Viper is Dawntrail’s flashy new melee DPS: quick dual-blade strings that fuse into a sweeping twinblade, a fast-paced burst stance, and a 2-minute rhythm that feels incredible when you nail it. This guide gives you a clean, practical breakdown of how to unlock Viper, how the gauge works, how to run the level 100 opener, and how to optimize your rotation, melds, and consumables for raids and savages.

Overview And Unlock

Viper is a melee DPS that blends two tempos. You build up during your normal stance with dual-blade combos, then cash out in a burst stance that dramatically speeds your globals and adds big finishers. It slots naturally into the modern 120s party-burst meta and rewards clean cooldown alignment.

Unlocking Viper is simple: once you have Dawntrail access and meet the level requirement to pick up new jobs in Tuliyollal, grab the Viper job quest from the city’s quest hub. You’ll start at a high enough level to jump straight into roulettes and MSQ. If you’re brand new to melee, Viper is beginner-friendly at first and scales well as you learn alignment and drift control.

Job Mechanics, Gauge, And Toolkit

Viper builds a job gauge through its core combo strings and spenders, then enters a burst stance that speeds your GCDs and unlocks finishers. Think of it as two loops:

• Builder loop: your basic dual-blade combo generates gauge and sets up positional finishers.
• Spender loop: you enter a heightened state (burst stance), rip through accelerated weapon skills, and end with a big payoff finisher before returning to your builder.

The job brings standard melee mobility, a gap closer, and reliable personal mitigation. You also contribute to the 2-minute party burst with a raid-aligned buff, so you’ll want to keep your own burst lined up to amplify the whole team.

Core Combos And Finishers

Your single-target flow is a pair of short chains that interlock. You alternate two 1-2-3 routes (call them Chain A and Chain B) so you don’t repeat the same branch back-to-back. Each chain ends in a positional finisher. If you hit the correct positional, you’ll get a small potency bump and, more importantly, cleaner gauge flow.

The general rule:

• Alternate finishers (rear → flank → rear → flank) rather than spamming one side.
• Don’t let your gauge overcap while in builder. If you’re near cap and 2-minute buffs are close, finish a chain and hold a beat for the burst window rather than wasting gauge.

During your burst stance, your GCD shortens and you run a scripted string: rapid hits into a large closing strike. Treat this like a “mini-combo within a combo.” Ending cleanly is worth more than squeezing an extra filler before the stance expires.

Buffs, Debuffs, And Party Utility

Viper aligns to the standard 120s party burst cadence. You bring a party damage buff on a 2-minute timer and a personal damage steroid you want inside every raid-buff window. If a boss is phasing, you can slightly drift your party buff by a few seconds to land during full uptime. Don’t drift more than one GCD cycle unless the encounter demands it.

On-target debuffs are minimal and automatic via your normal combo hits. You also have short personal mitigation for tankbusters and raidwides, and a gap closer for maintaining uptime during knockbacks or spreads. Treat the closer as a damage tool first and a recovery tool second, if movement is predictable, plan positionals so you don’t need to burn mobility reactively.

Level 100 Opener

Your level 100 opener is a two-part punch: a clean pre-pull so your first GCD lands under party buffs and potion, then an accelerated burst stance with finishers. The goal is to set your 2-minute loop so every subsequent window recaptures the same alignment.

Pre-Pull Setup

• Stand at max melee and pre-position for the rear positional on your first finisher.
• If your group uses a countdown, hit your self-buff and any long prep skills just before pull so they snapshot into the first burst. Pop potion at -1 to 0 depending on ping and opener variant.
• Plan your gap closer usage. If the boss opens with a displacement, hold the dash for re-entry: otherwise, use it as a weave to compress early oGCDs under raid buffs.

Standard 2-Minute Burst Opener

This is the stable, ping-tolerant sequence most groups prefer. Exact ability names aren’t the point, hit the structure:

1. Pull → GCD 1 (starter of Chain A). Weave your party buff and personal steroid here.
2. GCD 2 (continue Chain A). Weave your first hard-hitting oGCD strike and gap closer if safe.
3. GCD 3 (finisher of Chain A with correct positional). If potion isn’t already running, weave it here.
4. Enter burst stance. Run your accelerated combo string cleanly, don’t clip. Prioritize finishing the stance over greed weaves.
5. Closing finisher. If you have a second strong oGCD on a short CD, double-weave now while potion and raid buffs are still up.
6. Swap into Chain B and stabilize into your normal builder loop.

The logic: you want your major personal hits, the burst-stance sequence, and the closing finisher all inside the first party-buff window and your tincture. After that, your kit naturally recharges to repeat on the 2-minute mark.

Opener Variations For Desync Or High Ping

If you expect drift (boss jumps, scripted downtime), hold your party buff up to 5 seconds to land under full uptime. Don’t over-hold the burst stance, enter just before or just after the party buff as needed so the stance’s biggest hits still land inside.

For high ping, prefer single weaves and skip the early gap closer unless it neatly pairs with another oGCD. It’s better to finish the burst stance cleanly than to force a double weave and clip. If your potion timing feels tight, pop at pull rather than trying to weave it late.

Rotation, AoE, And Cooldown Alignment

Viper’s rotation is a repeating 120s song. Build with alternating chains, spend in burst stance, and keep everything tethered to party buffs. AoE mirrors this with wide, sweeping chains into a big spender and an AoE finisher.

Single-Target Priority And Drift Rules

• Keep alternating Chain A and Chain B: don’t double up unless mechanics force it.
• Hit positionals when safe, but never drop a GCD to chase them, one missed positional is cheaper than GCD loss.
• Build gauge to just below cap as you approach 2 minutes: enter burst stance inside party buffs and your potion.
• If your party buff is delayed by encounter scripting, you can drift personal oGCDs up to a few seconds once per cycle to re-sync on the next window. Avoid serial drift that desynchronizes permanently.
• After burst, resume the opposite chain from where you entered so you don’t break alternation.

AoE Combo Flow And Target Thresholds

In 3+ targets, switch to the AoE branches. Your builder becomes a cleaving combo that still feeds gauge. Enter burst stance as normal, your accelerated GCDs will cleave, and the finishing strike hits hard on packs.

Rough thresholds:

• 2 targets: stick to single-target chains if the enemies live a while: swap to AoE if they’re dying fast.
• 3+ targets: use AoE chains. Burst stance and finishers still matter, don’t sit on gauge.

Plan pulls around your stance timing in dungeons. If a pack will die before your stance ends, front-load as many accelerated hits as you can rather than saving for the last mob.

Weaving, oGCD Usage, And Slidecasting

Viper’s cadence is forgiving but punishes sloppy weaves during burst. In builder, you can double weave on a comfortable GCD: in burst stance, prefer single weaves unless your ping is exceptionally stable.

Use the gap closer to maintain uptime through knockbacks or forced spreads. If you must disengage, slidecast the tail end of your GCD and queue the dash to re-enter without clipping. Save mitigation for raidwides that would otherwise force you to disengage for safety, soaking and staying in melee often beats stepping out and losing a GCD.

Melds, Gear, And Consumables

Dawntrail sets keep the classic melee priorities. You chase Critical Hit first, then Direct Hit, with Determination as a strong filler. Skill Speed is a lever: too much can desync your windows: too little can make weaving cramped. Aim for a comfortable GCD that fits your burst stance without clipping and aligns to 120s.

Stat Priority And Key Breakpoints

Typical priority for Viper at level 100:

• Critical Hit > Direct Hit > Determination > Skill Speed (to taste)

Breakpoints to consider:

• GCD feel: choose a base GCD that lets you single weave comfortably in burst stance. If you’re clipping under party haste effects, drop a bit of Skill Speed.
• Crit scaling: because your biggest hits are concentrated inside raid buffs and potion, Crit gains extra value. Don’t sacrifice clean alignment for a tiny Crit tier, flow beats a marginal stat edge.
• Tenacity and Piety have no value here: avoid them.

Materia Choices And Safe Meld Paths

Safe path on early sets: Crit everywhere it fits, then Direct Hit, then Determination. If your GCD feels too tight, replace a Determination meld or two with Skill Speed until weaving smooths out. On BiS cycles, you’ll often cap Crit on multiple pieces, then split DH/Det based on simmed totals.

Don’t over-index Skill Speed unless a specific encounter strat demands it. If you change food or party comp, recheck your feel, sometimes swapping a single meld from DH to SkS fixes your burst clipping without harming overall DPS.

Food, Tinctures, And Encounter Timing

Use the highest-tier Strength tincture available in Dawntrail and a Strength food that prioritizes Crit/DH. Pre-pot for the pull, then re-pot on the 6-minute mark in long fights or to catch a later high-uptime window.

Time your tincture for full uptime inside the party’s 120s buffs. If a phase transition will cut your potion in half, delay it a few seconds or hold for the next window, one fully utilized potion beats two half-windows. In dungeons, potion early on wall-to-wall pulls where your burst stance and AoE finisher will delete the pack.

Common Mistakes And Fixes

Viper’s errors usually come from desyncing the stance, dropping alternation, or overweaving. The fixes are simple habits: respect the 2-minute loop, finish your burst string cleanly, and plan positionals around mechanics rather than chasing them after the fact.

Uptime, Positionals, And Movement Planning

Map your movement before the pull. If you know a boss will turn or jump, bank your gap closer. Slide into positionals while the GCD is rolling instead of waiting to move after it fires. If you must choose, keep the GCD rolling and take the non-positional, dropped GCDs hurt more than a missed rear.

In spreads and knockbacks, pre-position so your finisher lands as you exit movement. You can often buffer the finisher’s input before the push and connect as you re-enter range.

Death, Drift, And Burst Recovery

If you die before burst, rebuild calmly: complete your current chain, fill gauge to a safe threshold, and re-enter stance inside the next raid-buff window. Don’t panic-pop stance off-cycle: you’ll lose more over the fight by being out of sync.

After forced downtime, re-sync by skipping one low-value weave and sliding your next stance by a few seconds. As long as your party buff and personal steroid land together at the next 2-minute mark, you’re fine. If you’re fully desynced, choose the party timer over your personal, raid damage wins.

Conclusion

Viper in FFXIV Dawntrail is all about rhythm: alternate your chains, bank gauge smartly, then explode inside the 2-minute party window with a clean burst stance and a decisive finisher. Keep Crit-focused melds, use high-tier Strength consumables, and favor alignment over greed. Do that, and your parse climbs without the stress, and the fight just feels better to play.