Do multiple Bards stack?

No. Each job only receives the single strongest song in range. Spread Bards across different clusters instead.

Do poison and slow effects stack?

The stronger effect of each type wins and its duration is refreshed. A weak effect never downgrades a strong one.

How do I earn 3 stars?

Finish all 40 waves with 18 or more lives (you can lose at most 2). Ten or more lives earns 2 stars, and surviving at all earns 1 star.

Which map should I start with?

Circuit — it has a long path and plenty of build space. Save Gauntlet for last: its path is extremely short and punishes any wasted gil.

XIV Job Defense Strategy Guide

This page collects the data for every job, enemy, and command, plus practical tactics. All numbers come from the live game data.

Jobs (level 1 → 5)

Job	Role	Cost	HP (Lv1→5)	Per-second (Lv1→5)	Traits & abilities
Paladin	Tank	90	420 → 1280	12.5 → 60	Cover (manually link an ally — permanent, switchable; redirects 100% of their damage to the Paladin) / Invincible (8s immunity below 25% HP, 90s CD) / Rampart (all tanks: 30% mitigation for 20s below 70% HP, 60s CD)
Warrior	Tank	90	400 → 1220	15.8 → 75.8	All attacks cleave (48px radius) / self-heals 35% of damage per enemy hit / Holmgang (lethal-save at 1 HP for 5s, 40s CD) / Rampart (shared)
Dark Knight	Tank	95	410 → 1250	15.9 → 77.1	Cleave (hits all enemies within 40px of target) / TBN (shields a dying ally, 15s CD) / Living Dead (8s undeath on lethal, 80s CD) / Rampart (shared)
Gunbreaker	Tank	100	360 → 1080	21.5 → 107.1	Soil (1 per 120 damage taken, max 3; below 50% HP spends all for 40% mitigation 8s + a blast at 2x per soil) / Superbolide (lethal-save, 30s CD) / Rampart (shared)
White Mage	Healer	100	190 → 520	21.7 → 100	Every 4th heal is AoE / Misery (charged 5x AoE blast) / Benediction (full heal below 25% HP, 60s CD) / Swiftcast Raise (instant revive, 120s CD)
Scholar	Healer	110	190 → 520	15.8 → 74	Heals grant a shield (50%) / placeable fairy (regen aura) / Fey Wind (AoE haste, 45s CD)
Astrologian	Healer	105	185 → 510	17.4 → 79.6	Cards (every 5s: +25% attack, speed or range to one ally for 5s, at random) / healed allies gain haste / Gravity (AoE heavy, 9s CD)
Sage	Healer	115	190 → 520	14.8 → 68.4	Kardia (manually link an ally — permanent, switchable; every landed attack heals + shields them) / periodic group barrier every 12s
Monk	DPS	100	250 → 720	28.6 → 141.7	+7% attack speed per hit (max 5 stacks; decays after 2.5s without attacking)
Dragoon	DPS	110	270 → 770	22.5 → 107.1	Jump (every 12s: unlimited-range 8x armor-piercing strike). Every 3rd jump is Stardiver: 60px AoE at a further 1.5x
Samurai	DPS	115	260 → 750	29.3 → 145.3	Iaijutsu (5s CD, cycling forms): Higanbana DoT (80% / 4s) → Tenka Goken 1.5x self-AoE (55px) → Midare Setsugekka 3x single
Ninja	DPS	110	220 → 640	17.6 → 86.2	Ninjutsu (7s CD): Trick Attack (+5% damage taken on bosses, used first) → Katon (1.6x AoE) → Doton (5s damage zone) → Raiton (chain lightning up to 5 targets, 0.75 falloff)
Reaper	DPS	120	280 → 800	22.4 → 108.1	Attacks cleave 42px / Enshroud (16s CD: 6s of 64px cleave + heavy aura, ends in a 2.5x burst) / Portal (free, manual)
Viper	DPS	115	260 → 750	29.2 → 138.1	Reawakening (every 10s: 4s of 1.5x AoE strikes)
Bard	DPS	110	180 → 500	18.6 → 88.3	Venomous arrows (attacks apply a permanent DoT at 30% power/s) / song aura: +10%+ damage to allies within 110px
Machinist	DPS	120	190 → 560	16.7 → 80.6	Drill (every 8s: 4x armor-piercing shot at the toughest enemy) / turret (manual, movable, 50% power)
Dancer	DPS	115	210 → 620	20 → 100	Dance (every 9s: 1.6x in 70px around self) / Closed Position (+18%+ damage to a linked ally)
Black Mage	DPS	120	170 → 460	27.3 → 130.2	Alternates Fire (AoE) and Blizzard (weak AoE + heavy) / Thunder (AoE DoT every 10s)
Summoner	DPS	125	190 → 560	15.6 → 76.9	Carbuncle (manual placement, 70% power) / Bahamut (every 20s: 6s of 1.8x AoE pet attacks)
Red Mage	DPS	115	220 → 640	19.7 → 98.5	Dualcast (1.5x melee combo + 0.7x far zap) / Vercure (heals every 8s) / Dualcast Raise (instant revive, level uses per wave; 10s stun + halved damage for the wave)
Pictomancer	DPS	130	180 → 530	19.3 → 91.5	Every cast splashes 55px with heavy charged hits / Line Stroke (10s CD: 2.2x to everything in a 230px line)

Enemies

Enemy	Speed	Base HP	Trait
Runner	95	28	Fast, low HP
Grunt	60	55	Standard
Tank	38	170	Carapace: ranged -50%, magic +25%
Swift	130	40	Winged: melee -25%, ranged +50% / 50% slow resistance
Regen	55	90	Slime: physical -40%, magic +50% / heals 6 HP/s
Shield	55	70	Shieldbearer: ranged -60%, melee +25% / shield 60
Splitter	65	80	Splits into 2 minis on death / magic +25%
Mini	90	25	Small split spawn
Ghost	70	60	Incorporeal: physical -50%, magic +50% (AoE halved) / ignores hate
Berserker	50	110	Magic -25%, ranged +25% / speeds up as HP drops (up to +90%)
Boss	30	1800	All damage -30%, 50% slow resistance, costs 3 lives

Limit Breaks

Command	Effect	Recast
🛡️ Shield Wall → Stronghold → Last Bastion	Party-wide mitigation. LB1: 25%/20s, LB2: 45%/30s, LB3 Last Bastion: 65%/45s	LB1–LB3
🌿 Healing Wind → Breath of the Earth → Pulse of Life	Party heal. LB1: 50%, LB2: full, LB3 Pulse of Life: full heal + revive everyone	LB1–LB3
⚔️ Braver → Bladedance → Final Heaven	Armor-piercing strike on the toughest enemy. LB2 Bladedance and LB3 Final Heaven hit far harder	LB1–LB3
☄️ Skyshard → Starstorm → Meteor	Aimed bombardment whose radius and damage grow with LB level (80→105→130px)	LB1–LB3

Strategy

Early game (waves 1–9)

Setup time is unlimited until you press Start, so build a calm opening squad: a Paladin by the path with a Monk and White Mage behind. Enemies only slow down while hitting the Paladin, giving your DPS time to work. Call waves early whenever your defense is comfortable; the bonus gil compounds. Enemy tanks appear at wave 4 and pass-through Swifts at wave 6.

Mid game (waves 10–25) and bosses

Every 10th wave brings a boss with a punishing AoE attack — spread your front line so one swing cannot wipe it, tank the boss, and burn it with Dragoon Jumps and Black Mage casts. Shield enemies arrive at wave 12, Splitters at 15, and hate-blind Ghosts at 18; park a spare tank (or a covering Paladin) near your back line for those.

Late game (waves 26–40)

Enemy HP grows quadratically, so pushing existing jobs to Lv5 beats placing new ones late. The ideal setup is one or two kill zones: two tanks hold the line, Blizzard slows the crowd, Fire and Monks grind it down, and Jumps finish the big targets. Put a Bard in the middle and a Scholar fairy at the tanks’ feet. One Bard per zone is enough since songs do not stack.

Commands and specialist jobs

The LB gauge gains 1 per 3 cleared waves (max 3). Decide between cycling cheap Shield Walls or saving 3 bars for Meteor. Healing Wind rescues a collapsing line, Braver shreds bosses. Place the Scholar fairy where enemies actually stop (at your tank) so its regen is never wasted. Against hate-blind Ghosts, keep a spare tank near your back line or trust the Paladin cover. Downed units revive faster while healers and the fairy keep healing them.

Exploit damage types

Every attack is melee, magic or ranged, and every enemy resists or fears one of them. Carapace tanks and shieldbearers shrug off arrows — bring blades or spells. Slimes and ghosts halve physical damage, so burn them with casters (Black Mage, Pictomancer, Summoner, Sage). Winged swifts and berserkers fall fast to ranged fire (Bard, Machinist, Ninja, Dancer). The Machinist drill, Dragoon Jump and the melee limit break pierce resistances entirely — save them for bosses.

Targeting priorities

The default "First" targeting works for DPS, but tuning it matters: set Black Mage to "Strongest" to bomb the heart of the pack, finishers to "Weakest" to secure kills, and lanes leaking pass-through Runners to "First".

Endless mode

From wave 41, enemy HP gains an extra ×1.08 multiplier every wave, so any defense eventually breaks. Enrage (enemies hit harder the longer they fight) melts tanks first, so healer count and fairy placement decide your record. Boss waves beyond 40 spawn several bosses — keep multiple Dragoons.

Strategy FAQ

Do multiple Bards stack? No. Each job only receives the single strongest song in range. Spread Bards across different clusters instead.
Do poison and slow effects stack? The stronger effect of each type wins and its duration is refreshed. A weak effect never downgrades a strong one.
How do I earn 3 stars? Finish all 40 waves with 18 or more lives (you can lose at most 2). Ten or more lives earns 2 stars, and surviving at all earns 1 star.
Which map should I start with? Circuit — it has a long path and plenty of build space. Save Gauntlet for last: its path is extremely short and punishes any wasted gil.