Final Fantasy XIV offers players plenty of choice when it comes to which job and role they wish to employ. For a while, the healer role was the most limited, with only three options until the fourth one, Sage, came along in Endwalker to join the White Mage, Scholar and Astrologian.
Sage could be considered one of the most complicated and frustrating jobs for newcomers for a couple of key reasons. For one, players unlock this job at level 70, which makes it a challenge to master.
In addition, Sage’s barrier style is already not as straightforward as some of the other healers, but that is only heightened by its own unique quirks. Sage focuses on barriers and preventative measures above all else.
It is a class that is all about constantly applying effects to allies and damage to enemies, with its fascinating blend of techniques from other jobs, such as Scholar’s barriers, Dancer’s partner system, and Red Mage’s instant cast skills. If you’re ready to take the plunge into this extraordinarily fun but time-consuming job, this guide will show you how to level up and master it.
How to unlock the Sage job in FFXIV
Before you can unlock the Sage job in FFXIV, you need to ensure you currently own the Endwalker expansion for the game. Without this expansion, you won’t be able to unlock the job. In addition, make sure you already have a level 70 Disciple of War or Magic job.
Whenever you’re ready, head to the Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks X: 9.4 Y: 12.9 and speak with the Sharlayan Maiden to begin the "Sage's Path" quest and unlock this job.
An introduction to Sage
As soon as you unlock the Sage job, you’ll have a plethora of skills available to you. While it can be overwhelming, here are the most basic skills you need to always keep in mind if you wish to succeed and learn the foundations of this job:
- Kardia: This level four skill is available no matter what dungeon you’re in and you should activate it as soon as you start any content. It is similar to the Dancer’s Closed Position where you use it on a party member (or even yourself) to make them your partner. It creates a passive Kardion boost to that connected party member where they are healed after using certain magic attacks.
- Diagnosis: This is your basic healing spell, similar to Cure or Physick, that restores a target’s HP.
- Eukrasia: This instant cast, no cooldown ability uses no MP and converts Dosis, Diagnosis, and Prognosis into upgraded versions that usually have completely different functions.
- Dosis: The standard attack spell for Sages. It does 300 potency damage and also heals anyone under the effect of Kardion by 170 healing potency.
- Egeiro: This is the resurrection skill for the Sage that allows you to revive a fallen party member.
- Eukrasian Prognosis: This level 30 skill is an enhanced version of Prognosis through the use of Eukrasia. It heals for 100 potency and, more importantly, creates a barrier around all nearby allies for 320 percent of the HP restored.
- Panhaima: This is the ultimate preventative measure for a Sage. This 120 second cooldown skill gives a stacked barrier to yourself and any nearby allies that will absorb 200 potency damage. There are five stacks of this per player, with each one replacing the previous barrier once the last one is destroyed. If there are any remaining after the 15 second duration of this spell, the affected player will receive 100 healing potency per remaining stack.
All of Sage’s skills are useful, but these are the basis of the job. In general, you should use all your cooldowns whenever you get the chance. For all of the various Sage skills, be sure to check out the full job guide.
Level 90 Sage skill rotation and opener
In general, the Sage has an opener similar to the Scholar and Dancer in that you should take care of some barriers and partnership measures before you ever step foot in a fight, which takes around 12-15 seconds:
- Kardia (If you haven’t applied it already. Almost always used on the tank)
- Eukrasia
- Eukrasian Diagnosis (target tank)
- Eukrasia
- Eukrasian Prognosis (party)
Just before pull:
- Tincture of Mind (-3 seconds)
- Dosis III (-1.5 seconds)
- Eukrasia
- Eukrasian Dosis III
- Dosis III
- Dosis III
- Phlegma III
- Phlegma III
- Dosis III
Now that you are in the fight, your goal is to keep Eukrasian Dosis’ DoT (damage-over-time) applied constantly on the enemy to maximize both damage and healing for your tank. Outside of that, Dosis III is your basic attack spell to earn more heals for your tank. You want to use Phlegma III when you get the chance for its massive healing capabilities.
Most of the Sage’s general skill rotation is situational and preventative-based, not reactionary like some other healers. This requires the player to know the mechanics of a fight to have an idea of when to stop dealing damage and use the right utility skills (more on that below).
If you are in a multi-target situation, such as a dungeon, you should use Dyskrasia II, Phlegma III, and Pneuma whenever you have the chance to keep your tank alive.
For a more detailed look at Sage's rotation, you can refer to our comprehensive rotation guide.
What to do with the Sage's Eukrasia and Addersgall Gauges
Sage has two core gauges that the job uses, but one of them is honestly ignorable. Eukrasia is a small gauge that simply lights up whenever you have used the skill Eukrasia and have it active. Eukrasia lasts for 30 seconds, and you can see it in the party list already, so there is no reason to worry about the gauge itself.
Eukrasia changes the effects of Dosis, Diagnosis, and Prognosis and makes them all instant casts:
- Eukrasian Dosis: Your damage-over-time spell. It deals 40 damage for 30 seconds, while also healing your Kardion partner.
- Eukrasian Diagnosis: This becomes a barrier healing ability for a single target.
- Eukrasian Prognosis: This is your highly useful area-of-effect AOE barrier healing ability.
On the other hand, the Addersgall gauge is a two-fold system. You gain up to three Addersgall at a time, with each one appearing after 20 seconds of playtime. It takes a full minute to fill up the gauge, but you should never let it reach three, or else you are wasting your healing and MP recovery potential.
You use the Addersgall points to use special skills like Druochole, Ixochole, and Taurocholle. Even if you don’t need to heal anyone, it is worth using at least Druochole when you’re about to have three Addersgall points to get back seven percent of your MP instantly. If done right, a Sage should typically not have to worry about MP.
The other side of the Addersgall gauge is Addersting, which are the purple marks on the bottom. You can hold up to three of these as well, and you unlock them whenever someone’s barrier breaks. Basically, if you use something like Eukrasian Diagnosis, Eukrasian Prognosis, Haima, and Panhaima, they will give a barrier.
For every barrier that breaks after using these skills, you get an Addersting point. You should consume these whenever you have them available for Toxikon II to deal solid damage and heal your Kardion partner.
Sage utility skills and when to use them
The Sage’s utility skills are all about your current situation. For the most part, you want to use a spell when you have access to it, such as the case with Toxikon II for max damage and healing possibilities. If you know that a raid-wide hit is about to happen, Zoe, Kerachole, Physis II, Holos, and Panhaima are going to be your best friends.
On the other hand, if you are in a dire situation where you need immediate healing to recover (which you should try to avoid when possible), you’ll want to use skills like Druochole, Ixochole, Taurochole, Holos, and Pepsis. Just remember that this type of recovery isn’t the Sage’s best aspect.
For your tank, it’s crucial to deal as much damage as possible to keep them healed up. But skills like Eukrasian Diagnosis, Krasis (to boost your healing skills) Soteria (which improves Kardia effects), Druochole, and Haima can help in a pinch or for damage prevention and recovery.
Sage food, pots, and gear – current for Patch 6.5
For the most part, the stats you want to focus on for food are Critical Hit and Determination. You can mostly ignore Spell Speed and Piety.
As of Patch 6.5, the best food to use is Baked Eggplant or, alternatively, Carrot Pudding, if the Eggplant is sold out or too expensive on the market board. When it comes to potions, you want to use the latest Tincture of Mind, which is Grade 8 in Patch 6.5.
When it comes to end-game gear, you want to make the Best in Slot (BiS) gear you can get. For Sages starting out in the endgame right now, you’ll want to deck out your Sage in high-quality Diadochos of Healing gear from top to bottom (don’t worry about Ornate) via the market board or crafting.
Use that to get through most content and then take a look at Etro if you want to get into Savage raid content and its necessary gearset. You want to take your Sage gear and pentameld it with a mix of Critical Hit, Determination, and Direct Hit materia.
