Welcome to our Final Fantasy XIV Job Guide for healers! So, you’ve heard of the critically-acclaimed MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV? You’d like to give the game a try, but aren’t sure which healer is right for you?

There are currently 17 different jobs playable in the game right now. Two more are coming in the Endwalker expansion this November. All jobs are playable on the same character, so you certainly won’t be at a loss for choices. Out of these 17 jobs, 3 are healers. We’ll give you a quick overview of them here.

Final Fantasy XIV Job Guide: Healers

Healers are the crux of every party, and hold everyone's survival in their hands. It's the hardest role to play in high-end content, as you'll be busy keeping everyone alive while also dealing damage yourself. Playing a healer needs a good grasp of the game's incoming damage, and the cooldowns and mitigations available to your teammates. It's also one of the most fulfilling roles to play.

WHITE MAGE

White Mages are the Final Fantasy series' staple healer. Armed with their trusty staff and wearing their red-and-white garb, they boast the highest burst healing potential in the game. They are the only job with a full-HP top-up skill, Benediction. This makes them best friends with Dark Knights, and ensures they can use Living Dead safely. Additionally, since their Shadowbringers rework that introduced the Blood Lily gauge, they also fare much better damage-wise. White Mages don't offer much in terms of mitigation though, as they are more suited for reactive healing and regeneration. Aspiring White Mages start out as Conjurers in Gridania.

SCHOLAR

Scholars, meanwhile, operate in the opposite manner as White Mages. They excel in mitigating damage with pre-casted shields. This makes them a little harder to grasp in the early levels. Additionally, they also have a pet fairy, which helps with additional healing but does require a minimal amount of micro-control. Scholars excel in helping a good party become even better but may struggle in picking up parties taking too much unnecessary damage, as their burst healing potential is very limited. However, as you get more familiar with the content and learn to anticipate incoming damage, you'll be able to see the job's true potential. Players looking to pick up Scholar begin as Arcanists (a caster DPS class) in Limsa Lominsa. Additionally, leveling up Scholar earns you experience points for Summoner as well, netting you levels for two jobs at the same time.

ASTROLOGIAN

These celestial healers are the most versatile of the three that are currently in the game. They have a regen-focused Diurnal Sect and a shielding-focused Nocturnal Sect. This allows them to adjust to whichever of the other two healers end up in their party. In addition to this, they also draw cards that can increase a party member's damage. All these tools make Astrologian a great addition to any party, especially for high-end content. However, newcomers might find themselves overwhelmed with just how many things they need to keep track of. Additionally, Astrologian also has a much shorter global c0oldown, which makes them a very active class. Aspiring Astrologians need to have any other job at level 30 and access to the city of Ishgard in the Heavensward expansion to begin their journey.

SAGE

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The Sage job hasn't arrived into Final Fantasy XIV just yet, so we can't really recommend it immediately in this job guide, but it is going to become available once the upcoming Endwalker expansion drops this November. If the most recent Job Action Trailer is anything to go by though, it appears that the job is a veritable swiss army knife of a healer. There aren't any specific details just yet, but as a barrier healer, it will of course provide shields and other forms of damage mitigation to the party. It also seems to be able to heal allies by attacking enemies and is the only healer to have a built-in gap-closer in its kit. We'll update this guide once we find out more, but Sage is looking like a great choice for healers looking to bring a little something extra to the fray.

Final Fantasy XIV Job Guide: Healing – Conclusion

When it comes to bringing healers to high-end content, don’t fret too much, as any standard team composition (two tanks, two healers, 4 DPS) can clear any content in the game. Pick what feels the most fun to you and go with it. Though there is some level of complexity that that comes with playing Scholar and especially Astrologian, most players will understand, especially if you mention that you are new at the start of the instance. Additionally, please do note that healers in FFXIV are expected to do their fair share of DPS. Just remember that when everyone's alive and you don't need to heal, you should be spamming that DPS button.

If you’re set on beginning your Final Fantasy XIV journey but have been confused by the frankly convoluted Free Trial registration process, we’ve got a guide that walks you through it right here.