FFXIV Archer (ARC) Leveling Guide & Rotation

Archer Rotation for Leveling, Skills, Traits, Etc.

In this segment we run down how each skill and trait affects your Archer’s rotation during the leveling process.

L1 Skill  Unlocked Heavy Shot – ROTATION AFFECTED: This is your “basic attack”.

L2 Skill Unlocked Straight Shot – ROTATION AFFECTED: There is a small chance after using Heavy Shot that Straight Shot becomes usable. Basically, “Spam Heavy Shot, then Straight Shot when Available”.

L2 Trait Unlocked Heavier Shot  – This trait is what allows you to use Straight Shot. How it affects your rotation is already mentioned above.

L4 Skill Unlocked Raging Strikes – ROTATION AFFECTED: Your first DPS cooldown! Use it liberally while soloing or in dungeons. In dungeons, I suggest using this at the start of a new pack, and during bosses. Don’t hold on to it too much. Ultimately DPS cooldowns can be a very high level topic, but this is not the place for that.

L6 Skill Unlocked Venomous Bite – ROTATION AFFECTED: Your first DoT (Damage over Time) skill! OPEN every fight with this skill (Unless the monster is so weak that the DoT isn’t worth it – just heavy shot instead). Obviously, refresh it if it’s about to fall off. Typically in FFXIV you want to refresh DoT’s with a duration of 3s or less. If you’re fighting multiple monsters, using this on all of ‘em is legit.

L6 Role Action  Unlocked Leg Graze – Your first ! Causes Heavy on an enemy (slows movespeed). There is really not much of a use here, except letting enemies get to you slower. Only for desperation in dungeons or soloing… Very slim usage – can often be left unbinded as there are very few encounters where this is irrelevant.

L8 Role Action  Unlocked Second Wind  – A burst self-heal which you’ll grow to be very familiar with. Helps with all types of content! Sustain during Boss FATES, emergency healing in Raids, etc.

L10 Role Action Unlocked Foot Graze –  A ranged Bind (Target cannot move)! Useful for preventing melee enemies from reaching you. Practically speaking, this skill is great for stopping enemies so you can run away or interact with objects / NPC’s without being interrupted by damage.

L12 Skill Unlocked Bloodletter – ROTATION AFFECTED: Use it every time it’s available. Simple as that. It’s Off-GCD (OGCD) So you have no reason to delay firing this off ASAP.

L15 Skill Unlocked Repelling Shot – (Requires CLASS QUEST completion) Your basic mobility skill. For soloing, it simply helps you move faster in between mobs. For dungeons and especially raids, this is a great repositioning tool. 

L18 Skill Unlocked Quick Nock – AoE ROTATION AFFECTED: An INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT AoE attack that’s effective to use even against 2 targets. Obviously incredible at 3+ targets.

L20 Trait Unlocked Increased Action Damage – This does nothing that actually affects your gameplay, but simply increases your damage dealt by a %. Can’t complain.

L20 Role Action Unlocked Peloton – AMAZING skill for movement! You’ll be surprised how much time this cuts in towns, questing, dungeons, make it a habit to always have Peloton up when you can! Keep note it doesn’t stack with Sprint. Newer players might think I’m memeing, but you too will come to love Peloton!

L24 Role Action Unlocked Head Graze – A ranged interrupt! Stop enemies from casting their skills – while not super useful solo, it has niche applications in dungeons and raids. Just be aware you have it!

L30 Skill Unlocked Windbite – ROTATION AFFECTED: (Required CLASS QUEST completion) Another DoT, which has many OP connotations in 2/3 multi-target scenarios. Windbite should be your opening shot on enemies that will survive majority of its duration. Simply add it into your rotation “BEFORE” you’d usually do Venombite. 

Completing this quest and unlocking Windbite marks your final class quest as Archer. You now have the right to become a Bard!