How do you play Viper in FF14? With very little defensive abilities and few options for utility, Viper seems like it’s going to be the glass cannon of the DPS jobs. The potential for massive damage is at the tip of your blade, but reacting quickly to mechanics and staying out of danger will separate a good Viper from a great one. This guide will give you the information you need to begin your journey as a Viper, including how to unlock it, your basic combos, using your burst window.
One of the two new jobs introduced with FF14 Dawntrail, Viper is a dual-weapon wielding melee DPS that can fuse the weapon together to make a twinblade. Each iteration of the weapon has different uses, and fans of the melee DPS jobs are sure to enjoy the burst of DPS the Viper is capable of. Be sure to check out our guide on the other new job, the FF14 Pictomancer, so you can go into the MMO game with the best knowledge equipped.
The first step to unlocking Viper is ensuring you have access to Dawntrail. Then, you’ll need a level 80 Disciple of War or Magic before you can pick up the beginning quest. Once those two steps are accomplished, head to the Steps of Nald in Ul’dah where you can pick up the quest “Enter the Viper” from the Worried Weaver (X: 9.3, Y: 9.2).
Follow the questline and you’ll get everything you need to begin learning the ways of the Viper. If you want to go through the leveling process starting out with the best gear, you can pick up Cryptlurker gear from the Crystarium to start your journey.
Even the diagram offered in FF14’s official job guide can be pretty confusing, but when you get into the game, Square Enix has made it a lot easier than it looks in the guide.
The dual blade combo is represented by two buttons on the hotbar. The button will automatically change into the next combo action based on where you are in its rotation. There are a few different paths you can take since the combo can be utilized in different ways, which can make it a little confusing at first glance.
To make this a little easier to grasp, the skill names were intentionally made similar to discern what stage of the combo they belong to. To start, you’ll have Steel Fangs and Dread Fangs. Steel Fangs simply deals damage, and Dread Fangs deals lower damage, but applies a debuff called Noxious Gnash. This debuff should be kept on the enemy at all times for maximum damage.
The next skills in the combo are Hunter’s Sting and Swiftskin’s Sting. These both do the same amount of straight damage, but have two different functions. Hunter’s Sting applies a buff called Hunter’s Instinct which increases your damage dealt, while Swiftskin’s Sting reduces your cast and recast time, and makes your auto-attack quicker. These skills should be alternated when this step of the combo comes around so both buffs are applied at all times.
The last step in the combo includes four positionals. They have the same potency, but just like step two, have different functions. The position you need to be in is indicated by the name of the skill. Hind skills are executed from the rear, and flank skills occur from the sides. Hind skills buff the next flank skill, and vice versa. Just with the other steps of the combo, alternate these to keep your buffs going.
The same concept applies to the AoE versions of these skills, except the last step of the combo doesn’t require a positional. It will still apply the buff to the opposite GCD, so you’ll still need to alternate these.
Once all three skills in the combo are completed, Serpent’s Tail will proc into a usable skill. Hit this button whenever it lights up.
This combo can be executed every 40 seconds due to the longer cooldown, but has a maximum of two charges. Start with Dreadwinder, which applies Noxious Gnash, increasing its duration to 40 seconds, and gives you a Rattling Coil.
Next is Hunter’s Coil, which is a flank positional, and Swiftskin’s Coil which is executed from the rear. These give the same effects as Hunter’s Sting and Swiftskin’s Sting, respectively, and can be pressed in any order.
The dual blade combo follows up with only one oGCD, but the twinblade combo opens up two. Twinfang and Twinblood will proc into Twinfang Bite and Twinblood Bite respectively. While you can press these in a random order, pay attention to which GCD you hit just before these procs. Swiftskin’s Coil will increase Twinblood Bite’s potency, and Hunter’s Coil will increase Twinfang Bite’s potency. Press the button that corresponds to the GCD you just pressed before you use the oGCD that doesn’t get a potency increase.
If you’re ever confused where you need to go for the next step in your rotation, looking at the Vipersight blades will give you the answer. To make it easier for yourself, set up your hotbar so that Steel Fangs is on the left, and Dread Fangs on the right, it will correlate with the Vipersight glow, letting you know whether you need to hit the button on the right or the left next. However, if you follow the highlighted skill, it will also guide you towards the next skill you’re supposed to use.
As previously mentioned, Rattling Coils are gained by using your Twinblade combo skills. You can hold up to three of them, as indicated by diamond in your Twinblade job guage. These can be spent on Uncoiled Fury, which is a ranged attack that hits multiple enemies.
If you complete the combos, you’ll start to fill your Serpents Offering Gauge. When this gauge reaches 50, you can spend the resource to use Reawaken. Using this skill grants five Anguin Tribute stacks. These are spent in an easy to follow order, starting with First Generation and ending with Fourth Generation. These are potent AoE attacks that don’t have damage falloff, so make sure you’re close to as many enemies as possible when using them. Weave in the Legacy procs for maximum burst damage.
Now that you’ve unleashed a flurry of attacks, end the Reawakened effect by using your last stack of Anguine Tribute on Ouroboros.
Serpent’s Ire, when executed right away in the beginning of the fight, will mark the beginning of your burst window. When that combo is finished, spend your Serpent Offerings to immediately reapply Reawakening, allowing you to get maximum damage in during the buff window. Just make sure that you’ve reapplied your buffs before you go into your burst so you never drop one.
Although it seems like a lot to take in, Viper should be a pretty fun class when you get the hang of it. Watching the enemy’s health drop significantly when you execute your burst correctly will be rewarding once you get the hang of the job.
Once you’ve mastered Viper, or use your newfound skills to tackle the tedious task of unlocking all of the Dawntrail Aether Currents in the new expansion. On the other hand, if you’re struggling to get into the game check the FF14 server status and maintenance times, to check whether there’s any downtime.
