Final Fantasy 14 is technically introducing two new classes with Shadowbringers. But that’s not the whole story. The game’s third expansion is reworking nearly every combat Job available. And no class is getting quite as completely overhauled as the Machinist. This ranged DPS class was introduced during Heavensward, the first FF14 expansion, but quickly fell into disuse. It was overly complicated and underwhelming. Now, however, it’s basically an entirely new Job — with more skills, new abilities, and a completely different flow. So let’s take a look at our Machinist guide for Shadowbringers to see how the rework, changes, and new skills operate.
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FF14 Jobs are all going through some major changes in Shadowbringers. The new expansion includes major reworks across the board, as well as two entirely new classes: Dancer and Gunbreaker. Between these additions and another massive payload of story content, Shadowbringers almost makes FF14 feel like an entirely new game. And that’s exactly why you might need help picking your new main Job or Jobs this time around. We’re here to help with another FF14 Job guide — this time for the gunslinging Machinist.
Machinist Role – FF14 Shadowbringers Guide
The Machinist is a bit of an odd duck. It’s a ranged, physical DPS class with abilities that make it function like a melee Job. That makes it incredibly mobile for its role. Though it doesn’t seem to have the all-around utility of a Dancer, or even the reworked Bard in Shadowbringers. So most of that mobility just goes towards outputting consistent damage.
Less directly, Machinists suffer from how common DPS players are in FF14. A Machinist can’t often get “Hero in Need” XP and gil bonuses by participating in daily roulettes — except sometimes in Alliance Raids. This makes Machinists (and any other DPS for that matter) somewhat harder to level up than tank Jobs and healers in Final Fantasy. On the upside, they’re a lot simpler to play than either of the other two roles.
Machinist Rework – FF14 Shadowbringers Guide
The very, very basics of the Machinist are still intact in FF14: Shadowbringers. You still use the three-hit combo of Split Shot, Slug Shot, and Clean Shot — occasionally mixing in Hot Shot to boost damage. Everything else, however, is completely different. Even the old combo itself is slightly new, since it no longer requires the Ammunition resource to, well, combo. You can simply cast the abilities in order, as if it were a melee Job combo. This makes the Machinist unique among ranged Jobs in FF14.
Actually, the entire resource system for Machinists has been gutted and replaced. You no longer have ammo at all, and instead build up “Heat” and “Battery” with various abilities. Heat is only used to cast Hypercharge, which puts you into the Overheated state. This, in turn, increases weaponskill potency and allows you to use certain powerful skills.
Meanwhile, Battery is used to summon the Rook Autoturret and/or the Automaton Queen. The more Battery you have when casting either skill, the longer the summoned machines stick around to do your bidding. The turret will shoot your enemies (just as it did before), but now fizzles out much more quickly. To compensate, the Rook goes out with a high damage bang. Whereas the Automaton Queen is just a big, bad robot — one that punches away for you without remorse. Besides lasting longer depending on how much Battery Gauge you spend, the Automaton Queen also does more damage that way.
TL;DR Machinist players (all seven of them) have a lot to look forward to in Shadowbringers. They no longer do bonus damage in fits and starts — depending on whether they had ammo available or not — and instead feel like they build toward explosive climaxes. In the meantime, they do incredible AoE damage with a multitude of mechanisms. The extra gadgets help make them feel like all-around tinkerers, too, rather than riflemen. Flamethrowers, robots, poison sprayers, the Auto Crossbow: It all just feels more flavorful. You can see the full list of changes and additions for yourself right here.
Machinist Tips – FF14 Shadowbringers Guide
- Build the Battery. There doesn’t appear to be much good reason not to max out your Battery Gauge before casting either Rook or Automaton Queen. Both equate to damage over time meant for big, beefy enemies like bosses. So you likely want them to run as long as possible. You could trigger them earlier to quickly dispatch weaker enemies, but Machinists have so many other options at their disposal now that it doesn’t seem worthwhile.
- Don’t waste Wildfire. Speaking of weaker enemies, Wildfire now has a conditional Detonator function. Any time after casting the skill, you can trigger its time delayed damage early. The effect is lesser, of course, but now you can use it to finish off weak enemies that would normally die before it triggered at all.
- Blow off some steam with Hypercharge. It appears to be the only ability that uses Heat! And since Hypercharge is good for an altogether damage buff, it seems pretty broadly applicable in all cases. Don’t just sit on unused heat for no good reason.
- Speaking of charges… The Machinist gets a number of abilities with the new “charge” mechanic in FF14. This allows them to quickly cast abilities with cooldowns, like Ricochet, in rapid succession. Then you simply wait for more charges to build up. Don’t forget to recast these as often as you like! The charges can always rebuild between battles.
- Get to know your Flamethrower. The Flamethrower is an extremely potent ability for any Machinist. But it requires you to stay in place for maximum effectiveness. That’s… rarely an option in FF14. Nearly every boss, and even many normal enemies will force you to move with strongly telegraphed AoE attacks. More than ever, you might need to know what windows are safe to pull out this hot pepper and broil your opponents.
How to Unlock the Machinist Job – FF14 Shadowbringers Guide
Unlike most Jobs in FF14, the Machinist isn’t accessible at the outset. Instead you need to play through the entire “A Realm Reborn” campaign and reach the Heavensward expansion content. When you reach the quest “Before the Dawn,” you will gain access to the city of Ishgard. This is where you can accept the quest “Savior of Skysteel” — found in the Pillars region of the city. “Savior of Skysteel” will unlock the Machinist in FF14. And unlike base game classes, the Machinist begins at level 30.
That’s all for now, folks! Thanks for taking the time to read our guide to the Machinist in FF14: Shadowbringers. We hope it helps you master this explosive DPS to the best of your ability. Until then, good luck learning the new reworks, abilities, and intricacies of the Machinist going forward.
