Progression as a Caster in FFXIV

Progression on certain fights in this game can take days, weeks, and sometimes even months. Every job has some form of utility it can use, and players that use this to its fullest extent will make progression feel like a breeze.

A good mindset to have during progression is "anything to prolong the pull." This refers to the idea of seeing more of the fight and experiencing more mechanics. The more you do this, the faster you learn. This goes hand in hand with a few topics I want to talk about.

Focus on resolving the mechanics first. Once you are more comfortable on the encounter, then try to optimize your rotation. Unless you are hitting some kind of enrage, it is better to have your full focus with the mechanics than your rotation.

Both Summoner and Red Mage have the ability to resurrect people who died in combat through their spells Resurrection and Verraise. Red Mage naturally is able to use this spell every other cast freely due to their dualcast passive, however, Summoner should save their Swiftcast for this spell as it is not a damage gain to use it elsewhere and can save three GCDs worth of casting if used on Resurrection. A good caster is mindful of when deaths can occur, frequently checks the party list, and responds quickly to deaths by raising. It is recommended to vocally communicate or use a macro to indicate when and who you are raising. If you do not do this, you risk overlapping raises, wasting mana and Swiftcast uses.

I recommend reading more about the ins and outs of raising here:

All three casters bring mitigation in one form or another. To begin with, every caster brings Addle to their party. This job action reduces the magic damage dealt by the afflicted target by 10% while also reducing the physical damage dealt by 5%. Coordinate uses of this ability with your healers.

Alongside Addle, Red Mage comes equipped with Magick Barrier. This ability grants everyone within range a buff, which increases their healing taken by healing actions by 5% and reduces magic damage taken by 10% for 10 seconds. Similar to Addle, this ability can lift a heavy burden from your healers. However, it is worth noting that the damage mitigation is only for magic damage and will have zero effect on any physical damage taken. You can still use it for the healing taken increase, but this buff is most useful during repeated raidwide damage where healers need to constantly heal.

Red Mage has the ability Vercure, a spell that does moderate single-target healing. You can freely use Vercure to assist your healers with healing during phases where no boss is targetable by spot healing any party members with excessively low HP. Aside from this, Vercure should be avoided except for the most extreme circumstances such where a healer is dead or otherwise preoccupied and you need to heal yourself or another party member to avoid death.

Summoners apply Everlasting Flight to all party members within 15 yalms every time they cast Summon Phoenix. This buff puts a heal over time on all nearby players that heals for a moderate amount. Alongside this healing, Summoners also gain access to the ability Rekindle once they are in their Phoenix Trance. Try to resist the urge to press this instantly. Instead, apply it to the tank that is currently taking the auto attacks from the boss or any player that is suffering from high constant damage, as this action puts a powerful heal over time on the targeted player once they get below 75% HP.

Black Mage has access to Manaward, a potent shield that applies to themselves when cast. Try to use this when your healers are struggling to recover from raises and mistakes, or during times where healing or incoming damage is intense.

A lot of DPS are often inclined to only ever use potions that increase their damage and often ignore these valuable potions. Super-Ether can be crafted by level 70 Alchemist and restores 14% of your total mana. Use these instead of your damage tinctures if you are low on mana after mass raising party members.