FFXIV 7.1 job changes make it harder for tanks to die and easier to heal them

FFXIV 7.1’s job changes might have few sweeping readjustments for the job system, but it does make a handful of welcome changes for the MMO game’s tanks in particular

Square Enix

FFXIV 7.1’s job changes might have few sweeping readjustments for the job system, but it does make a handful of welcome changes for the MMO game’s tanks in particular. One of the biggest changes is how your tank’s invulnerability skill works.

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Previously, invulnerability skills such as Hallowed Ground and Living Dead had a brief gap between the time you activate the ability and the time the invulnerability status takes effect. That left a brief window where whatever you wanted to not kill you could, and often did, kill you anyway, but as of FFXIV 7.1, the invulnerability status applies “more quickly.”

Square Enix also adjusted Gunbreaker’s Superbolide, so it drops your HP to 50 percent instead of to one. Gone now are the days of accidentally applying a healing spell before the Gunbreaker activates Superbolide, only to see their HP drop immediately afterward and watch the party fall apart.

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Speaking of healers, 7.1 is removing Esuna’s casting windup, so you apply it instantly after pressing the button. It sounds like a minor thing, but the 2.5 seconds between activating and casting can make a world of difference in higher-level battles.

FFXIV 7.1’s job changes include an array of other small adjustments with noticeable changes for how a class plays. The Dark Knight’s Dark Mind mitigates physical damage in addition to magic damage, a long overdue change that gives the squishiest tank a slightly higher chance of staying healthy. The Ninja’s Throwing Dagger ranged attack gets a hefty potency boost to 200 from 120 when you unlock the Melee Mastery II trait, though Square Enix added a reminder note that it’s meant to supplement ninjutsu skills while you’re repositioning – not replace them.

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Dragoons deal more damage with Piercing Talon and other skills, though they get fewer Nastrond stacks during their boost phase as a result. Cast time dropped a bit for the White Mage’s Holy and Black Mage’s Flare, while some Machinist and Summoner skills saw a slight potency boost, and the Astrologian’s Gravity spells affect a wider area. It’s a lot, and if you want to see it for yourself, check out the Lodestone’s newly added job change section to the 7.1 patch notes.