Final Fantasy XIV‘s latest expansion Endwalker is here, and healer mains are in for a treat. One of two new classes introduced alongside the expansion is Sage, an aggressive healing job that uses a unique weapon called Milpreves. Since the healer category only has four jobs, there’s a high chance Sage will be part of Endwalker‘s meta for the year to come.
The Sage’s strengths are numerous. The most obvious one is the use of aggressive abilities and decent damage output, but they also boast numerous OGCD and a single-target buff that can make the Sage an extremely powerful ally when mastered.
The rotation is fast, however, and the players must learn many abilities at once when unlocking the job, whose start level is set to 70. This guide will help you get acquainted with the Sage’s abilities and how to master the job to always keep your allies topped off.
Healing basics
Let’s start with a few basics, for the players who aren’t used to play this kind of jobs. Healing jobs in FFXIV are divided into two categories: barrier and regen healers. Sage and Scholar make up the barrier category.
More than other healing jobs, those must anticipate the enemies’ attacks to apply barriers on their allies at the right time and make them soak as much damage as possible. Although they have some OGCD (off-cooldown abilities) to top off their allies in a pinch, their burst heal isn’t as strong as White Mage and Astrologians’. It’s one of the most challenging aspects of those classes, but it’s also key to what makes them gratifying when mastered.
To master a healing class, you must make good use of your OGCDs, striking the balance between using them to their full potential and keeping them at hand for emergencies. The second crucial aspect is mana management: distinguish which abilities use mana and others that don’t. The Sage’s Addersgall gauge is used in that way.
The stacks are consumed by using specific abilities instead of mana. Keep track of that gauge and learn to time them well to spare mana, but also save some for times of need.
Sage’s abilities and how to use them
The Sage boasts 36 job abilities, so it wouldn’t be helpful to go through all of them in a list. Instead, we’ll explain the job’s main mechanics, illustrated by specific abilities. All Sage abilities can be read on FFXIV‘s official job guides. You can also check the unofficial visual guide created by Reddit users for more clarity.
How to use Eukrasia
This mechanic is essential to Sage. You’ll learn how to use it in the first role job quest, called “Sage’s Focus.” It’ll be a crucial part of your rotation. Upon use, it adds a shield on several healing abilities and allows the Sage player to apply a DoT effect on the opponent.
Diagnosis, enhanced by Eukrasia, should always be up on your main tank (who should have your Kardion effect), except when you use the AoE shield instead (Prognosis) since they don’t stack. In the same manner, Eukrasian Dosis should always be applied to your target to deal constant damage.
What is my opener?
First of all, applying the Kardia buff on your main tank is the utmost priority. Then, you can activate Eukrania and the Diagnosis (if only the tank will take damage) or Prognosis (if a group-wide attack is incoming) shortly before the fight starts, and then apply the DoT effect on target when it does. Then, spam Dosis on the enemy until you need to apply a shield or heal.
What’s the best burst healing combo?
Zoe is your key spell in this situation, boosting your next healing spell by 50 percent. Use this buff followed by your mono target or AoE spell that has the highest potency to heal as much as possible. For a mono-target burst heal, use Taurochole. For AoE, use Ixochole. Those spells use Addersgall stacks, that’s why you have to make sure you always have a spare one to use in time of need.
The purple stacks: Addersting
At level 66, you’ll obtain the Toxikon spell, the only one using your purple stacks. They are filled by soaking damage with shields, so being able to use them often will be the reward for the most efficient Sage players.
That’s the most aggressive spell the Sage has, dealing AoE damage and healing at the same time. It’s not easy to learn because you’ll have to get used to its small range. It only has a 25-yard range, similar to the main damage spell, Dosis. Use Soteria’s buff before Toxikon if you need more healing. Phlegma is the weaker version of Toxikon, dealing decent damage while applying a slight heal on your Kardion target. Phlegma can be used when available, but always keep one spare stack to heal in emergency, since it doesn’t have a cast delay.
Overall, every player can play healer with different strategies. It will depend on your group, the second healer you’ll play with, and the kind of encounter you’re running. Ultimately, playing Sage in those various situations will be your best bet to better understand how to maximize your spells, manage your mana better, and deal the most damage in-between healing spells. Good luck.
