From what I understand, 1.x was supposed to get a Musketeer class, but as the game failed it never got added... Then ARR never added it either.
It probably would've been MCH's base class, but they decided to stop doing that in HW.
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From what I understand, 1.x was supposed to get a Musketeer class, but as the game failed it never got added... Then ARR never added it either.
It probably would've been MCH's base class, but they decided to stop doing that in HW.
Arguably, Machinist was always "Tools first, guns second" because Edgar never used a gun yet almost every single Tool he used has been lifted for Machinist to use (only Noiseblaster, Flash, and Debilitator are unaccounted for). Even with regards to Mustadio, its job's main gimmick was the Snipe skills with Head Graze and Foot Graze effectively being Arm Shot and Leg Shot (only Seal Evil was left out) with guns not being exclusive to his job. Not to say there shouldn't be a primarily gun skill using job ala Musketeer/Gunner/Corsair/Cannoneer/etc, but rather I get why FF14 Machinist leans more on Tools and debuffs (including Dismantle) than full gunplay.
But speaking of axed content from 1.0, the Pugilists Guild's attached "Platinum Mirage" was probably going to be the game's "mini-game hub" in Ul'dah (complete with its own dice signage) but was likely replaced by the Gold Saucer in function while being made into a separate zone.
The original implementation in Heavensward was very gun-oriented. Literally just cartridges and recharging them. The main machine we had was a turret. But it felt less exciting to play than Bard did through Stormblood, so they reworked it to focus on machines and tools.
From what I recall, the producer back then had told us 1.0 beta players that Musketeer would be out at release. Then after release we were told it would come in a later patch. Which obviously never happened. That there was a guild set up shows that it was probably further along than the Fencer, etc which I think were just placeholders.
The NPC you’re probably thinking of though was the MRD NPC. 1.0 MRD quests were completely different and we joined Rostensthal to make a pirate crew of two. His link to Musketeer is that in the 1.0 Limsa quests we go to the Musketeer guild to try our hand at shooting guns and we have it taken away from us by Rayner after recognizing that we hold it in the same manner as Sthalmann.
Arcanist was also probably pretty far along and it was actually Urianger’s job in 1.0. Back then, GMs would also show up as NPCs and talk to players. Urianger GM would wander around talking about the end times and I saw a GM playing him putting down these weird trap things I didn’t understand and then get his butt beaten by a super high level mob in Thanalan when he was trying to show off. The Arcanist staff Urianger used ended up being reused as the model for the guns the Gnath use.
My point was that Machinist worked a certain way prior to being added to FF14, so it being more gun-focused when it was originally added to this game was an oddity that they felt the need to expand on/course correct later.
But if they want to add a true gunplay job, there's other options that fit that playstyle better than trying to twist MCH back in that direction.
We used to have one – it was called machinist...
The Platinum Mirage is used as a setting in the ARR beast tribe capstone quest, but you never get to explore freely.
There's one spot in ARR where he's still (probably accidentally) equipped with it while sitting at the Waking Sands.
And HW MCH was a gunner with two turrets you could set up with a slower "sniper mode" adding short cast bars for increased damage with the original form of guass barrel. It was absolutely our gun job, but the failure of the caster mode put on it and Bard forced a redesign and Machinist has pretty much entirely drifted away from guns. The 123 combo where you actually use that rifle is the filler at this point verses being the foundation of their rotation.
The version we have now could be better compared to Gadgeteer, having a gear box they would pull items out to cast their skills. But that job isn't a gunner, it's a tanky brawler for Moogle units in Tactics A2.
While I feel like we have a better chance for a blitzball/Wakka inspired job as our next ranger, the devs could absolutely justify another job that uses guns and make it ONLY use guns. We have different jobs with swords, staves, or books as their weapon with entirely different ability sets so why not?