Every DPS Job in Final Fantasy XIV has its perks. Melee DPS places you in front of the danger to throw sequences of strong attacks. Magic DPS lays down big damage from afar while managing cast timers. On the other hand, there are the Physical Ranged DPS Jobs that may not hit as hard, but use distance to their advantage while buffing and protecting the party. This FFXIV tier list for Ranged DPS Jobs puts Bard, Machinist, and Dancer in perspective as they are in Patch 6.2.
By going through this list, not only will you learn which Jobs shine most as Ranged DPS, but it also can help you pick the one that suits you better in terms of playstyle. Ranged DPS Jobs have gone through a considerable amount of adjustments over the years — they were even casters for a while. However, their core concepts have been maintained.
In general, these classic long-range attack classes — Bard, Dancer, and Machinist — tend to be picked by newcomers attracted by the safety that attack from afar comes with. They’re not wrong, since distance often gives time to respond to mechanics or to dodge attacks that could be deadly if playing as a melee Job. This doesn’t make them a simple or less powerful group of DPS Jobs, though. With patches 6.28, 6.3, and 6.4, the current three Ranged DPS jobs received small changes.
Bard, Machinist, and Dancer can all carry their own weight but cater to different playstyles and affect the party in different ways. This doesn’t mean that the tier of a Job cannot change in future patches. After all, every fight is different, changing what the parties will need. Also, it is important to keep in mind that this tier list is not a way to belittle any of the Jobs. FFXIV is a very balanced game in terms of each Job’s capacity to be effective in endgame content. Every Job is viable as long as you are playing optimally and enjoying it — and any boss can certainly be defeated. Here is the FFXIV Ranged DPS tier list!
S Tier Ranged DPS
Dancer
A Tier Ranged DPS
Bard
B Tier Ranged DPS
Machinist
S Tier: Dancer
When Dancer was introduced with Shadowbringers, it was immediately clear how effective the job was going to be due to its ability to buff a specific party member throughout the encounter by using Dance Partner. Another striking characteristic of the job is how easy it is to perform well as a damage dealer and support for the group. Dancers can also buff the entire party with Step Actions and Finishes. This functions like a rhythm game where correct inputs determine the strength of players’ party-wide buffs.
Although Ranged DPS jobs aren't too difficult to play, the streamlined nature of Dancer makes it all the more attractive. Beating enemies won’t demand long combo chains and is instead based on procs (the percentage-based chance a particular skill becomes available). Dancers have a dash skill that gives the job a lot of mobility, which has up to three charges. It is an amazing tool that assists players in dealing with mechanics.
In the last few patches, Dancer received some general as well as specific modifications that reinforce the job’s position in this tier list. Besides having the reach of all Finish buffs increasing in Patch 6.4, Dancer can use either Curing Waltz as well as Shield Samba while dancing since Patch 6.3. While the first buff came to all Ranged DPS jobs, the possibility of using these two cooldowns more easily makes Dancer a great support job.
For a full breakdown on what Dancer has to offer, take a look at the Dancer Job Guide.
A Tier: Bard
The traditional bow-user has its place among the ranged DPS in FFXIV as a strong job and incredibly useful once mastered. As a unique trait of this job, Bards don’t necessarily have a set combo or rotation as found in Dancer or Machinist. The job works with priorities, procs, and oGCDs. There are certain skills that should be prioritized once they’re ready from cooldown. Due to how some of its skills work, Bards also need to keep track not only of procs but also maintaining uptime of DoT abilities.
The other aspect to Bard is its ability to always have an active buff for themselves and other party members via the Song Gauge. It’s Bard’s main feature and has several functions from increasing the party’s Critical Hit rate to give the Bard additional attacks. What makes Bard sit in A-tier is how complex as well as punitive it can be in case of mistakes. To keep track of procs/rotation, DoT uptime, Songs, and so on can get quite overwhelming.
With the last patches that came to FFXIV, Bard hasn’t seen a major change or buff that would justify it being in Tier S instead of A. But they did help the job to have a stronger support tool. Patch 6.4 increased the area-of-effect of some abilities for all Ranged DPS jobs. On the other hand, in patches 6.3 and 6.28, Bard’s Nature’s Minne affects the player and all nearby party members while Empyreal Arrow had its potency increased from 200 to 230. Although the buff is not enough to increase the job’s DPS output, the change in Nature’s Minne turned into a better skill when it comes to helping healers.
Check out our Bard Job Guide to learn more about the job.
B Tier: Machinist
Maybe one of the most stylish jobs in FFXIV, the Machinist comes with a wild arsenal of weapons to bring enemies down. Among the Ranged DPS jobs, Machinist has always presented itself as the brute force long-range damage-dealer reaching personal DPS numbers the other two would struggle to compete with. While Machinists offer all this damage potency, it is a pretty selfish job having only the Tactician skill which mitigates damage to help the party.
Despite having a considerable number of attacks in its rotation, Machinists are pretty straightforward to play. It has less busywork to maintain damage output if compared to Bard, but it is a little more complex than the Dancer. On the other hand, it is the least mobile job among the three Ranged DPS. This makes the job a bit more punishing in situations of bad positioning.
Among the Ranged DPS jobs, Machinist was the one that received the most buffs. Most skills had their potencies increased by around 20 points in patches 6.28 and 6.3, which is not a massive change, but makes Machinist even stronger when it comes to causing damage. As an example, Wildfire – one of the most important skills in the job’s kit had its potency increased from 220 to 240, in addition to now being able to stack the skill’s effect up to six times. Machinist had most skills’ range increased in patch 6.4, a change applied to all Ranged DPS jobs.
The Machinist Job Guide has more details on what to expect when playing the job.
