Introduction to Casters in FFXIV

The caster DPS role is one of the more diverse roles in Final Fantasy XIV. While the fundamentals of playing all four caster DPS jobs have similarities, each has some differences in playstyle and what they bring to the raid. Every caster DPS must work around cast times as part of its rotation, at least to some extent, but each has different tools to deal with movement when it is needed in encounters. Broadly speaking, they can be split into two types: lower damage casters with the ability to revive fallen party members in combat ("res casters"), and higher damage casters without the ability to revive fallen party members in combat.

There are currently four different Caster DPS Jobs as of Endwalker: Summoner, Black Mage, Red Mage, and Pictomancer. All of the casters use the same type of gear, casting, and utilize the same main stat, Intelligence.

Summoner is one of the first two Caster DPS Jobs released in A Realm Reborn. Summoner begins as an Arcanist, which then can receive both the Summoner and Scholar job stones upon reaching level 30. The overall rotation loops in phases: Summon Solar Bahamut > Primals Phase > Summon Phoenix > Primals Phase > Summon Bahamut > Primals Phase > Summon Solar Bahamut (and repeat). During the primals phase, Summoner can cast Summon Garuda II Summon Titan II Summon Ifrit II (in any order), which grants temporary access to unique spells.

Notably, Summoner is the most mobile of the four casters, with many parts of its rotation being instant-cast spells, making it the most beginner-friendly of all casters. In terms of utility, aside from the role action Addle, Summoner is also one of the "res casters" with access to Resurrection, among other abilities that can help with its own survival ( Radiant Aegis) or party member healing ( Lux Solaris, Everlasting Flight, and Rekindle).

Black Mage is the other Caster DPS Job that was released in A Realm Reborn. The job starts as Thaumaturge, which then receives the Black Mage job stone at level 30. The job's rotation primarily consists of two phases, Astral Fire and Umbral Ice. Astral Fire is Black Mage's primary damage phase, where it spends all of its mana to cast hard-hitting spells such as Fire IV, Despair, and Flare Star. After spending all of its mana, Black Mage switches to Umbral Ice to regenerate mana for the next Astral Fire phase. Black Mage also has a DoT spell, Thunder III, which is maintained throughout its rotation. While it generally spends more time casting than other casters, Black Mage has movement tools that can be utilized when necessary such as Triplecast, Xenoglossy, and procs

Out of the four casters, Black Mage is the most lacking in party utility, though its personal damage output is the most consistent. The only party mitigation tool Black Mage can use is the role action Addle. It also has Manaward, a personal barrier used to lower personal damage taken from mechanics.

Red Mage was released with the Stormblood expansion. It has no base class and begins at level 50. Red Mage's rotation revolves around alternating spell casts to build Black and White Mana, which is then spent executing powerful Enchanted melee combos. Melee combos are the strongest part of its DPS rotation, as it concludes with powerful finisher spells such as Scorch and Resolution. Another important part of Red Mage's damage is its powerful oGCDs, such as Fleche, Contre Sixte, and Prefulgence, and so maximizing uses becomes a key aspect of its gameplay. The Dualcast mechanic gives Red Mage a more "rhythmic" feel to its gameplay and movement, and much of encounter optimization revolves around knowing how to plan instant casts (e.g. offered by Acceleration, Grand Impact, and unbuffed melee combos) around raid mechanics.

Red Mage, as one of two "res casters", is known for bringing plenty of utility to the party, especially through Verraise, which can be used with Dualcast to quickly raise players during raid encounters. For party mitigation, in addition to Addle, Red Mage can also use Magick Barrier, a party-wide magical damage reduction and healing buff. Red Mage also has Vercure, a GCD healing spell that allow it to easily solo content or for an occasional healing.

Pictomancer was released with the Dawntrail expansion. It has no base class and begins at level 80. In general, Pictomancer has a somewhat unique playstyle that focuses on burst damage and flexible use of resources. While it has plenty of mobility options and a straightforward "filler" rotation with its single target or AoE combos, there are also a few parts of the rotation that have longer cast times. This means that maximizing the job's potential tends to encourage a deep understanding of an encounter's phases and mechanics while planning around Creature Motif ( Pom Muse Winged Muse Clawed Muse Fanged Muse). Weapon Motif and Holy in White (and by extension Comet in Black) provides options for movement and damage, but should also be planned around the encounter.

Pictomancer does not have the ability to revive party members like Summoner or Red Mage, and so it does higher damage than those two jobs as a result (comparable to Black Mage). However, it is not without utility: Starry Muse is an AOE party raid buff, Star Prism heals party members in addition to doing damage, and Tempera Grassa can spread a shield to the entire party to help with survival and mitigation.

Each job has its own BiS options, and Black Mage in particular likes Spell Speed while the other two don't. Furthermore, Summoner prefers to run a GCD of 2.48 or faster (2.49 or 2.50 results in losing a cast during Bahamut or Phoenix phases). For an omni-caster player, you would want to run any of the 2.48 GCD sets across Red Mage, Summoner, and Pictomancer (using your favorite of the three as a base), and a Black Mage 2.43 GCD set that would require minimal meld swaps.

Many people choose to play casters because they enjoy working around cast times and optimizing their uptime by properly utilizing each job's movement tools. It is important to know what is expected of you as a caster in different raid scenarios.

As mentioned, a caster's group responsibility will vary greatly depending on their job and raid environment. Black Mage and Pictomancer do not see a significant change between progression and optimization due to their general lack of utility outside of shared mitigation responsibility. Summoner and Red Mage, on the other hand, will see their focus shift depending on the environment. In progression scenarios, res casters should always be prepared to raise any fallen teammates to assist their healers and keep them from running out of MP. It is possible and even common for a caster with a raise to save a run during progression. During optimization or clear attempts, Red Mage and Summoner's responsibility will shift to primarily focusing on their damage output.

It is quite common for caster players to run a res caster (Summoner or Red Mage) during progression, and switch to a damage caster (Black Mage or Pictomancer) for clear attempts on fights that have tighter damage checks. While this is something "serious" caster players should aspire to do, keep in mind that all encounters are designed to be comfortably clearable without relying on caster res or Black Mage/Pictomancer damage. A consistently excellent Summoner or Red Mage player will still do more damage than a bad Black Mage or Pictomancer player, and likewise, a Black Mage or Pictomancer player with excellent progression skill and communication will still be more valuable than a Summoner or Red Mage player with poor awareness or consistency.