FFXIV Visual Codex

Gladiators specialize in the handling of all manner of one-handed blades, from daggers to longswords, be they single- or double-edged, straight or curved. Tracing their roots to the Coliseum, where the roar of the crowd reigns supreme, these melee combatants have learned to seamlessly flow between attack and defense in a dance that delights the eye. Making use of their skill with the shield, gladiators can also draw the attention and attacks of an enemy upon themselves, thereby protecting their comrades from harm.

For centuries, the elite of the Sultansworn have served as personal bodyguards to the royal family of Ul'dah. Known as paladins, these men and women marry exquisite swordplay with stalwart shieldwork to create a style of combat uncompromising in its defense. Clad in brilliant silver armor, they charge fearlessly into battle, ever ready to lay down their lives for their liege. To be a paladin is to protect, and those who choose to walk this path will become the iron foundation upon which the party's defense is built.

Marauders are combat specialists whose weapon of choice is the greataxe—a fearsome arm long associated with Eorzea's pirates. Their approach to battle is one of brute force, as they rely on pure strength and good steel to crush enemies and sunder weapons. They are highly sought after for their ferocity and intimidating presence, and are often employed to hunt down monsters plaguing the land or to turn the tide of battle between warring nations. Skilled marauders have been known to take on entire packs of slavering beasts and emerge with little more than a few scrapes and bruises.

On the northernmost edge of Abalathia's Spine exists a mountain tribe renowned for producing fearsome mercenaries. Wielding greataxes and known as warriors, these men and women learn to harness their inner-beasts and translate that power to unbridled savagery on the battlefield. In former times which saw war waged ceaselessly in Eorzea, the warriors featured prominently on the front lines of battle. With the arrival of peacetime, however, their art has descended into the shadows of obscurity, where it remains to this day.

The lancer is a master of polearms—weapons which have evolved from humble hunting tools. In former times, the longspear saw the most widespread use, due in great part to the influence of the proud lancer legions of Ala Mhigo. The lancer's weaponry has since expanded to include other lethal implements such as the halberd and trident. While it is no easy task to wield a polearm as if it were an extension of one's body, those who master the lancing arts come to be as a raging storm before their enemies, capable of delivering a barrage of devastating thrusts and slashes.

Of all the things that are symbolic of the nation of Ishgard, few are more recognized than the dragoon. Born amidst the timeless conflict between men and dragons, these lance-wielding knights have developed an aerial style of combat, that they might better pierce the scaled hides of their mortal foes. Taking to the firmament as though it were an extension of the land, they descend upon the enemy with every onze of their bodies behind the blow. It is this penetrative power that characterizes the dragoon.

The path of the pugilist is one of incessant training aimed at mastering the traditional techniques of hand-to-hand combat. Though pugilists command formidable power when unarmed, they are wont to use metal, leather, and bone weaponry to maximize their destructive potential. Their preference for fighting at close quarters makes negotiating distances an absolute necessity. Many among them accomplish this by avoiding burdensome armor, allowing for maximum mobility while they move in for the kill.

Though now under Garlean rule, the city-state of Ala Mhigo once boasted the greatest military might of all Eorzea. Among its standing armies were the monks—ascetic warriors as dreaded by foes on the field of battle as the city-state's great pikemen. The monks comprised an order known as the Fist of Rhalgr, and it was to this god—the Destroyer—that they devoted their lives of worship. By mastering seats of power within the body known as chakra, they are capable of performing extraordinary physical feats.

With a bow in hand and a quiver on his back, the archer strikes at the enemy from afar. In Eorzea, two schools of archery have risen to prominence: that of the longbow sentries of the Elezen military, and that of the shortbow hunters among the Miqo'te. Archers constantly assess the battlefield in order to determine the most advantageous ground from which to loose their arrows, as well as the nature of the shaft, point, and fletching best suited to their foe. It is said that master archers are capable of showering their targets with a veritable deluge of death well before a counterattack can ever be mounted.

The word "bard" ordinarily puts folk in mind of those itinerant minstrels, fair of voice and nimble of finger, who earn their coin performing in taverns and the halls of great lords. Few know, however, that bards in fact trace their origins back to the bowmen of eld, who sang in the heat of battle to fortify the spirits of their companions. In time, their impassioned songs came to hold sway over the hearts of men, inspiring their comrades to great feats and granting peace unto those who lay upon the precipice of death.

In the hands of a skilled practitioner, thaumaturgy can be a force of terrifying destruction. At the heart of this school of magic lies the ability to call forth and command the latent aether within oneself through deep introspection. To then mold that aether into sorcery, the thaumaturge makes use of a scepter or staff, within which is housed a medium—a natural stone imbued with magical properties. Thus armed, the thaumaturge is capable of wreaking considerable havoc via ruinous spells and curses.

In days long past, there existed an occult and arcane art known as black magic—a potent magic of pure destructive force born forth by a sorceress of unparalleled power. Those who learned to wield this instrument of ruin came to be called black mages, out of both fear and respect for their gift. Yet great power served to corrupt the judgment of mortal man, and so he unknowingly set out upon the path of ruin.

Conjury calls upon the elements of earth, wind, and water and concentrates them to a potency at which spells can be weaved. Through practiced meditation on the essences of creation, conjurers draw forth and absorb aether from their immediate surroundings. A wand or cane made from unworked wood is then utilized to focus the aether until it manifests as the desired spell. Versed also in magicks that restore and strengthen, conjurers are regarded as accomplished healers.

White magic, the arcane art of succor, was conceived eras past that the world might know comfort. Alas, man began perverting its powers for self-gain, and by his wickedness brought about the Sixth Umbral catastrophe. Although the art subsequently became forbidden, it is now in the midst of a revival at the hands of the Padjal, chosen of the elementals. Those who would walk the path of the white mage are healers without peer, possessed of the power to deliver comrades from the direst of afflictions—even the icy grip of death itself.