you reach the level 15 quest that opens up access to the other main cities. And then there are extra jobs added in the expansions that don't unlock until you reach level 50.)

Many players level all of them. Once you reach endgame, you'd have a hard time earning enough gear to equip all of them equally, so by that point you're best off picking a favorite to focus most of your attention on. There's really no need to choose a favorite or "main" class until then (though many people do). And even once you pick a main to focus on, you can still change it any time you want. So don't worry about what's going to be "best" at some point down the road. Try them all out, and continue playing whichever ones you enjoy.

[Frizze]

If dealing with the pet hasnt been your thing, then id say do the class quest at level 10 asap. This unlocks the "armory" system, which is how you change classes. If ninja seems cool, head over to the rogue guild and join up. Try it for a few levels and see how it feels. Ninja is a melee DPS class but they also have a good amount of support and utility style skills. Or if you want to try another flavor of magic, Thaumaturge(grows into Black Mage) casts big hard hitting spells without having to interact with a pet.

As for paladin(or either other tank), you dont really "plan the battle". Ideally, you pull the mob groups, get all the enemies attention, and hold them there while the group wipes them out. You are usually leading the way, but the planning portion is in how you use your defensive skills to survive, and how you set up the bosses(some you want to fight in the middle, some on the edge of their space, some you start in one place and later need to move). Its not the easiest role(DPS is clearly easiest - stand there and fire away while dodging the odd attack), but new people pick it up all the time and do just fine. Dont be intimidated.

And i know its been mentioned, but the game has multiple controller setups and you can find one that makes any class play easily enough.

[Estellios]

That is my problem. I am interested in a lot of them. Just hit level 10 with arcanist. I don't mind the magic, but I am not enjoying dealing with the pet. Lancer seems cool, so does ninja. I am very indecisive. That is why I tend to try to find the jack of all trades class. The one that can do a bit of everything so I can help with all roles.

I like those kinds of classes in games too, I think you would definitely like Red Mage as was suggested, since you do great DPS and some really useful support options for emergencies that can help save the party. The major downside to that is that unfortunately it's not available until you hit level 50 in another class. You should definitely try out a healer though. Your main focus is on keeping the party alive but in most of the non-hardcore content like dungeons you have ample time to throw in attack spells if you are doing your job correctly, and you can contribute quite a lot to the party. It's part of why i really like healing in this game.