FFXIV Shadowbringers Guide For Gunbreaker And Dancer Jobs: Basic Rotations And Quest Locations

Final Fantasy XIV's third expansion, Shadowbringers, has officially launched, and along with a brand-new main scenario questline, duties, and areas to explore are all-new Jobs. For those not familiar, Gunbreaker offers a stylish spin on the Tank role by giving you a gunblade (shout out to Squall Leonhart) and some sweet weaponskills to use while taking damage for the team. On the other hand, you have Dancer, which is a highly mobile ranged DPS Job that puts a rhythmic twist on a fairly simple attack rotation.

Both these new Jobs start at level 60 and require you to have any other Disciple of War or Magic class at level 60 as well (the Shadowbringers expansion is also required to access the new Jobs). You can see both Gunbreaker and Dancer in action during their Job quests in the video above.

Everything discussed in relation to rotations and tactics for the Dancer and Gunbreaker Jobs are based on how they work at level 60. Skills and abilities earned through level 80 will alter how they function, but we've provided a starting point for you to build from as you progress.

The quest to unlock Dancer is located in Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks near the main Aetheryte and it's called "Shall We Dance"--the coordinates are X: 9.8, Y: 12.0. A few cutscenes will play and then you'll be given your starting weapon and a chest to open containing your new gear.

Dancers mainly rely on chances (referred to as procs) for their stronger attacks. Two base attacks, Cascade and Fountain, both have a 50% chance of opening more powerful versions called Reverse Cascade and Fountainfall, respectively--use these when they're available.

Reverse Cascade and Fountainfall then have a 50% chance to add one feather to your Fourfold Feather gauge, which gives you access to the Fan Dance moves. Fan Dance I (single-target) and Fan Dance II (AOE) are attacks you can use freely outside of cooldown as long as you have a feather in your gauge.

The attacks Windmill and Bladeshower are the AOE equivalents that also have a 50% chance to open up the stronger Rising Windmill and Bloodshower attacks--both of these have a 50% chance of adding a feather to your gauge as well.

The other important mechanic that's core to a good Dancer is the Standard Step--activating this will turn your attacks into button prompts to match a sequence. After two successful steps, you'll have to hit Standard Step once again for a Standard Finish for a strong AOE attack--one successful step does 750 attack potency while two steps do 1000 potency to your target and 75% of that damage to surrounding enemies.

Another reason to stay on top of Standard Step is because it grants you a 60-second damage buff depending on successful steps. And if you're in a party, it's an absolute must that you activate Closed Position on a party member which also applies the Standard Finish buff on them whenever it's up. Standard Step is on a 20-second cooldown, so keep it going as necessary.

If you're stuck on the final fight of the level 60 Job quest, we have some tips. You'll want to be extra careful when whirlwinds are cast across the arena--avoid these at all cost. They are especially dangerous when the enemy is casting their auto-lock column attack that you can't escape; if you're hit while standing in a whirlwind, you'll die immediately.

If you're looking to jump into the Gunbreaker Job, look for the quest called "The Makings Of A Gunbreaker" found in New Gridania near the Aetheryte--the coordinates are X: 11.5, Y: 11.9. Following some dialogue, you'll go to Hawthorne Hut for a fairly easy fight. Afterward, you're given the proper gear chest and weapon.

Gunbreaker has a fairly intricate attack rotation that's pretty fun to execute. It goes like this: Keen Edge, Brutal Shell, Solid Barrel, then gain one cartridge in your Powder Gauge. With just one cartridge, you can then execute a more powerful combo: Gnashing Fang, Savage Claw, Wicked Talon. The second combo is also subject to cooldown, so when it's not available, just use the strong standalone attack Burst Strike.

There are also other attacks like Danger Zone (which lives on its own cooldown) and Sonic Break (which does damage-over-time)--you should use these when available.

Like all Tanks, Gunbreaker's main goal is to pull enmity (or aggro) and keep enemies away from all other party members--for this, you'll need to have the ability Royal Guard active. To pull extra enmity, you have Provoke, and to divert it to another tank when you're in trouble with 8-player raid parties, you have Shirk.

Gunbreaker also has a great two-part AOE combo with Demon Slice then Demon Slaughter, which is very effective against three or more enemies and pulling enmity. This combo also generates a cartridge for the Powder Gauge in just two attacks, making Gunbreaker even more effective as a damage-dealer.

The buff Nebula reduces damage taken by 30% for 10 seconds while No Mercy increases damage dealt by 20% for 20 seconds, and there's a heal-over-time ability called Aurora--use these as necessary.

Gunbreaker's opening quest ends with a boss battle that can be tricky, and plays more like a dungeon boss. After taking down enemies on an escort mission, you'll face a huge Coeurl named Gorib with a ton of HP. You don't want the escortee Editha to take damage, so pull Gorib away to make sure its AOE attacks doesn't hit her.

Eventually, lightning orbs will spawn and gravitate towards Editha. You'll need to run into these before they reach her and take the damage as necessary (par for the course for Tanks); she'll heal you afterward, too. There will also be additional bandits that spawn late in the fight, so manage your enmity, take care of the bandits, and let your other Tank AI companion focus on Gorib in this phase.

For more on Final Fantasy XIV, be sure to read through our breakdown of the biggest changes made for Shadowbringers, what's in store for the next Alliance Raid which will crossover with Nier Automata, or watch our early access livestream where we clear the first dungeon Holminster Switch using the new Trust system with AI teammates.