Jobs

[Saryn]

Hello again! I started playing a couple weeks ago and have been actively bouncing between my lancer, my archer, and my conjurer. I know that I really should focus on one to 50, and then work on the others. My question is this. If I were to, say, pick Lancer (Dragoon) over the other 2 listed, would I have an insanely hard time locating groups at high levels? If not, would a White Mage or a Bard be more desired? I really enjoy all 3 of those playstyles, so being told one will drastically be a better group choice than the others will not hurt my feelings in the slightest.

[Taika]

Hello Saryn!

I wouldn't say you have to focus on one but having one job at 50 makes everything else (like gearing your other jobs) a bit easier and makes all the higher level content available for you. There's no hurry though, if you really enjoy just leveling up and exploring.

The sad truth is, if you do content with pickup groups, they tend to allow only certain kind of setups for certain kind of activities, because ranged strategies are usually a lot less risky, for example. White Mage is a job you always need in any activity, so that's a safe bet I guess. Bards are quite popular too and can really shine in certain fights. Dragoon is a good DD, but as far as I know, there really isn't any activity where the group needs a dragoon for something. Also, certain fights are a lot harder to do on DRG than on BRD, for example. I don't think it would be insanely hard for you to find groups, though. Some of the shouts on Balmung ask for certain jobs, but in my experience most of them don't.

I would recommend finding yourself a good linkshell to do content with, one that lets you play anything you want to play. For this, I recommend checking the Balmung server forums and especially the Balmung linkshell list.

I wish you great adventures in Eorzea and fabulous time on Balmung!

[Urthdigger]

My gut instinct is to tell you to go with white mage. That's what I did after all when I decided on one job to take to 50. It's true that pretty much any party is going to need a white mage or two, there isn't a strategy out there where healing isn't a part of it. Hell, even on black mage burn strategies, I get called to apply stone's magic defense down, and I've even been called on to dispel crap with aerora in a few fights.

However, there is a downside to making WHM your only 50: White mage is NOT a strenuous job to play in this game, and so unlike other games out there, just about everyone has white mage levelled. So, it's still high demand, but it's also high supply. I still think it's your best bet, but don't breathe too easy once you have it at 50.