Which classes wear what type of armor?

[Cryo]

I am new to this game and am curious if there is information somewhere that indicates which type of armor the different classes/jobs can wear? Once could probably assume but I would rather know for sure.

Thanks in advance for any pointers!

[Jarlsen]

As far as I know, the heaviest armor types are only available to the tanks (marauder and gladiator). The mage types (conjurer, thaumaturge, arcanist) only wear cloth armor. The others wear everything in between.

[Sheer]

At lower levels, it's usually labelled as "Disciples of War", "Disciples of Magic", or "All Classes" - you need to look at the stats to determine which piece of armor is best for you in this scenario. For example, a CNJ will usually want armor that increases their MND stat.

At mid-higher levels, the armor starts becoming specific to your class/job, so instead of "Disciples of War", something like a pair of Aetherial Steel Gauntlets will say "MRD WAR GLA PLD", specifying that the armor is for those two classes and two jobs only. You still want to look at the stats, but this helps eliminate the whole "Okay, could I use these gauntlets as an ARC?" deal - you instantly know whether you need to even consider the gear.

Hope that helps!

[Johnist]

Gear will tell you what 'Class' and 'Job' can equip it.

As for multi-class gear:
MRD - VIT/PARRY
GLD - STR/VIT
LNC/PGL - STR/DEX
ARC - DEX/PIE
THM/ACN - INT/PIE
CNJ - MND/PIE
Shields with INT are meant for THM/BLM, MND for CNJ/WHM.

[Koga_Edge]

Heavy armor (Plate, Heavy, etc) GLD,MRD,PLD,WAR
Medium Armor (Chain,Scale, etc) GLD,MRD,LNC,PLD,WAR,DRG
Thick Armor (Leather) GLD,MRD,LNC,PUG,ARC,PLD,WAR,DRG,MNK,BRD DOL/H (more meant for PUG,ARC,MNK,BRD DOL/H)
Light Armor (Cloth) CNJ,THM,ACN,WHM,BLM,SMN,SCH DOL/H (Ignoring all classes)

Metal Shields (Kite, Targe, Buckler, Etc) GLD,PLD
Wood Shields (Square, Buckler, etc) CNJ,THM,ACN,WHM,BLM,SMN,SCH