how to become a dragoon

Lancer/Dragoon Job Guide

General overview of the LNC and DRG classes in FFXIV

Overview
Discussion

"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 ounce of their bodies behind the blow. It is this penetrative power that characterizes the dragoon."

Overview
Dragoon is a job made available on patch 2.0 (A Realm Reborn) in Final Fantasy XIV. They are a disciple of war that wear plate armor and primarily use polearm type weapons. Both Dragoons and Lancers are primarily used for melee DPS and can bring a lot of DPS to battle.

Lancer
Lancer (LNC) is the class used to obtain the Dragoon job. They focus more on DPS with polearm weapons. The Lancer's Guild is located in Old Gridania. At level 30, lancers can specialize in the Dragoon job.

Dragoon
Dragoon (DRG) is a job unlocked by leveling a Lancer (LNC) to level 30. A Dragoon's signature technique is Jump that can be weaved in with the potent melee combos the job has to offer. The Dragoon job is a very static melee DPS Job. There is a strict (and long) combo that needs to be maintained with little variance and wiggle room. It is pretty straight forward and probably one of the easier jobs to play but still hard to master.

How To Unlock
Player must complete the following quest: Sylph-management located in The Solar
Player must complete the following quest: Proof of Might
Class Required: Lancer (Level 30)

Action Anchor
Actions

Icon Level Action Type Cost Casting Cooldown Description

1 1 True Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 290.

2 4 Vorpal Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 140. Combo Action: True Thrust

3 6 Life Surge Ability Instant 45s Ensures critical damage for first weaponskill used while Life Surge is active for 5s.

4 15 Piercing Talon Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers a ranged attack with a potency of 150.

5 18 Disembowel Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. Combo Action: True Thrust

6 26 Full Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Combo Action: Vorpal Thrust

7 30 Lance Charge Ability Instant 90s Increases damage dealt by 15% for 20s.

8 30 Jump Ability Instant 30s Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 310.

9 35 Elusive Jump Ability Instant 30s Executes a jump to a location 15 yalms behind you.

10 40 Doom Spike Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 170 to all enemies in a straight line before you.

11 45 Spineshatter Dive Ability Instant 60s Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 240.

12 50 Chaos Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. 140 when executed from a target's rear. Combo Action: Disembowel

13 50 Dragonfire Dive Ability Instant 120s Delivers a jumping fire-based attack with a potency of 380 to target and all enemies nearby it.

14 52 Battle Litany Ability Instant 180s Increases critical hit rate of self and nearby party members by 10% for 20s.

15 54 Blood of the Dragon Ability Instant 25s Increases potency of High Jump and Spineshatter Dive by 30% for 30s.

16 56 Fang and Claw Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. 360 when executed from a target's flank.

17 58 Wheeling Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. 360 when executed from a target's rear.

18 60 Geirskogul Ability Instant 30s Delivers an attack with a potency of 300 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while under the effect of Blood of the Dragon.

19 62 Sonic Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Combo Action: Doom Spike

20 66 Dragon Sight Ability Instant 120s Grants Right Eye to self, increasing damage dealt by 10%. Also grants target party member Left Eye, increasing damage dealt by 5% as long as target remains within 12 yalms for 20s.

21 68 Mirage Dive Ability Instant 1s Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Additional Effect: Strengthens the gaze of your Dragon Gauge by 1 if under the effect of Blood of the Dragon or Life of the Dragon

22 70 Nastrond Ability Instant 10s Delivers an attack with a potency of 400 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while under the effect of Life of the Dragon.

23 72 Coerthan Torment Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Combo Action: Sonic Thrust

24 74 High Jump Ability Instant 30s Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Grants Dive Ready for 15s

25 76 Raiden Thrust Weaponskill Instant 2.5s Delivers an attack with a potency of 330.

26 80 Stardiver Ability Instant 30s Delivers a jumping fire-based attack to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 30% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Life of the Dragon.

Role Actions

Icon Level Action Type Cost Casting Cooldown Description

1 8 Second Wind Ability Instant 120s Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 500

2 10 Leg Sweep Ability Instant 40s Stuns target for 3s

3 12 Bloodbath Ability Instant 90s Converts a portion of physical damage dealt into HP for 20s.

4 22 Feint Ability Instant 90s Lowers target's strength and dexterity by 10% for 10s.

5 32 Arm's Length Ability Instant 120s Creates a barrier nullifying most knockback and draw-in effects for 6s. Additional Effect: Slow +20% when barrier is struck

6 50 True North Ability Instant 45s Nullifies all action direction requirements for 10s.

Traits Anchor
Traits

Icon Level Action Description

1 64 Lance Mastery Allows for immediate execution of Wheeling Thrust after landing Fang and Claw, or Fang and Claw after landing Wheeling Thrust, increasing potency by 100.

2 70 Life of the Dragon Allows for the strengthening of the gaze of the first brood upon using Mirage Dive while under the effect of Blood of the Dragon. When the gaze is its strongest (2 units), Geirskogul will grant you the Life of the Dragon status in place of Blood of the Dragon. While under the effect of Life of the Dragon, Geirskogul will change to Nastrond. Life of the Dragon will revert to Blood of the Dragon when duration expires.

3 74 Jump Mastery Upgrades Jump to High Jump.

4 76 Lance Mastery II Increases the potency of True Thrust to 290, Vorpal Thrust to 140, and Disembowel to 150. Grants Raiden Thrust Ready if Fang and Claw is executed following Wheeling Thrust─or vice versa─while adhering to direction requirements for 10s

5 78 Blood of the Dragon Mastery Extends the duration of Blood of the Dragon and Life of the Dragon to 30 seconds.

Quests Anchor
Job Quests

Quest Name Level Quest Giver Location Coordinates Unlocks

1 Eye of the Dragon 30 Ywain Old Gridania x14,y6 Jump

2 Lance of Fury 35 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Elusive Jump

3 Unfading Skies 40 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Doom Spike

4 Double Dragoon 45 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

5 Fatal Seduction 45 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Spineshatter Dive

6 Into the Dragon's Maw 50 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Dragonfire Dive

7 Sky's the Limit 50 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

8 Days of Azure 50 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Battle Litany

9 Heart of Justice 52 Heustienne Coerthas Central Highlands x26,y20

10 Sworn Upon a Lance 54 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Blood of the Dragon

11 Dragoon's Errand 56 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Fang and Claw

12 Sanguine Dragoon 58 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Wheeling Thrust

13 Dragoon's Fate 60 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28 Geirskogul

14 Friends Through Eternity 60 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

15 Drowsy Dragons 63 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

16 Serpent and the Sea of Rubies 65 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

17 Dark as the Night Sky 68 Orn Khai Kugane x9,y7

18 Dragon Sound 70 Orn Khai The Azim Steppe x32,y27 Nastrond, Life of the Dragon

19 Gone but Not Forgiven 80 Alberic Coerthas Central Highlands x25,y28

Stats Anchor
Attributes/Statistics
Character statistics mean different things depending on what class you are. Below is the general stat priority to follow for Dragoons. Keep in mind that when leveling getting a higher iLevel is usually better in most cases.

Critical Hit > Direct Hit = Determination > Skill Speed

Critical Hit: Affects the amount of physical and magical damage, as well as HP restored

Skill Speed: Affects bot casting and recast timers as well as auto-attacks

Determination: Affects the amount of damage dealt as well as HP restored

Skill Speed: Affects both the casting and recast timers, as well as the damage over time potency for weaponskills and auto-attacks.

Where does Dragoon stand compared to other DPS classes?
First off, it doesn't really matter unless you are playing top-tier, savage raids and are looking to get the most out of your job. It is always recommended to play the job you are most comfortable with and can play well.
Using aggregate data from fflogs.com all 10 DPS jobs Dragoons rank 7 out of 10 in DPS for damage output with a score of 89.93. Dragoons have the 5th most parses in Eden raids, meaning it is probably the 5th most played DPS (in this patch, at least). More info.

Rotations Anchor
Rotations

Dragoons's style-of-play revolves around doing two combos (Chaos Thrust and Full Thrust combos) and building your Dragon Gauge. When the gaze is strongest (2 stacks), you can execute Geirskogul, which changes the gauge from blue to red and grants Life of the Dragon in place of Blood of the Dragon.

Performing actions in a specific order increases potency and applies combo bonuses which will help greatly for damage output. Below you will see the very basic approach to get combo bonuses and then a more advanced list which includes casting your oGCDs.

Single Target

Simple:
True Thrust => Vorpal Thrust => Full Thrust (Deals high damage.)
-OR-
True Thrust => Disembowel => Chaos Thrust (Damage over time.)

Advanced:
A more complete rotation or priority list is the following. Unbolded actions are oGCDs that should be hit sometime before moving to the next part of the rotation:

Blood of the Dragon > Potion

True Thrust > Dragon Sight

Disembowel > Battle Litany > Lance Charge

Chaos Thrust > High Jump

Wheeling Thrust > Spineshatter Dive

Fang and Claw > Geirskogul

Raiden Thrust > Dragonfire Dive

Vorpal Thrust > Life Surge

Full Thrust > Mirage Dive

Fang and Claw > Wheeling Thrust

Geirskogul and Nastrond
After you fill up your dragon gauge and you execute Geirskogul your dragon gauge will turn to red and you can follow this rotation.

Geirskogul

Stardiver > Wait 10s

Nastrond > Wait 10s > Nastrond

Multiple Targets

Simple:
Doom Spike => Sonic Thrust => Coerthan Torment

Advanced (3 targets):
Do the following rotation above but weave in High Jump and Mirage dive to build up your dragon gauge so you can cast Nastrond and Stardiver. Don't forget to also use Dragonfire Dive, as well.

Tips
Use your combos! Be mindful of your positioning as being behind or to the side of a target help increase potency for Fang and Claw, Chaos Thrust and Wheeling Thrust.

Try to tether Dragon Sight to whomever is closest to you. Don't spend too much time looking at your party members. If you have ATS and you obviously see someone dealing large amounts of damage, give it to them for the best DPS boost.

As a melee DPS with a Leg Sweep you may be expected to Stun/Interrupt during boss fights, so be mindful.

Dragon Gauge
Upon learning the action Blood of the Dragon (at level 54), a new symbol will appear on the screen (Dragon Gauge) indicating when it is in effect. While Blood of the Dragon is active, the potency of High Jump and Spineshatter Dive is increased.

Upon learning the trait Life of the Dragon (at Level 70), when using Mirage Dive it will attract the gaze of the first brood, increasing the Dragon Gauge. The icon on the left of the Dragon Gauge indicates the strength of the gaze, up to a maximum of two units.

When the gaze is strongest (2 stacks), you can execute Geirskogul, which changes the gauge from blue to red and grants Life of the Dragon in place of Blood of the Dragon. While under the effect of Life of the Dragon, you can use Nastrond and Stardiver for powerful hits.

Consumables Anchor
Consumables

Potion - Grade 3 Tincture of Strength

Meals - Stuffed Highland Cabbage, Sausage and Sauerkraut

Gear Anchor
Gear

2.48 BiS - https://etro.gg/gearset/622d79ea-d74e-4b61-aaa1-8a8a94032d5e

2.46 BiS - https://etro.gg/gearset/641927f5-1599-42bd-aac5-ee52cee18d07

2.38 BiS - https://etro.gg/gearset/ae8cba8f-49d6-40df-b726-161b263b3827

Submit Anchor
Submit, Share and Earn Gil!
Have a guide, tips, boss strategy? Have some cool FFXIV fanart you want to showcase? Submit your resource and we'll get it posted. Depending on the complexity, length or validity of the resource, you will also earn Gil. Gil can be used to cash out for real money or later purchase items from the store! Learn more.

	Level	Action	Type	Cost	Casting	Cooldown	Description
1	1	True Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 290.
2	4	Vorpal Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 140. Combo Action: True Thrust
3	6	Life Surge	Ability		Instant	45s	Ensures critical damage for first weaponskill used while Life Surge is active for 5s.
4	15	Piercing Talon	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers a ranged attack with a potency of 150.
5	18	Disembowel	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 150. Combo Action: True Thrust
6	26	Full Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Combo Action: Vorpal Thrust
7	30	Lance Charge	Ability		Instant	90s	Increases damage dealt by 15% for 20s.
8	30	Jump	Ability	Instant	30s		Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 310.
9	35	Elusive Jump	Ability		Instant	30s	Executes a jump to a location 15 yalms behind you.
10	40	Doom Spike	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 170 to all enemies in a straight line before you.
11	45	Spineshatter Dive	Ability		Instant	60s	Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 240.
12	50	Chaos Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. 140 when executed from a target's rear. Combo Action: Disembowel
13	50	Dragonfire Dive	Ability		Instant	120s	Delivers a jumping fire-based attack with a potency of 380 to target and all enemies nearby it.
14	52	Battle Litany	Ability		Instant	180s	Increases critical hit rate of self and nearby party members by 10% for 20s.
15	54	Blood of the Dragon	Ability		Instant	25s	Increases potency of High Jump and Spineshatter Dive by 30% for 30s.
16	56	Fang and Claw	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. 360 when executed from a target's flank.
17	58	Wheeling Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. 360 when executed from a target's rear.
18	60	Geirskogul	Ability		Instant	30s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 300 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while under the effect of Blood of the Dragon.
19	62	Sonic Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Combo Action: Doom Spike
20	66	Dragon Sight	Ability		Instant	120s	Grants Right Eye to self, increasing damage dealt by 10%. Also grants target party member Left Eye, increasing damage dealt by 5% as long as target remains within 12 yalms for 20s.
21	68	Mirage Dive	Ability		Instant	1s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Additional Effect: Strengthens the gaze of your Dragon Gauge by 1 if under the effect of Blood of the Dragon or Life of the Dragon
22	70	Nastrond	Ability		Instant	10s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 400 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Can only be executed while under the effect of Life of the Dragon.
23	72	Coerthan Torment	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a straight line before you. Combo Action: Sonic Thrust
24	74	High Jump	Ability		Instant	30s	Delivers a jumping attack with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Grants Dive Ready for 15s
25	76	Raiden Thrust	Weaponskill		Instant	2.5s	Delivers an attack with a potency of 330.
26	80	Stardiver	Ability		Instant	30s	Delivers a jumping fire-based attack to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 30% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Life of the Dragon.

	Level	Action	Type	Casting	Cooldown	Description
1	8	Second Wind	Ability	Instant	120s	Instantly restores own HP. Cure Potency: 500
2	10	Leg Sweep	Ability	Instant	40s	Stuns target for 3s
3	12	Bloodbath	Ability	Instant	90s	Converts a portion of physical damage dealt into HP for 20s.
4	22	Feint	Ability	Instant	90s	Lowers target's strength and dexterity by 10% for 10s.
5	32	Arm's Length	Ability	Instant	120s	Creates a barrier nullifying most knockback and draw-in effects for 6s. Additional Effect: Slow +20% when barrier is struck
6	50	True North	Ability	Instant	45s	Nullifies all action direction requirements for 10s.

	Level	Action	Description
1	64	Lance Mastery	Allows for immediate execution of Wheeling Thrust after landing Fang and Claw, or Fang and Claw after landing Wheeling Thrust, increasing potency by 100.
2	70	Life of the Dragon	Allows for the strengthening of the gaze of the first brood upon using Mirage Dive while under the effect of Blood of the Dragon. When the gaze is its strongest (2 units), Geirskogul will grant you the Life of the Dragon status in place of Blood of the Dragon. While under the effect of Life of the Dragon, Geirskogul will change to Nastrond. Life of the Dragon will revert to Blood of the Dragon when duration expires.
3	74	Jump Mastery	Upgrades Jump to High Jump.
4	76	Lance Mastery II	Increases the potency of True Thrust to 290, Vorpal Thrust to 140, and Disembowel to 150. Grants Raiden Thrust Ready if Fang and Claw is executed following Wheeling Thrust─or vice versa─while adhering to direction requirements for 10s
5	78	Blood of the Dragon Mastery	Extends the duration of Blood of the Dragon and Life of the Dragon to 30 seconds.

	Quest Name	Level	Quest Giver	Location	Coordinates	Unlocks
1	Eye of the Dragon	30	Ywain	Old Gridania	x14,y6	Jump
2	Lance of Fury	35	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Elusive Jump
3	Unfading Skies	40	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Doom Spike
4	Double Dragoon	45	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28
5	Fatal Seduction	45	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Spineshatter Dive
6	Into the Dragon's Maw	50	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Dragonfire Dive
7	Sky's the Limit	50	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28
8	Days of Azure	50	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Battle Litany
9	Heart of Justice	52	Heustienne	Coerthas Central Highlands	x26,y20
10	Sworn Upon a Lance	54	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Blood of the Dragon
11	Dragoon's Errand	56	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Fang and Claw
12	Sanguine Dragoon	58	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Wheeling Thrust
13	Dragoon's Fate	60	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28	Geirskogul
14	Friends Through Eternity	60	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28
15	Drowsy Dragons	63	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28
16	Serpent and the Sea of Rubies	65	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28
17	Dark as the Night Sky	68	Orn Khai	Kugane	x9,y7
18	Dragon Sound	70	Orn Khai	The Azim Steppe	x32,y27	Nastrond, Life of the Dragon
19	Gone but Not Forgiven	80	Alberic	Coerthas Central Highlands	x25,y28