3 New Jobs in Heavensward, Dark Knight, Astrologian, Machinist

The FFXIV Heavensward expansion brings three meticulously designed jobs that expand role diversity and introduce innovative gameplay mechanics. These additions provide fresh tactical options for players seeking new challenges beyond the original 2.0 job system.

Each job features distinct visual designs and combat animations that reflect their unique identities. The development team focused on creating roles that feel fundamentally different from existing options while maintaining balance within the holy trinity of tank, healer, and DPS roles.

Dark Knight (暗黒騎士), first revealed at the 2014 London Fan Festival, represents a revolutionary approach to tanking. This greatsword-wielding protector utilizes darkness magic alongside physical combat, creating a hybrid defensive style.

Unlike conventional tanks that rely on TP (Tactical Points), Dark Knight operates primarily with MP (Magic Points) as its core resource. Players channel MP to activate a darkness buff that envelops them in a protective aura. Mastering this job involves strategically maintaining the aura for defensive enhancements, self-buffs, or offensive capabilities against enemies.

Pro Tip: Manage your MP pool carefully—running out during critical moments leaves you vulnerable. Optimal play involves timing your darkness abilities between weapon skills to maintain consistent threat generation and damage mitigation.

Common Mistake: New Dark Knights often overcommit MP on offensive abilities, leaving insufficient resources for emergency defensive cooldowns. Always keep at least 20% MP reserved for reactive survival skills.

Astrologian (占星術師) expands the healing role with celestial magic and strategic card mechanics. Introduced at Tokyo’s 2014 Fan Fest, this job employs star globes—enchanted viewing devices with card decks—as primary weapons.

Astrologians harness stellar energies for powerful healing spells while using constellation-based divination cards to enhance party performance. The job’s unique stance system allows switching between healing-focused and barrier-oriented modes, with spells producing different effects based on the active stance.

Advanced Technique: Master the card drawing rhythm—optimal play involves drawing cards during movement or downtime to maximize party buff uptime without sacrificing healing output.

Timing Consideration: Stance switching has a cooldown, so plan transitions around anticipated damage patterns. Diurnal stance excels at sustained healing, while nocturnal provides stronger mitigation for burst damage phases.

Machinist (機工士), introduced alongside Astrologian, offers ranged physical damage with mechanical support capabilities. Firearms serve as primary weapons, augmented by specialized attachments and deployable turret systems.

Machinists enhance their combat effectiveness through turret deployment that can attack enemies, apply debuffs, or buff allies. Attachments transform firearms into cannon-like weapons, significantly boosting damage output but requiring stationary positioning during charge phases.

Strategic Insight: Turret placement significantly impacts effectiveness—position them where they can maintain line of sight to priority targets while avoiding area-of-effect attacks.

Resource Management: Gun actions consume gunpowder stacks (ammo), making reload timing crucial. Movement cancels charged attacks, so assess fight mechanics before committing to attachment use.

Common Pitfall: Beginners often deploy turrets in suboptimal positions or forget to reload during movement phases, resulting in substantial DPS loss.

These three jobs differ fundamentally from FFXIV 2.0 classes—none require base classes and all commence at level 30. Community discussions indicate Machinist currently leads in popularity, though Dark Knight and Astrologian maintain substantial followings.

The expansion significantly broadens role options, providing additional choices whether players prefer tanking, healing, or damage dealing. For comprehensive job selection guidance, consult our Class Guide covering optimal role selection based on playstyle preferences.

Player Feedback: Machinist appeals to players who enjoy technical gameplay with strategic positioning, while Dark Knight attracts those seeking magic-infused tanking mechanics. Astrologian satisfies healers wanting additional decision-making layers beyond direct healing.

Preparation Strategy: Before Heavensward’s release, accumulating FFXIV GIL proves beneficial for gear acquisition and consumables. Explore efficient methods in our Weapons Unlock guide for optimal resource allocation.

For players considering premium currency options, established vendors like Mmogah offer reliable services, though we recommend prioritizing in-game acquisition methods for the most authentic experience.

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