The class and job you choose has a specific role in combat. Be sure to understand your role before joining a party!

Tanking

Jobs and classes with a blue icon have the Tank role. If you are playing a tank class, your role is to act as a shield for the rest of your party by making all enemies attack you, and only you. Tanks are expected to deal damage to all enemies as well. Tanks have higher defense than the other roles, allowing them to survive more damage. Healers are expected to keep tanks alive.

Healing

Jobs and classes with a green icon have the Healer role. If you are playing a healer class, your role is to prevent the party from dying. Healers are expected to deal damage to all enemies as well. Healers have abilities to restore health and remove negative status effects. Since these abilities cost magic points (MP), it is recommended to do the minimum amount of healing necessary to prevent the party from dying.

DPS

DPS is short for Damage Per Second. Jobs and classes with a red icon have the DPS role. If you are playing a DPS class, your role is to do as much damage to all enemies as possible. Depending on the class, DPS may also have support abilities that can assist other players in the party in various ways.

Hall of the Novice Training

It is strongly recommended to participate in the Hall of the Novice training, especially if you are new to MMOs, or just want a tutorial on the basics of combat in Final Fantasy XIV. Not only will you learn the basics, but you will also receive helpful gear as a reward for completing each training exercise, including the Brand-New Ring, which increases the experience points you earn for classes at level 30 and below.

You can do these training exercises after reaching level 15 in any combat class. You can register for Hall of the Novice training by talking to The Smith NPC near the inn in Gridania, Ul'dah, or Limsa Lominsa. There are also Smith NPCs near the first six dungeons from the main scenario quests. After you register for Hall of the Novice training, you can do the training exercises anywhere by choosing Hall of the Novice in Main Menu > Duty. The Hall of the Novice itself is located near Aleport in Western La Noscea. If you are new, be sure to read the Visitors Log and talk to all the NPCs there.

There are different sets of exercises for each of the three roles, so be sure to switch to classes with different roles to try them all.