I started as a Lancer in Ul’dah, and I’ll tell you straight: learning the lance makes the Dragoon life easier later. I write from experience—I’ve leveled three characters through Shadowbringers (expansion released 2 July 2019) and played the job in 2025 patches. You’ll get clear, practical advice here so you spend less time guessing and more time improving.
Getting started: where to begin
Go to the Lancer’s Guild in the Steps of Nald and talk to the receptionist. The job uses polearms—lances and spears—and asks you to stay close to enemies. Why that matters: melee means you must learn movement and boss patterns or your damage drops fast.
In my experience, position beats button mashing. Learn to stand behind or on the flank of enemies when required. Honestly, some players obsess over tiny stat gains and miss the real wins: staying alive and keeping uptime.
Basics and combos
Here are the core skills you unlock while leveling (levels shown are accurate for Shadowbringers-era job progression):
| Level | Skill | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | True Thrust | GCD | Combo starter |
| 4 | Vorpal Thrust | GCD | Combo follow-up |
| 6 | Impulse Drive | GCD | Alternate opener |
| 12 | Life Surge | oGCD | Guarantees crit on next weaponskill |
| 18 | Disembowel | GCD | Provides long buff; alternate chains |
| 26 | Full Thrust | GCD | Finisher—use with Life Surge |
The basic rotation is simple: True Thrust → Vorpal Thrust → Full Thrust. Weave Life Surge before Full Thrust. Why? Life Surge forces a critical and that multiplies Full Thrust’s impact. This doesn’t always work perfectly in movement-heavy fights, but it’s the right habit to build early.
Rotation tips and timing
Short: use your off-global skills between GCDs. Medium: learn to double-weave (oGCDs between GCDs) to increase damage. Long: practice on training dummies in cities—muscle memory beats theory. Practice timing Life Surge and Disembowel so the buff windows overlap when you can; that gives the best burst uptime for typical dungeon fights.
Rhetorical question: Want to be competitive in DPS? Then stop memorizing numbers and start feeling your rotation rhythm.
Gear, materia and where to spend gil
Weapon first. Always weapon first. Why? Weapon damage scales directly and gives the biggest single improvement. After that, aim for Strength, then Critical and Direct Hit. Skill Speed can be useful but it changes your GCD and rotation timing—be careful.
| Levels | Where to get upgrades |
|---|---|
| 1–15 | Guild vendor and early quest rewards |
| 15–20 | Low-level dungeons (Sastasha/Tam-Tara) and market board |
| 20–30 | Dungeon drops, craftables, and market board HQ |
Money tip: check Grand Company vendors for cheap pieces and turn in old gear for seals. Many players ignore that source (surprising, right?). Don’t dump a fortune into materia while leveling; prioritize melds only when you plan to stay on the job long-term.
Positioning and movement
Positional bonus matters: rear hits and flank hits add damage. But—very important—never trade survival for a positional proc. A dead DPS deals zero damage. I’ve seen players chase perfect positions and wipe the run; avoid that mistake.
Practice these movements: sliding (a brief continued motion), animation-canceling to reduce lock, and pre-positioning before big enemy casts. These are subtle skills that make a big difference when content starts to demand precision.
Job quests and story
Do your Lancer job quests. They give abilities and gear and explain the guild and lore. You meet Ywain and learn why lancers matter to Ul’dah. The quests unlock every five levels and culminate at level 30 with the Dragoon unlock quest. FYI: you also need level 15 in Marauder to unlock Dragoon—that cross-class requirement trips people up all the time.
Quote: “Job quests teach skill and character—skip them at your own risk.” — my honest take
Dungeons, trials and what to expect
Available dungeons include Sastasha (lv15), Tam-Tara (lv16), Copperbell (lv17), Halatali (lv20), Toto-Rak (lv24) and Haukke Manor (lv28). These teach positioning, raid awareness, and basic mechanics. In dungeons, focus the tank’s target; Feint can be used to blunt party damage during heavy phases. Communicate—ask questions if unsure. Most players help newcomers.
Trials like Ifrit’s Bowl of Embers and Titan’s The Navel test positioning and movement. Approach them as practice: keep your rotation clean and adapt to mechanics.
Advanced notes and a counterintuitive insight
Oddly enough, playing Lancer slower and cleaner often wins over frantic weaving. You might think faster equals better, but missing abilities while moving kills average DPS. So: slow down until your execution is solid, then speed up.
Controversial take: the Dragoon jump hype is overblown for new players. Yes, it looks flashy—but foundation matters more than trick moves. Some veterans will disagree; that’s fine.
Watch this: here’s a simple macro I use when teaching friends (copy-paste works):
/ac "True Thrust" /ac "Vorpal Thrust"
(This macro is basic—macros have limits in FFXIV 2025 patches, so don’t expect to replace skillful weaving.)
Final practical checklist
- Visit Steps of Nald; start the Lancer job.
- Prioritize weapon upgrades; then Strength and Critical.
- Practice True Thrust → Vorpal → Full Thrust until it’s muscle memory.
- Do job quests every five levels; unlock Dragoon at level 30 and have Marauder 15 ready.
- Train movement and double-weaving on dummies before hard content.
To be fair, leveling a job is partly mechanical and partly attitude. Enjoy the mistakes, ask for help, and don’t hoard gear or gil out of fear. Between us: you’ll get better faster if you play, fail, and correct quickly. Go practice—your lance wants to be used!
— a Lancer who’s been there, stung a few times, and still loves the reach.
