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The Viper job in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail is just so much fun. While I spent more time with the Pictomancer, I had to do my due diligence and explore the dual-sword-wielding melee fighter. It feels like the developers had influence from Final Fantasy 9’s Zidane, and Chrono Cross’s Serge when working on this class. I cannot confirm that, but that’s how it feels to me.
I’ve taken a deep dive into the Viper job for Final Fantasy 14, so you know exactly what you need to know going into the next expansion for Square Enix’s incredible MMORPG. If you want fast-paced, hard-hitting melee action, with a dash of Super Saiyan Blue mixed in, look no further than this job!
Disclaimer: The information about the Viper job may change between this preview and the final release of Dawntrail.
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How does Viper feel in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail?
The Viper job in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail feels so incredible. It combines fast-striking twin-sword combat, with the ability to put those blades together, for massive, hard-hitting blows to wrap up even the mightiest of foes. This job is one of the first to take advantage of having the multi-hit buttons outside of the world of PVP, and it sure helps.
Vipers in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail have a few combos to worry about, but they’re pretty flexible. You have Single-Target Rotation (Serpent’s Ire buildup), AOE Rotation (Serpent’s Ire buildup), Single-Target rotation (Rattling Coil buildup) and AOE Rotation (Rattling Coil buildup).
One reason I feel like the Viper job is going to be a must-play, and is going to be a lot of fun, is several of these abilities can buff/debuff the class enemies. Here are some examples:
- Noxious Gash: Increases target’s damage taken
- Hunter’s Instinct: Increases the damage you deal
- Swiftscaled: Reduces auto-attack delay
Once you’ve built up enough meter (Serpent’s Ire) from completing combos, you can do what I’ve dubbed “going Super Saiyan Blue”. The Reawaken ability gives you a brilliant blue aura, and changes four of your abilities into new ones: First Generation, Second Generation, Third Generation, and Fourth Generation. Using these lets you access First through Fourth Legacy, for serious numbers.
What do the Viper Job HUD icons mean in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail?
Vipers in Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail have two pieces that get added to their HUD, like all classes. In this case, they get Vipersight and Serpent’s Ire. Vipersight is a pretty simple meter. Since this job uses three-hit combos to execute final attacks as well as trigger buffs/debuffs, the Vipersight meter glows in correspondence with the next hotbar icon you should hit.
It will also receive Rattling Coil icons under the center, which show when you can use Uncoiled Fury. The Serpent’s Ire Gauge fills each time you execute a combo that is related to it. Once you have 50 or more meter, you can use Reawaken, to use a series of special attack skills as described above.
It will be interesting to see if people fill it all the way to 100, to double up, or if it’s better to just get it to 50 and pop the meter then.
Job combos for Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail’s Viper class
At first, the combo rotations felt a bit confusing to me, for Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail’s Viper. I also want to point out that the order in which I give these may not necessarily be the most ideal method of rotating through your attacks. Square Enix gave us access to a list of combos, so we know and understand the rotations.
Your combos are typically going to start with Steel Fangs or Dread Fangs for a single target. AOE endeavors began with Steel Maw or Dread Maw. Each combo has three steps, and once you press a button, the two respective buttons will change. The weapon skill that has the higher effect will be surrounded by a dotted line, so that helps you make informed decisions about what’s next.
Completing a combo also grants you access to the finisher Death Rattle (single-target) or Last Lash (AOE). These replace Serpent’s Tail on your hotbar.
Single-target rotations (Serpent’s Ire)
- Steelfangs -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Flanking Strike or Flanksbane Fang
- Steelfangs -> Swiftscaled -> Hindsting Strike or Hindsbane Fang
- Noxious Gash -> Swift Scaled -> Hindsting Strike or Hindsbane Fang
- Noxious Gash -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Flanksting Strike or Flanksbane Fang
AOE Rotations (Serpent’s Ire)
- Steel Maw -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Jagged Maw or Bloodied Maw
- Steel Maw -> Swiftscaled -> Bloodied Maw or Jagged Maw
- Noxious Gnash -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Jagged Mag or Bloodied Maw
- Noxious Gnash -> Swiftscaled - > Jagged Maw or Bloodied Maw
Single-target rotations (Rattling Coil and Serpent’s Ire)
- Noxious Gnash -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Swiftskin’s Coil
- Noxious Gnash -> Swiftscaled -> Hunter’s Coil
AOE Rotations (Rattling Coil and Serpent’s Ire)
- Noxious Gnash -> Hunter’s Instinct -> Swiftskin’s Coil
- Noxious Gnash -> Swiftscaled -> Hunter’s Den
Some of these ability names might be confusing, but here’s something that might help. Actions with Dread in the name put a debuff in play on the target (Noxious Gnash Enfeeblement), which increases damage dealt by the person who put it in play.
Hunter actions grant Hunter’s Instinct Enhancement, which increases your own damage dealt. Finally, there are Swift actions. These give Swiftscaled Enhancement, which increases attack speed.
Final thoughts on the Viper job in Final Fantasy 14
I love this job, and even though it sounds pretty confusing, you’ll get the hang of it before too long. It’s easy enough to string together combos based on your needs. I imagine, however, it won’t be long before players determine what the most ideal combos are going to be.
It’s a fast-paced, powerful job, and though I spent more time with Pictomancer, it won’t be long into launch before I try to become a master of Viper. They hit hard, look rad, and are something fresh and fun for the melee job fans of Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail when it launches on July 2, 2024.
