Unsure exactly but wouldn't Squadrons get them the 50 and below dungeons they'd need? The upcoming Trust system with the launch of Shadowbringers also seems as if it would support BLU unlocking their abilities.
I still think there could be a way to have both—open-world/solo play where you run around and learn all these different mob abilities, and then matched group-play/raiding where you have a set arsenal of skills that are used and balanced against the other DPS jobs (and that you do learn throughout your BLU travels via quests or something similar), so that both parties can enjoy the new job.
Sadly, that would take extra development time. :rolleyes:
This doesn't feel too different than other players carrying a crafting class into primal fights to get their rare drop to use for furniture or glamour or whatever. I don't think this is inventing some amazing new avenue of player interaction. At worst, it is an annoyance for all involved.
Thumbs up to this thread. If anyone feel the same, you should hit the like button on that first post. I'm not the biggest BLU fan there is, but as OP said even I got let down by this. While some may like this, the majority I have seen are negative about this. And this does nothing but hurt future job announcements. Instead of hyping up and getting people excited, the first go to reaction of a job will now be "but will it be a limited job?". And people will be cautious.
Most feedback has been pretty well worded and polite, I wouldn't call it a tantrum. It's feedback. They introduced a system, people don't like the idea, they are allowed to tell the developers they don't like it.
Furthermore, it is possible to make content for non-raiders without making an entire class specifically devoted towards it.
I'm fine with the idea of "Limited Jobs" Not only because I liked what they pitched but also as it was stated it opens up the door to jobs they've said before likely wouldn't happen. I really want to see BeastMaster, I'd resigned myself to it not happening, but now it might as a limited job and I'm OK with that.
The truth is there was going to be compromises here, they couldn't fully deliver BLU as people may have wanted it and still crammed it into 14's systems, either it would be a BLU "flavoured" mage or true to BLU but limited in some way for being so different, they went with the latter and truth is, the former would have upset some people too.
Strictly speaking the Trust system might offset this if implemented for older content. God knows the lvl 50 MSQ dungeon issues could be greatly mitigated with that system.
That said, there does seem to be somewhat a lack of things to actually do with a BLU.
A level 50 Blue Mage, assuming they haven't slacked off on picking up abilities, should be able to contribute to primal fights perfectly fine. A crafter would never be able to pull any weight period.
And if it's already a mindless task that could be AFKed through as some insist, why would the 70/80 players care if a Blue Mage is there to learn something or not?
Seems like its mostly designed to enjoy in the open world and in the new Carnival side content. I'm honestly optimistic but my overall feelings for BLU hinge on how well the Carnival is implemented and if it has anything meaningful attached to it. A friend and I were bouncing around hopes that it might be something similar to the battle square with points and prizes but who knows.
I mean, the Q&A panel just before the live letter explained, multiple times, that certain game systems in FFXIV are not possible simply due to a lack of manpower. They don't have the money, time, or people to work on important systems, so we simply have to work with what we have.
Luckily, it seems BLU is just a minor side addition, like the sightseeing log, that doesn't require any new weapons, armor, character animations, spell effects, instanced duties, overworld mechanics, UI mechanics for changing skills, or story elements! It probably took like one guy a half hour to whip this up.