Beginner Tips For FFXIV's Endwalker Sage

The Sage of Final Fantasy 14 is one of two new Jobs introduced in the Endwalker expansion, with this particular specialization having a focus on healing and supporting allies. In a game like FF14 where everyone has a basic heal but no one to fully coordinate team survival, a dedicated Healer like the Sage is an extremely valuable asset to any party. Of course, this initial expectation can also become overwhelming to newcomers to the Job.

Interestingly enough, the Sage does offer new approaches and methodologies to explore the Healer role that other Jobs don’t necessarily offer, making them quite an intriguing option to try out for both healing savants and those who just want a new Job to test. However, just how should players approach the Sage?

8 Remember The Sage Basics

At its core, the Sage is a Job under the Disciple Of Magic, meaning it belongs to the division of classes that specialize in using magical abilities to achieve various benefits. More importantly, it’s a healer along the likes of the White Mage, Astrologian, and the Scholar. Here are things players need to remember about the Sage:

Barrier Healing is the key focus of the Sage: Unlike the White Mage and the Astrologian, the Sage follows the footsteps of the Scholar in that they prioritize boosting the party’s defenses instead of outright healing.
Middling compared to other Healers: It’s important to remember that the Sage isn’t a pure Healer, and it helps to understand how they’re different from other Jobs. The White Mage has better access to regeneration and resurrection spells, the Astrologian has more access to damage buffs for allies, and the Scholar has a programmable healing fairy that gives them room to dish out damage. The Sage’s access to middling healing, defensive, and offensive abilities make them a neutral Healing Job.

7 Take Note Of Resources

Like with other Jobs, the Sage has access to various resources that allow them to dish out both their most powerful offensive spells and their most powerful heals. Players need to understand the complexities of these resources in order to properly capitalize upon them in combat. Here are resources to always take to heart:

Addersgall: Similar to the Lilies of the White Mage, each Addersgall oval is generated every second and is used for the Sage’s OGCDs. Addersgall stacks are consumed using any one of four abilities, each of which are instant-casts and even restores 7-percent of the player’s maximum mana.
Addersting: These are purple diamonds on the Job Gauge that are used to cast Toxikon and Toxikon 2, both damage-dealing abilities. The only way to gain stacks is through the consumption of barriers.
Eukrasia: This is an instant-cast GCD with a 1-second recast that can transform Dosis, Diagnosis, and Prognosis spells into Eukrasian versions. When done, these abilities become instant with 1.5-second recasts. Players who use Eukrasia need to use this carefully as the increased potency of these spells do mean slight delays in barriers.
Kardion: This is more of a must-apply to an ally, which gives them the Kardion buff and the Kardia buff to the Sage. Whenever the Sage casts an offensive ability, the Kardion receiver gets 170 Potency Cure. As such, this is best used with Tanks.

6 Addersgall Gives Access To Heals

While the Sage does have a plethora of healing abilities similar to other Jobs, their bread and butter lies in the Addersgall gauge. This gives Sages access to four iterations of healing spells, each of which with different abilities that demand different playstyles. Here are the Addersgall healing spells and what they can offer the player:

Druochole: Perhaps the basic healing with no unnecessary cooldowns, this heals for 600 Potency. This is decent for a basic heal.
Taurochole: This heal carries a 700 Potency for curing, alongside a nifty 10-percent damage reduction buff. Given it has a 45-second cooldown, Taurochole is best used on tanks.
Ixochole: This OGCD is an area of effect heal that has 400 Potency alongside a 30-second cooldown. This is a nifty way to heal all nearby allies without any trouble.
Kerachole: This skill applies a 10-percent damage mitigation buff for 15 seconds with a 30-second cooldown. Not only that, this barrier has a 100 Potency Regen for 15 seconds towards everyone within it.

5 Take Note Of The Other Heals

Similar to other Healers in the game, players need to remember the kind of healing the Sage can provide that sets it apart from its other Healing Job counterparts. Thankfully, the Sage has a rather straightforward approach to its healing capabilities. At its core, here are the kinds of healing the Sage can accomplish:

Diagnosis: This costs 400 MP and has a 1.5-second cast time, but it does heal for 450 Potency. However, while the heal does sound decent, there are other faster heals aside from Diagnosis. Only use Diagnosis as a hard cast in emergencies.
Eukrasian Diagnosis: When used with Eukrasia, the improved Eukrasian Diagnosis will cost 900 MP, while the cure drops to 300 Potency. However, it does produce an instant cast barrier that nullifies 180-percent damage of the restored HP.
Prognosis: This GCD healing spell has a 2-second cast time and 800 MP but for a 300 Potency cure towards the Sage and people around them. Again, there are much faster and more potent spells, so Prognosis is better used in emergencies.
Eukrasian Prognosis: When used with Eukrasia, the augmented Eukrasian Prognosis will now have a 900 MP cost and a 100 Potency cure. However, this produces a barrier that can nullify a whopping 320-percent of the HP restored for 30 seconds.

4 Use Offensive Abilities In A Pinch

When in a bind, the Sage shouldn’t be hesitant to use any number of offensive skills in their arsenal. Given the nature of some of their abilities, the Sage is incentivized to go for the offensive in order to give additional healing to their comrades. After all, the bearer of the Kardion buff will receive a 170 Potency cure for each ability used. Here are some of the best offensive abilities the Sage has to offer:

Dosis: This is essentially a cooldown-filler ability with a 1.5-second cast time and deals 300 Potency Damage. When activated with Eukrasia, Dosis becomes Eukrasian Dosis and now deals 40 Potency Damage over time for 30 seconds.
Phlegma: This flashy AOE deals unaspected 400 Potency Damage for the first enemy hit and 30-percent less damage to surrounding enemies. Despite its strength, Sages can have a maximum of two Phlegma charges before it has to recharge for 40 seconds.
Dyskrasia: This other AOE deals 160 Damage to enemies near the opponent. Although low in damage, Dyskrasia does give players a bit more flexibility in terms of mobile casting.
Toxikon: Through enough Addersting stack, Toxikon can deal 300 Potency Damage against the first mob and 50-percent less for each remaining opponent.

3 When In Doubt, Check Cooldowns

FF14 A Sage preparing an offensive spell

Unlike other Healers with a plethora of healing spells and buffs, the Sage does have some nifty utilities they could use for a wide variety of situations. It’s advisable for Sages to be familiar with these in order to be able to use them as soon as possible and to be able to adjust their routines as healers in a more flexible manner. Here are the cooldowns Sages can rely on in case of emergencies:

Physis 2: This is an AOE heal that gives Regen to both the Sage and their allies for 15 seconds with a 130 Potency. It also gives the Autophysis buff which boosts HP recovery through healing by 10-percent for 10 seconds. While Physis 2 has a 60-second cooldown, the 10-percent healing boost can become a godsend.
Zoe: When activated, Zoe will give a 50-percent boost to the Potency of the next healing spell cast, provided it is Diagnosis and Prognosis or their Eukrasian counterparts.
Pepsis: When activated, Pepsis will remove Eukrasian Prognosis and Diagnosis barriers put up by the Sage in order to produce quick healing. Depending on the barrier taken, Pepsis can heal targets for 350 for Prognosis barriers and 450 for Diagnosis Barriers.
Soteria: This is a buff for the Kardion skill, as it boosts the curing potency of Kardion by 50-percent for 15 seconds. While it has a 90-percent cooldown, the added healing can definitely help Kardion-supported tanks hold the line.
Haima: This gives one of five Haimatinon stacks to the target, each of which nullifies a total of 300 Potency that immediately activates the next stack after the consumption of the current stack. While it has a 120-second cooldown, being able to stack damage barriers on top of the other can definitely help tanks save themselves.

2 Remember To Always Cast Something

Similar to other spellcasters, the Sage knows they’re doing something right if they’re casting something at any point during combat. A millisecond wasted in a dungeon can give the boss a chance to eliminate the party, so the Sage should either be always healing someone or contributing a bit of DPS to the fight. Here are things to consider:

Always use Dosis: Given the quick reload nature of Dosis, it’s not such a bad idea to continuously use Dosis against the opponent whenever a heal isn’t called for.
Prepare Eukrasian Heals for big attacks: Sages should always be mindful what kind of attacks are coming to them so they know which heals to prepare, especially big ones. Players about to encounter an AOE, Eukrasian Prognosis is a good heal. Likewise, a strong anti-tank attack could use a Eukrasian Diagnosis.
Prepare General Heals for missing HP: Instead of waiting for allies to reach certain HP thresholds, it may help to always have heals at the ready. Druochole, Taurochole, and Ixochole are always helpful to spam whenever allies are in need of heals, no matter how minuscule they seem to be.

1 Take Note Of Rotations For Flexibility

Like other Healers, Sages need to take note of the kind of rotations needed to prioritize depending on the situation. Thankfully, Sages can easily transition between healing rotations in order to adjust to certain battlefield situations, and in order to easily adapt whether they need to give their tanks a heal or their other party members the assist, or even if they need to hit their opponents hard. Here are things to consider:

Targeted Rotations For Damage

One of the easiest ways to identify the right rotations for Sages is to identify the kind of damage they need to do to the targets they have on their crosshairs. Depending on whether they need to hit one person or the entire party, the sequence of targeted rotations usually follow this format:

Eukrasian Dosis: As its description says, Eukrasian Dosis applies a nifty damage-over-time effect on foes that can become very painful when applied often enough.
Phlegma: If its cooldown is up, Phlegma is a good damaging ability to hit mobs that try to overwhelm the Sage.
Toxikon: Should the Sage have enough Addersting, Toxikon is a great deterrent against stronger mobs that try to overwhelm the Sage with numbers.
Dosis: This is the go-to combo closer whenever other skills are in cooldown, as this allows players to deal consistent poking damage to opponents that can whittle their HP very quickly with minimal effort.
Dyskrasia: Likewise, Sages that have to deal with larger groups might want to rely on Dyskrasia for AOE fighting.

Damage Mitigation Spam For Shields

Given the nature of the Sage as a Barrier Healer, it’s important to ensure that their rotations incorporate their ability to provide consistent heals and shielding to allies. Here are sequences of abilities they could use to ensure they’re effective support healers to allies:

Eukrasian Prognosis, Eukrasian Diagnosis: Using these two skills in tandem provides not just the party with a shield, but also provides an extra barrier for the tank as well. This double-flow shielding allows the tank to take on more damage before having to be healed by the rest of the party.
Kerachole, Physis: When used together, this ensures that the party can mitigate huge damage numbers while at the same time benefit from a group heal that brings them back to the fight.
Eukrasian Prognosis, Pepsis: Thanks to Eukrasian Prognosis, players and their allies can get massive shielding to mitigate damage. Likewise, emergency situations can have the Sage eliminate said shields in order to get massive healing benefits.