Final Fantasy 14 has enjoyed both popular and critical success in the wake of Endwalker. Between the content drought and streamer flight from World of Warcraft, as well as the ongoing problems in New World, Square Enix's MMO has firmly entrenched itself at the top of the genre with many new players finding a new home in the lands of Eorzea and beyond.
This Tuesday, the developers of Final Fantasy 14 released patch 6.0.8 to the world, launching the Oceania datacenter, as well as introducing sweeping numerical changes to the classes (jobs) in the game that needed it most. Perhaps the most commendable thing about the team's approach to ironing out the balance issues in Endwalker's endgame is bringing up the underperforming jobs to be up to par with the current stars of the meta.
Those familiar with the current meta of Final Fantasy 14 will recognize that Warriors have been an absolute powerhouse at the tanking role, being capable of self-sustaining themselves through feats of healing to the point of becoming the subject of many memes in the community. On the side of the damage dealers, Endwalker has seen the rise of Reapers and Monks – who have replaced the beloved Samurai as the new kings and queens of maiming and striking down the many bosses of Etheirys.
The balance changes in Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.0.8 bring the damage output of Paladins up to par with the rest of the tanks, increasing the potency of their abilities across the board by a sizable margin, with Blade of Faith, Blade of Truth, and Blade of Valor getting a tremendous damage boost. Warriors have also not been exempt from being the beneficiary of this patch, as the potency of their ranged ability Tomahawk was increased by 50%.
As far as damage dealing jobs go, the greatest changes came to Dragoons, Dancers, Ninjas, Black Mages, and Samurai. Dragoons received a much-needed potency boost across the board, as well as bringing Stardiver's damage closer to that of long-cooldown abilities seen in other jobs. The range of their tether ability – Dragon's Eye – has also been dramatically increased from 12 yards to 30 yards, making it easier for them and their partners to position in the middle of a chaotic boss fight.
Dancers were in bad spot prior to the release of 6.0.8, as even though they were designed as a support job first and foremost, their damage output was still displeasingly low. Joining Ninjas, Black Mages, and Samurai, the general increase to their potency will once again make them capable of dishing out respectable numbers outside and within Endwalker's Pandaemonium raids.
Other changes of note include a marginal damage boost to Machinists and Summoners, which should bring the damage dealing jobs to a closer level of balance than Endwalker initially launched with. Regrettably, the unfortunate state of Dark Knights could not be addressed with numeral adjustments alone, and the job is promised to receive a rework in Endwalker's 6.1 patch, which is poised to also introduce Ishgard housing to the game.
Final Fantasy 14 is now available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: Final Fantasy 14
