Rune Fencer Equipment Request

[Alhanelem]

FFXI's system is arbitrary, but everything was chosen to be the way it was for a reason (even if sometimes the reason is rather quesitonable). I want to swing around a great axe on summoner, but they won't let me do that for some reason...

[Ultimoore]

FFXI's system is arbitrary, but everything was chosen to be the way it was for a reason (even if sometimes the reason is rather quesitonable). I want to swing around a great axe on summoner, but they won't let me do that for some reason...

Its not arbitrary. Each job has a number of options for equipment that a player can choose from. Some choices are obviously better than others for classes. But the choices are there. If the Rune Fencer was never meant to use a shield EVER. Why is it able to use Pelte, Faerie Shield, Flat Shield, Tortoise Shield, Nymph Shield, Spellcaster's Ecu, Astral Shield, Astral Aspis, Chanter's Shield and Sors Shield?
The point I am asking is for is not a massive game changer here. Yet you all think I am asking for a complete game changer.

[Tharly]

More like trying to explain to you why what you are asking isn't likely going to happen and has little reason to happen.

SAM is on a few shields also, but you will never hear any appreciable number wanting to sword n board on SAM.

[Alhanelem]

Its not arbitrary. Each job has a number of options for equipment that a player can choose from.

it is arbitrary. Not all jobs have the same number of equipment options. It also is not as simple as "light armor for mages, heavy armor for tanks" as there are many exceptions to rules like this. Some gear is avialable to specific jobs sharing a common role and not others, despite similarities, sharing the same "armor type", or whatever else.

The Kraken Club was originally All Jobs but all of the jobs introduced after its creation were not added to it, so it is "All Jobs Released Before A Certain Date." How is that not arbitrary?

Jobs are applied to all gear in the game in a mostly arbitrary fashion. The earliest gear in the game sticks to discernible patterns, though this was mostly because the low level gear is mostly all just armor and not stat buffing type stuff. Most gear added to the game today is designed for a particular job but often has other jobs assigned to it just for the sake of variety.

Each job has a number of options for equipment that a player can choose from. Some choices are obviously better than others for classes. But the choices are there. If the Rune Fencer was never meant to use a shield EVER. Why is it able to use Pelte, Faerie Shield, Flat Shield, Tortoise Shield, Nymph Shield, Spellcaster's Ecu, Astral Shield, Astral Aspis, Chanter's Shield and Sors Shield?

This is like, the very definition of arbitrary. There is no particular reason I can see a RUN would use these particular shields but not others.

When we say something is arbitrary, we're saying there isn't any clear pattern to the reasoning being used for the actions taken/decisions made, and rather that, in this example, various pieces of gear are being assigned to various jobs because SE said so, rather than because a list of rules and conditions determined that this gear is for that job. Because if that was the case, RUN would either have no equippable shields at all (in line with the fact that they were designed to use 2h weapons and are focused on parrying rather than blocking), or it would have a lot more shields available than it does now (as you would wish and as would reflect that shield was actually intended to be a real option for RUN).

Instead, they are on a handful of random shields with no real rhyme or pattern. You could argue a couple like the Spellcaster's Ecu, could have stat bonuses on them that a RUN might want, but then there are others like the Sors Shield which make absolutely no sense for RUN (enhances cure spells when RUN does not natively have any cure spells, nor does it usually sub a job that has them to my knowledge). The only thing these shields have in common is they are caster shields, typically used by mage jobs with one hand weapons equipped to provide stat bonuses. None of these shields are actually used for their blocking capability, which is what a tank would typically want a shield for. A RUN could probably gain something from some of these items at the level they become avialable if they chose to use a 1h weapon. But it would be rather ironic for a tank to be using a shield that doesn't help them tank.

So yeah, it is an arbitrary decision, with no lore, meta, or other basis.