Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Pugilist Tips

Get a jump start on one of the highest damaging classes in Final Fantasy XIV.

The Monk job in Final Fantasy XI was a very good damage dealer. It offered steady damage throughout a battle, with spike damage during weapon skills. The Pugilist class in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn picks up where the old Monk job left off, and adds a considerable amount of fun. You’ll need to pay attention when you play, but your fellow party members will thank you for it.

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If you begin the game as a Pugilist, you start your adventures in the city of Ul’Dah. Get started with the main storyline quests, which will quickly take you to the Pugilist’s guild. Talk to the receptionist when you arrive to begin the class quest line. If you’re looking to pick up the Monk job in the future, the first step toward that goal is to complete the level 10 class quest for Pugilist. 

As you progress through the main storyline quest, you’ll eventually receive an airship pass, granting swift and easy access to the other cities. When you arrive at Gridania, head over to the Lancer’s guild and speak with the receptionist to unlock the Lancer class. If you have any aspirations of unlocking the Monk job when your Pugilist hits level 30, you must have Lancer leveled to at least 15. 

During the early levels of play, the Pugilist gains skills that allow him to change stances. As you gain more and more skills, you’ll be able to chain them into combos, enabling you to switch stances with each new skill. The three stances are Raptor, Opo-Opo, and Coeurl. Some skills can only be used from certain stances, so you’ll need to use skills in a specific order to cycle through all of them. When all three stances have been used in a battle, the Pugilist enters the Greased Lightning state, which increases damage dealt by 7 percent, and increases attack speed by 5 percent. 

Positioning is important for a Pugilist. This can cause issues for you if you do not communicate with the tank of your party when you start dungeon runs around level 15. To be the best possible asset to a party, the Pugilist needs to attack from behind an enemy (mob). If the tank continually moves the mob, or has it backed into a wall, it can be difficult to maintain proper positioning. Talk to the tank at the onset of the dungeon to ensure he or she is aware that you will need to fight from behind the mob. 

Another bonus the Pugilist gives to a party is the Touch of Death, a skill that deals damage over time (DoT). If you have a Thaumaturge in your party, chances are they will be sleeping mobs when fighting groups of enemies. If the Thaumaturge is doing their job well, they should be casting DoT spells before they cast sleep. Use this opportunity to add your own DoT skill to increase the damage dealt while the mob is sleeping. You may want to speak with the Thaumaturge first to avoid any potential confusion during the dungeon run. You don’t want to accidentally wake up a sleeping mob. 

There are more damage-dealing classes in Final Fantasy XIV than any other class. This may cause long waits if you’re looking for dungeon parties via the Duty Finder. To ease the pain, make friends with a tank, or healer. At lower levels, healers are in extremely high demand and barely wait 30 seconds for a party. Tanks also have a short wait, but become increasingly important at higher levels as healing jobs become available. Happy partying!

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Author
Bryan Dawson
Bryan Dawson has an extensive background in the gaming industry, having worked as a journalist for various publications for nearly 20 years and participating in a multitude of competitive fighting game events. He has authored over a dozen strategy guides for Prima Games, worked as a consultant on numerous gaming-related TV and web shows and was the Operations Manager for the fighting game division of the IGN Pro League.