Summary of Dawntrail job updates revealed during Letter from the Producer Live

The Dawntrail media tour is in full swing, and to kick it off, this week’s Letter from the Producer Live included our first detailed look at the job updates coming with the upcoming expansion. English translator Aimi Tokutake joined Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida and global community producer Toshio Murouchi for the five-hour bilingual presentation that began with a new job action trailer to go along with all the job news.

They covered all 21 Final Fantasy XIV jobs, including the new DPS jobs included in Dawntrail, Viper and Pictomancer. Yoshida reiterated, however, that this is just a preliminary look and that more details will be revealed as the media tour continues. So, if you’re wondering why some of these job changes look a little light, it’s because more detailed information will come later.

Here’s a breakdown of all the job updates revealed via the Live Letter presentation and additional discussions translated by Aimi Tokutake.

Job streamlining Job Action Setting changes coming in Dawntrail

As usual, new actions are being added to every job thanks to the level cap increased to 100. To help with hotbar management, a new Job Action Setting will allow players to choose specific action icons that will be replaced with their follow-up actions upon being executed.

This will be especially helpful when using jobs with heavy combo rotations and for controller users who have even less space for new action buttons.

Streamlining jobs by minimizing the number of individual hotbar icons was a point of emphasis for the Final Fantasy XIV team and it showed. Many of the jobs are receiving updates involving icon transformation, rotation simplification, and that address gauge waste.

New Jobs

Viper

Characteristics

• • A fast-paced job that fluidly shifts between dual-blade and double-bladed strikes in their various combos and abilities.

  • Different skills will become available depending on blade form.

  • Has a similar total number of actions as other jobs, but is designed so that fewer actions need to be set on the hotbar.

  • It might appear to be a simple job because of its low button count, but paying attention to enhancements and enfeeblements is key to selecting optimal actions.

Mechanics

• • Players looking to optimize combos must pay close attention to enhancements and enemy enfeeblements currently in play. Buffs and debuffs will determine the combo path.

  • When the HUD gauge is maximized (see screenshot below), Viper goes into Reawakened Mode for additional movesets.

  • The job HUD is designed to make it easy to track enhancements and enfeeblements to guide Viper players.

Pictomancer

Characteristics

• • Pictomancer prepares for combat by painting a variety of motifs, then renders them to life to produce an assortment of effects.

  • Is also capable of granting buffs to party and self.

Mechanics

• • The job HUD features 3 canvases for 3 types of motifs (see screenshot below): creature motif, weapon motif, and landscape motif. These motifs are not connected and can be created before combat without cast time.

  • Render creature motifs for special attacks. For every 3 creature renders, a more powerful attack will be unleashed.

  • Render weapon motifs for access to quick combinations that can be used in between cooldowns.

  • Render landscape motifs for party buffs.

  • The Ether Hue or color change (also seen in the job HUD) determines available spells.

  • The Palette Guage builds charges that alter the Either Hue for more powerful spells.

All Tanks

• Rampart and job-exclusive 30% damage reduction abilities will be upgraded in the 90s level range

• Reprisal’s duration will be increased to 15 seconds in the 90s level range

Paladin

• • The second and third executions of Atonement have been changed to new actions with separate animations (Atonement will change to these actions, so input execution will remain the same).

  • A new action that can be executed after Blade of Valor will be added.

Warrior

• • A new action that can be executed after three executions of Fell Cleave or Decimate while Inner Release is active will be added.

  • A new action that can be executed after Primal Rend will be added.

Dark Knight

• • To reduce the number of inputs during burst damage phases, Blood Weapon will upgrade into Delirium and the effects of Blood Weapon will be added to Delirium.

  • A new action that can be executed after Living Shadow will be added.

Gunbreaker

• • A new action that can be executed after Fated Circle (via Continuation) will be added.

  • A new three-step combo that can be executed after Bloodfest will be added (no cartridge cost).

All Melee DPS

• Second Wind’s healing potency will be increased in the 90s level range.

• Feint’s duration will be increased to 15 seconds in the 90s level range.

Monk

• • Basic combo mechanics will no longer center around maintaining a buff or damage over time; instead, performing actions in a certain order will increase the next action’s potency (The feel of the job will remain largely the same while alleviating uncertainty about which action to use when rotation is interrupted).

  • Can accumulate up to a total of 10 chakra while Brotherhood is active (to prevent chakra overflow).

Dragoon

Yoshida addressed rumors in the Final Fantasy XIV community that the Dragoon job would be overhauled for Dawntrail. While it was considered and continues to be, Dawntrail Dragoon has been greatly streamlined but not overhauled.

• • To reduce positional requirements for the single-target combo, the fifth combo action has been changed to a new non-directional action, Drakesbane (Fang and Claw/Wheeling Thrust will change to Drakesbane, so input execution will remain the same).

  • To facilitate maximum damage output at the beginning of a battle, Life of the Dragon will be available without accumulating Dragon Gauge

  • To reduce the number of inputs during burst damage phases, certain actions will be removed or adjusted.

Ninja

• • Huton’s effect has been removed to a trait and will always be active (Huton will be changed to an AoE attack which grants the effect of Hidden).

  • Actions which extend the duration of Huton’s effect will be adjusted in accordance with the above change.

Samurai

• • To simplify recast management, Tsubame-gaeshi will be changed to be executable after Meikyo Shisui.

  • Hakaze, Tenka Goken, and Midara Setsugekka will be upgraded into new actions.

All Physical Ranged DPS

• Second Wind’s healing potency will be increased in the 90s level range

• Damage reduction of job-exclusive defense abilities will be increased to 15% in the 90s level range

Bard

• • Mage’s Balled, Army’s Paeon, and the Wanderer’s Minuet will be changed into buffing actions that do not attack enemies.

  • Pitch Perfect will be changed into an AoE attack for ease of use in encounters with multiple enemies.

Machinist

• • Barrel Stabilizer will no longer increase Heat Guage by 50 and instead will allow execution of Hypercharge (now can be used when the gauge is at 51 or more without waste).

  • A new trait that accumulates charges for Drill will be added.

Dancer

• • A new action that can be executed after Flourish will be added.

  • A new action that consumes Esprit and can be executed after Technical Finish will be added.

All Magical Ranged DPS

• Swiftcast’s recast will be reduced to 40 seconds in the 90s level range

• Addles’s duration will be increased to 15 seconds in the 90s level range

Black Mage

• • Various adjustments will be made to streamline certain aspects of the job. This includes restoring MP upon landing ice spells while Umbral Ice is active instead of passively over time.

  • A new action that repositions Ley Lines beneath the caster will be added. This can only be done in an encounter once.

Summoner

• • Solar Bahamut, a new summon akin to Bahamut and Phoenix, will be added.

  • A new action that can be executed after Searing Light will be added. (Allows you to attack after party buff).

  • With streamlining updates, Resurrection will be kept for 7.0-7.x. However, discussions for the next expansion have already started and Resurrection might be removed in the future.

Red Mage

• • Manafication will no longer increase Black Mana and White Mana by 50 and will instead allow the execution of enchanted swordplay actions without cost (can now be executed while mana is at 51 or more without waste).

  • The AoE enchanted swordplay combo beginning with Enchanted Moulinet will now consume a total of 50 Black Mana and White Mana–similar to its single-target counterpart.

  • Whenever Embolden is activated there will be an additional attack ability added.

All Healers

• Swiftcast’s recast will be reduced to 40 seconds in the 90s level range.

White Mage

• • A new action allowing the caster to quickly move forward will be added.

  • A new AoE attack, which can be executed up to three times after Presence of Mind, will be added.

  • A trait will be added to increase the stack number for Tetragrammaton.

Scholar

• • Seraphism, a new action that changes the caster’s appearance and enhances healing magicks, will be added

  • A new damage-over-time AoE attack that can be executed after Chain Stratagem will be added.

  • Will obtain a trait that allows for reduced recast time for Recitation.

Astrologian

The Astrologian is receiving significant updates to allow for greater situational flexibility. Players will now be able to use cards more optimally based on combat circumstances.

• • The card system will no longer be random and will instead simultaneously draw cards with offensive, defensive, and curative effects.

  • 8 types of cards will be divided into two groups of 4 that can be drawn every 60 seconds.

  • Cards will either be offensive or curative and after pulling 4, players will be able to select which card to use at any given moment.

  • Astrodyne will be removed in accordance with the discontinuation of astrosigns.

  • A trait will be added that increases the stack number for Essential Dignity.

Sage

• • Eukrasia will now enhance Dyskrasia II into Eukrasia Dyskrasia, an AoE attack that deals damage over time to enemies within range.

  • A new party buff, which heals nearby party members whenever the caster casts a spell will be added.

  • A trait that will shorten the recast time of Soteria.

More job news is expected to be released during the Dawntrail media tour. We’ll be sure to report further updates leading up to the expansion’s July 2 launch.

You can watch the entire Letter from the Producer Live presentation on YouTube.